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Born in Grimes County on January 2, 1883, Robert Thomas Ashford was a prominent businessman. He helped establish the Dallas Negro Chamber of Commerce and promoted, managed, and advocated for African American musicians.
Ashford moved to Dallas in 1910. In 1918, he opened a shoeshine parlor located at 408 N. Central Avenue. In the 1920s, there was a rise in national popularity of music sung by African American artists advertised to African American audiences. Ashford seized upon this business opportunity, and in 1922, he began selling the latest records from northern recording companies. He would transition the shoeshine parlor into the Black Swan Music Shop, Dallas’ first African American-owned record store. Ashford also served as a Paramount Talent scout for the region, bringing to the attention of recording companies many African American musicians, including Blind Lemon Jefferson and Lillian Glinn. Ashford helped Jefferson secure a recording contract with Paramount Records and Glinn with Columbia Records. In 1932, Ashford closed his record store. He left Dallas in 1936.
Although no longer active in the music industry, Ashford’s life after Dallas was significant in its own right. He lived briefly in Oklahoma and Illinois, where he managed a grocery store, before settling in California. Ashford became a teacher and minister within the Nation of Islam and was associated with Temple 26. He was a colleague of Malcolm X and was recognized by the names R.T.X. and Aaron Ali. Ashford passed away on June 24, 1976, in San Francisco, California. Ashford’s contributions to Texas music place him as a seminal figure in Deep Ellum’s history as a music and arts district and in Texas’ influence in North American popular music. (2022) |
