Under Dumbolton's management, the original line-up included Francis Carr Germon, Moody G. Stanwood, Anthony Fannen (Tony) Winnemore, E. J. Quinn, J. Baker, and G.

[4] Their first major performance was for John Tyler at the White House in 1844 as part of the "Especial Amusement of the President of the United States, His Family and Friends".

[5] After this success, the troupe altered its act to make it more "refined" and to appeal to a higher-class audience than had traditionally patronized blackface entertainment.

They billed their shows as blackface "concerts" and added songs of a sentimental, romantic nature, even going so far as to perform pieces from popular operas.

According to Dwight's Journal of Music, they "popularized 'Rosa Lee', 'Dearest Mae', 'Mary Blane', &c., a species of composition more nearly bordering upon respectability than the characteristic negro songs by which they had been preceded.

[2] Music hall historian Harold Scott wrote of them: "They charmed principally by their gentility, and this impression was heightened by the fact that they appeared in conventional tail coats and white waistcoats.

Upon their return from England in 1847, the Spirit of the Times wrote that the Serenaders' formal style in music and dress was too refined for audiences accustomed to the ribald humor of the Christys.

With the addition of William Henry Lane, a black man known as "Master Juba", they returned to London in June 1848, when they performed at Vauxhall Gardens and toured in England and Scotland.