The Black Swan Phonograph corporation was probably named for a 19th century African-American concert singer, Elizabeth Taylor Greenfield, who toured American and Europe billed as the "Black Swan." The company was initially very successful, and, in 1922, was able to buy out the Olympic Disc Record Company, which catalogued works by both white and black artists.

At one point Black Swan was issuing up to 10 recordings a month, at prices of seventy-five cents for popular tunes and one dollar for their Classic Red Label series. The Red Label series included recordings by Antoinette Gaines, billed as "The First Grand Opera Record Ever Made by a Colored Singer." However, there was a great deal of competition among record companies, and in 1924 Black Swan merged with the Paramount Company, although they continued to issue the Black Swan catalog. The photo is of Fletcher Henderson, a Black Swan bandleader and recording artist.

"Shuffle Along," the first of a popular series of musicals featuring all African-American casts, opens in May 1921 at the 63rd Street Music Hall in New York City. The musical is written by Noble Sissle and Eubie Blake and features Florence Mills and a young Josephine Baker in the chorus. William Grant Still and Hall Johnson play in the orchestra.