Two great songs from the 1927 musical Showboat, by Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II.
"Can't Help Loving That Man of Mine"
"Ol' Man River"
--from wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show_Boat
"Can't Help Loving That Man of Mine"
"Ol' Man River"
Quote:Show Boat boldly portrayed racial issues and was the first racially integrated musical, in that both black and white performers appeared and sang on stage together.[43] Ziegfeld’sFollies featured solo African American performers such as Bert Williams, but would not have included a black woman in the chorus. Show Boat was structured with two choruses – a black chorus and a white chorus. One commentator noted that "Hammerstein uses the African-American chorus as essentially a Greek chorus, providing clear commentary on the proceedings, whereas the white choruses sing of the not-quite-real."[44] In Show Boat Jerome Kern used the AABA-chorus form exclusively in songs sung by African American characters (Ole Man River, Can't Help Lovin' dat Man), a form that later would be regarded as typical of 'white' popular music.[45]
Show Boat was the first Broadway musical to seriously depict an interracial marriage, as in Ferber's original novel, and to feature a character of mixed race who was "passing" for white.
--from wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Show_Boat