| Billy Higgins | |
| Birth Name: | William Weldon Higgins |
| Alias: | Jazz Caspar |
| Birth Date: | 9 June 1888 |
| Birth Place: | Columbia, South Carolina, United States |
| Death Place: | New York City, U.S. |
| Genre: | Vaudeville, blues |
| Occupation: | Comedian, singer, songwriter |
| Years Active: | 1908 - 1930s |
| Past Member Of: | Josie Miles Viola McCoy Kitty Brown |
William Weldon Higgins (June 9, 1888 - April 19, 1937) was an American vaudeville entertainer, comedian, singer and songwriter — critically acclaimed, and is historically chronicled, as one of the most popular stage comedians of the 1920s. Langston Hughes named him as one of the "Golden Dozen" black comedians. On various recordings of the 1920s, Higgins used the pseudonym Jazz Caspar (aka Casper).
Higgins was born in Columbia, South Carolina. He was African-American and often worked in blackface. He began his career in 1912 as a singer of ballads at private clubs in is hometown of Columbia. Before that, he had been a machinist. Sometime around 1913, he joined Billy King, a widely popular comedian and producer of touring theatrical revues. Higgins co-starred with King in the show Two Bills from Alaska. Higgins performed with King until 1917, when he entered the U.S. Army during World War I.
During World War I, Higgins was assigned to the 805th Pioneer Infantry, an African-American regiment of 2,810 men comprising 14 companies and a medical detachment. The regiment was nicknamed "Bearcats". Higgins quickly established himself as a performer at Camp Funston's Detention Camp No. 2, where he was first assigned, and where all new recruits were sent to be cleared by Army medics of any communicable viruses or diseases. The Bearcat Entertainers were assigned to Headquarters Company. The 805th Pioneer Infantry was assigned to Europe to support the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, which began September 26, 1918. The organization participated for days — from October 3, 1918, to November 11, 1918 — when the Armistice was signed.
When the Bearcats were deployed to Europe, Higgins was chief entertainer for the 14-day trip — which included a stay at Camp Upton, New York, and a Transatlantic crossing aboard the Saxonia. In Europe, the Bearcats were stationed at Chatel-Chéhéry. Early on, after arriving, they organized a regimental show and entertained guest of the 805th Pioneer Infantry, among whom included the Congressional Committee on Military Affairs, the Staff College of the American Expeditionary Forces, and several other visitors of high rank. Lieutenant Leonce Raoul Legendre (1895–1951), of the Headquarters Company, was in charge of the show and the band that, together, comprised the Bearcat Entertainers. However, Higgins was the de facto stage director. He gained popularity singing songs such as:
Higgins rose to the rank of color sergeant. He was not deployed to the combat zones of European theater of World War I. After the Armistice of 11 November 1918 was signed, Higgins mustered out of the Army receiving an honorable discharge July 5, 1919.
After returning to the US at the end of World War I, Higgins joined the Loew touring circuit, Quintard Gailor Miller's (1895-1979) company, and then the Coleman Brothers' Creole Follies, which opened in 1922 at the Lafayette Theatre in Harlem. Higgins was then recruited by Marcus Levy to take the lead comic role in the 1923 New York show Gold Dust. In 1924, he starred in the revue Cotton Land, with music by James P. Johnson; and in 1929 he appeared in Hot Chocolates, with Louis Armstrong and music by Fats Waller. One of his last shows was The Man From Baltimore in 1934.
Higgins also wrote popular songs, including "There'll Be Some Changes Made", "Early in the Morning", and "Georgia Blues", chiefly collaborating with composer Benton Overstreet. In the 1920s, he recorded several duets with female blues singers, namely Josie Miles, Viola McCoy, Kitty Brown, and Alberta Perkins.
The liner notes on a 1996 2-CD compilation of Josie Miles characterized Higgins' lyrics — singing "A to Z Blues" in a duet recorded in 1924 with Miles — as "a violently bizarre, sadistic of psychological, and economic domination":
Higgins married Ida Stern November 24, 1924, in Manhattan, New York.
Ida Higgins was identified as the wife of Billy Higgins in a filing for a copyright renewal of "There'll Be Some Changes Made" in 1942. Rebecca McCollough, whose relationship to Higgins is not known, also filed for a copyright renewal of "There'll Be Some Changes Made" in 1942.
Note: Some biographical references, notably, the searchable BMI Song Database, incorrectly identify Higgins of this article as William Blackstone. "Blackstone" is the maiden name of the mother of another Billy Higgins (1936–2001) — the late jazz drummer who has no apparent direct relationship to the Higgins of this article. The mother's full maiden name was Anna Bell Marie Blackstone (1903–2001). She was married to Samuel Higgins (1901–1970).