Blackbirds of 1928 started its life as a floorshow at Les Ambassadeurs Club on 57th Street, New York with songs written by Jimmy McHugh and Dorothy Fields.

It was directed by producer Lew Leslie and starred Adelaide Hall,[5] Bill Bojangles Robinson.

Also in the cast were Johnny Hudgins, Eloise C. Uggams, Elisabeth Welch, Mantan Moreland, Cecil Mack, Evelyn Anderson, and Nina Mae McKinney.

On 7 June 1929, the original Broadway production opened at the Moulin Rouge, Paris, France, where it became the hit of the season.

Aunt Jemima Stroll Scene in Jungleland Bear Cat Jones Last Fight I Can't Give You Anything But Love What a Night Bandanna Babies Playing According to Hoyle Three Bad Men From Harlem Porgy (with apologies to the Theatre Guild and Dorothy and DuBose Heyward) Finale (part one) Magnolia's Wedding Day Earl Tucker Giving His Conception of the Low-Down Dance Picking a Plot Doin' the New Low-Down Getting Married in Harlem I Must Have That Man Here Comes My Blackbird Finale (part two) In February 1933, Jack Kapp of Brunswick Records assembled an all-star group of Brunswick artists to record the entire score.