Rice had made the Jim Crow character his signature act by 1832. Rice went from one theater to another, singing his Jim Crow Song. He became known as "Jim Crow Rice". There had been other blackface performers before Rice, however it was Rice who became so indelibly associated with a single character. Rice claimed to have been inspired by a crippled black stable groom, who sang and danced as he did his work, and even claimed to have bought the man's clothes for "authenticity." The time, place and truth of this claim have been disputed.