Burleigh, << BUR lee, >> Harry Thacker (1866-1949), was a black American composer and singer. He did much to preserve and popularize black folk melodies and was one of the first people to sing black spirituals on the concert stage. Burleigh arranged more than 100 folk songs, including “Deep River” and “Nobody Knows the Trouble I’ve Seen.” He was strongly influenced by the nationalism of the Czech composer Antonin Dvorak. Burleigh was born on Dec. 2, 1866, in Erie, Pennsylvania. He won the Spingarn Medal in 1917. He died on Sept. 12, 1949.
