Eubie Blake had a unique career. He was an important Broadway songwriter in the 1920s, and late in life became known as the last living link to ragtime. He wrote his first rag, "The Charleston Rag," in 1899, spent years playing with medicine shows, and by 1915 was teaming up with singer Noble Sissle in vaudeville. Sissle and Blake wrote for the 1921 hit show Shuffle Along (the first all-Black musical) and followed with Revue Negre, Plantation Review, Rhapsody in Black, and Bamville Review. He was largely forgotten until 1969, when he recorded an LP, The 86 Years of Eubie Blake, that amazed listeners who had never heard of him. In his last 14 years, Blake was a popular performer, charming audiences, making new records, and appearing on Broadway in the 1978 show Eubie at the age of 95.