Ernest Hogan

He was born Ernest Reuben Crowders in the Shake Rag District of Bowling Green, Kentucky, in 1865. Little to nothing is known about his childhood. However, as a teenager, he traveled with a minstrel troupe called the Georgia Graduate, performing as a dancer, musician, and comedian. He changed his name to Hogan because "Irish performers were in vogue." A few years after changing his name to Hogan, Ernest started finding success in solo acts in New York City. He likely performed in blackface as he sometimes did later in his career. ==Family life==

Ernest Hogan was believed to have been married twice. He was first wed to a youthful singer named Mattie Wilkes. She was a popular soprano performing in vaudeville shows with him; they married around 1901 or 1902. Hogan was later reportedly married to a woman named Louise, who helped him organize concerts in the early 1900s. The specific dates of these marriages are unknown; Hogan did not have children with either of his wives. ==His earliest ragtime composition==

's Smart Set Co. in Enchantment (Mattie Wilkes, "The phenomenal soprano") During this time, Hogan created a comedy dance called the "La Pas Ma La," which consisted of a walk forward with three steps back. In 1895, he wrote and composed a song based on this dance called "pasmala." Hogan merely changed the words slightly, substituting the word "coon" for "pimp" and added a ragtime syncopation to the music thanks to the contribution of the composer Max Hoffman. The song eventually sold over a million copies. Hogan's use of the racial slur "coon" in the song infuriated many African Americans. Some black performers made a point of substituting the word "boys" for "coons" whenever they sang it. As Hogan said shortly before he died, ==Death==

In January 1908, Hogan collapsed onstage in New York and again in Boston while performing in The Oyster Man. Forced to leave the show, Hogan spent the remainder of his life trying but failing to recuperate. He died of tuberculosis in Lakewood, New Jersey, on May 20, 1909. ==See also==