Concerts
Coast to Coast:
“Where Is Dis Road A-leadin’ Me To?”
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The
next few years would take Ruby from coast to coast,
performing everywhere from concert halls to night clubs—and
even the White House! In January 1937, Ruby began with
a triumphant return to The Ohio State University for
a sold-out concert at University Hall. Later that year,
she debuted as a headliner at Harlem’s Apollo
Theatre. She also guest starred and sang “Summertime”
on NBC’s highest-rated variety series, Town
Hall Tonight, hosted by Fred Allen.
 Shocked
to hear the news of George Gershwin’s death in
July 1937, due to a brain tumor at age 38, Ruby Elzy
joined other members of the cast of Porgy and Bess
in a Gershwin tribute concert at the Hollywood Bowl,
with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. On this first visit
to the west coast, Ruby fell in love with California’s
climate, which reminded her more of her Mississippi
home than cold, wet New York City did.
Yet Ruby
returned to the East Coast, at least for a while, to
add her name to the list of acclaimed singers who made
their New York solo debuts at New York City’s
Town Hall. The night after Ruby’s October concert,
Isaac Stern made his Town Hall debut; he was then a
17-year-old Russian prodigy. The New York critics, toughest
of all, were receptive and appreciative to Ruby. In
December she accepted one of her highest honors, singing
at the White House by invitation of First Lady Eleanor
Roosevelt.
 In
1938 Ruby returned to California when she played Serena
in the first West Coast production of Porgy and
Bess in Pasadena, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.
She remained in California after the show closed, appearing
in small roles in films for MGM and RKO. In July she
took the starring role of Ella Jones in the Hall Johnson
musical Run Little Chillun, presented by the
Federal Theatre Project. This successful musical ran
for over 300 performances.
 In
November 1939, Ruby returned to New York City for the
first time in almost two years to star, opposite Paul
Robeson once again, in the musical John Henry.
Despite acclaim for Robeson and Elzy, the production
closed after only seven performances. The opening week
of the ill-fated John Henry, the five-story
building at Rust College where Dr. McCracken had heard
Ruby singing burned to the ground, destroying most of
the records on Ruby Elzy kept there.
After the
John Henry letdown, Ruby returned to California.
In 1940 she made her first and only commercial recording
with Decca, singing “Where Is Dis Road A-leadin’
Me To?” from an original work by Harold Arlen
entitled "Reverend Johnson’s Dream."
Concurrent
Noteworthy Events
1938
• Artist Jackson Pollack begins work for the Federal
Art Project.
1939
• Marian Anderson sings her famous concert from
the Lincoln Memorial on Easter Sunday in Washington,
D.C., and more than 5,000 people attend.
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