Biography
Maceo Pinkard entered the world in Bluefield, West Virginia, during 1897 and later earned a diploma from the Bluefield Colored Institute in 1914. One year afterward he completed his earliest major composition, “I’m Goin’ Back Home.” The 1925 song “Sweet Georgia Brown,” credited jointly to Pinkard, Ben Bernie, and Ken Casey, received its first performances from Ben Bernie & His Orchestra; decades of familiarity nevertheless stemmed chiefly from the Harlem Globetrotters’ adoption of the piece as their signature anthem. Pinkard’s additional works included “Sugar, That Sugar Baby of Mine” and “Them There Eyes,” the latter unveiled by Gus Arnheim in 1930 yet achieving its widest recognition through Billie Holiday’s performances ten years afterward. Pinkard’s life ended in 1962.