Well, Cheryl Black, an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre, University of Missouri at Columbia, recently discovered a 1930 newspaper article by Edward G. Perry about Ella Robinson Madison and forwarded it to my cousin Jonathon Zorach who then passed it on to my mother, Dahlov (Zorach) Ipcar, and myself. Now we know a lot more about her extensive 19th century theatrical and musical career. What's relevant to this thread is that this song was what Ella, at the age of 72, sang in her audition for a new play by Dubose and Dorothy Heyward called "Porgy" in 1927. Not only was she hired on the spot but this song was incorporated into the play at the Guild Theatre; for the play this song may have been renamed "All the Gold in the Mountain."

After a successful year on Broadway, "Porgy" toured Europe for 3 months in 1929. For Ella, it was her 10th tour of Europe and she took great joy in returning to the theater, and being a "Mother" to every member of the cast. In the spring of 1930, "Porgy" was ending its long run, to be later adapted as the well-known musical "Porgy & Bess" by George Gerswin.

Cheerily,
Charley Noble