Florence Cole Talbert

Who was Florence Cole Talbert?

Florence Cole Talbert-McCleave was an African-American soprano born in Detroit, Michigan. Her family moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1910, where Talbert was the first African American to attend Los Angeles High School. She subsequently studied at the University of Southern California and in Chicago, Illinois, at the Chicago Musical College in 1916. She began singing in New York City in 1918, and later married a pianist and director named William P. Talbert. In 1924, she traveled to Europe to play in Aïda, and returned to the United States three years later. Talbert was one of the first African-American women to record commercially. In 1919 she recorded three songs for the Broome Special Phonograph label, including "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" and "Villanelle". In 1921 she recorded at least four titles for the new Black Swan label, and in 1924 recorded two additional titles for Paramount Records.

After retirement, Talbert became a singing teacher in Los Angeles, and also composed the words to Delta Sigma Theta's official hymn. She eventually moved to Memphis, Tennessee, and married Dr. Benjamin F. McCleave. She taught in historically black colleges and universities such as Fisk University, Tuskegee University and Rust College. Talbert died in Memphis in 1961.