Edith North Johnson

Edith North Johnson
Birth name Edith North
Also known as Hattie North, Maybelle Allen
Born January 2, 1903
St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Died February 28, 1988(1988-02-28) (aged 85)
St. Louis, Missouri
Genres Classic female blues[1]
Occupation(s) Singer, pianist, songwriter
Instruments Vocals, piano
Years active 1920s–1960s
Labels QRS, Paramount, Folkways

Edith North Johnson (January 2, 1903 – February 28, 1988)[2] was an American classic female blues singer, pianist and songwriter.[1] Her most noted tracks were "Honey Dripper Blues", "Can't Make Another Day" and "Eight Hour Woman".[2] She wrote another of her songs, "Nickel's Worth of Liver Blues".

Biography

Born Edith North, in 1928 she married St. Louis record producer, Jesse Johnson.[1][3] She originally worked at her husband's Deluxe Music Store as a sales person.[4] Although not a professional singer, between 1928 and 1929 Johnson recorded eighteen sides. She started on QRS Records in 1928, later switching to Paramount.[5] Her output tally included those from a recording session in Grafton, Wisconsin, for the Paramount label with Charley Patton. Oddly, it is now reckoned that Patton did not play on any of her recordings.[1]

During World War II, Johnson managed a taxicab operation in St. Louis, as well as later running Johnson's Deluxe Cafė after her husband's death in 1946.[1][3] By 1961, she had returned to recording when Samuel Charters tracked her down. She was accompanied by Henry Brown on Charters' set entitled, The Blues in St. Louis. It was released by Folkways.[1]

Using pseudonyms such as Hattie North (on Vocalion)[6] and Maybelle Allen, Johnson also earlier waxed additional tracks for other small labels.[1] Under the Hattie North name, she recorded "Lovin' That Man Blues" with Count Basie.[7]

Her recording of "Honey Dripper Blues" was the inspiration for the nickname used by Roosevelt Sykes. In her later life, Johnson spent time undertaking social work in her hometown.[8]

Johnson died in St. Louis in February 1988, at the age of 85.[2]

Four of her songs appeared as part of the boxed set, Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton (2001).[9]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Steve Leggett. "Edith North Johnson". AllMusic. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
  2. 1 2 3 Doc Rock. "The 1980s". The Dead Rock Stars Club. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  3. 1 2 Owsley, Dennis (2006). City of Gabriels: the history of jazz in St. Louis, 1895-1973 (1st ed.). St. Louis, Missouri: Reedy Press. pp. 40/1. ISBN 1-933370-04-1.
  4. ↑ Shaw, Arnold (1986). Black Popular Music in America (1st ed.). London, England: Schirmer Books. p. 105. ISBN 0-02-872310-4.
  5. ↑ Wyman, Bill (2001). Bill Wyman's blues odyssey (1st ed.). London: DK Publishing. p. 95. ISBN 0-7894-8046-8.
  6. ↑ Sutton, Allan (2005). Pseudonyms on American records, 1892-1942 (2nd ed.). Michigan: Mainspring Press. p. 243. ISBN 0-9671819-9-2.
  7. ↑ "Lovin' That Man Blues - Count Basie,Hattie North | Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-10-02.
  8. ↑ Oliver, Paul (1997). Conversation with the blues (2nd ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 184. ISBN 0-521-59181-3.
  9. ↑ Unterberger, Richie. "Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues > Review". AllMusic. Retrieved September 26, 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, October 02, 2015. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.