George W. Johnson, the first African American to sing on Record, was discovered singing and whistling on a Street Corner in New York City back in 1890, and his first recording session quickly followed. For the first 7 years of his recording history, his two fantastically popular song hits, "The Laughing Song" and the Whistling Coon were among the best sellers of the early to mid 1890's. In 1897 he added "The Laughing Coon" to his recording selections, and recorded it on Edison Brown Wax Cylinder 4005 in 1898. Here is that same 1898 recording, featured here on an Edison 2 minute Gold Moulded Record from about 1903-04. The Edison Amberola Phonograph shown here is a 1910 Model 1A, in beautiful Mission Oak, and featuring the early style Rococo Grill and "M" combination 2/4 minute reproducer.
![](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/7LFllRqMhdQ/mqdefault.jpg)