"Razors in the Air" is a minstrel-era song composed by William H. Kennedy. The sheet music was published by the Oliver Ditson Company in Boston in 1880. The sheet music states that it was performed by Barry Maxwell and the Haverly Mastodon Minstrels. The phrase "Hoe the corn, Moses" that ends each verse turns up in a breakdown usually named "Moses, Hoe the Corn".
This version follows the sheet music but I have transposed it from Bb to G.
The song seems to be setup for a call and response prsentation where a soloist sings the leading phrase followed by a response from the minstrel group.
William Henry Kennedy was an American ventriloquist and songwriter was born ca. 1846 in Manchester, UK and died January 3, 1894 in Brooklyn, NY, USA). Kennedy, who went by Harry Kennedy, was a famous ventriloquist who wrote a book about his art, How to Become a Ventriloquist. After starting out as a sailor, he began his ventriloquist career in 1871 in Montreal, Canada. In 1874, he relocated to New York City. Starting in 1871, he began to write songs as well, many of them published by his own music publishing business, the Kennedy Publishing House in Brooklyn, NY. He wrote more than 200 songs. Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels was a blackface minstrel troupe created in 1877, when J. H. Haverly merged four of the companies he owned and managed.
Haverly advertised the Mastodons in broadsides, newspapers, and playbills:
"FORTY—COUNT 'EM—40—FORTY—HAVERLY'S UNITED MASTODON MINSTRELS".
The Mastodons entered every new town in two columns, spread out as far as possible and led by a brass band. Haverly's United Mastodon Minstrels saw great success and they had a important impact on minstrelsy.
The song was recorded by Harry C. Browne And Peerless Quartette in 1920.
A version with altered lyrics and melody was recorded by the Kingston Trio on Goin' Places (1961).