Hayes, Roland

Hayes, Roland,

1887–1976, American tenor, b. Curryville, Ga. The son of a former slave, Hayes studied at Fisk Univ. and with private teachers in Boston and in Europe. As one of the foremost interpreters of modern French songs, German lieder, and spirituals, Hayes was the first African-American singer to achieve enormous international recognition.

Bibliography

See M. Helm, Angel Mo' and Her Son, Roland Hayes (1942).

Hayes, Roland

(1887–1977) tenor; born in Curryville, Ga. A son of former slaves, he studied in the U.S.A. and Europe before his 1917 Boston debut. In the 1920s he concertized across Europe and the U.S.A. and was acclaimed for both his performance of classical lieder and his Negro spirituals; his farewell performance was at Carnegie Hall in 1962.