Aubrey Lyles

Who was Aubrey Lyles?

Aubrey Lyles was an African American songwriter, lyricist, and vaudeville performer, appearing with F. E. Miller as Miller and Lyles. He attended Fisk University as a medical student, and met Miller there in 1906.

From 1906 to 1909, Miller and Lyles performed with the "Pekin Theater Stock Company" in Chicago with other stock company members such as Harry Lawrence Freeman. Miller and Lyles then performed on the vaudeville circuit for many years. In 1915, they appeared in André Charlot's production Charlot's Revue in England, and upon their return to the U.S., appeared in Darkydom with Abbie Mitchell.

In 1921, Lyles and Miller wrote the book for Shuffle Along, a Broadway musical with music by Eubie Blake and lyrics by Noble Sissle. Also in 1921, Orlando Kellum made a short film with Miller and Lyles performing their song "De Ducks" in Kellum's short-lived Photokinema sound-on-disc process.

Miller and Lyles worked on another Broadway production was Runnin' Wild. Lyles broke up the act in 1929, but they reunited briefly in 1932, trying to put together a new show Shuffle Along of 1933.