Hazel Meyers

Hazel Meyers
Born Unknown
Died Unknown
Genres Classic female blues, country blues[1]
Occupation(s) Singer
Instruments Vocals
Years active 1920s–1930s
Labels Ajax, Brunswick, Okeh, various

Hazel Meyers was an American classic female blues and country blues singer. She spent most of her career in black vaudeville, although on recordings she was billed as a blues artist.[1] Her more famous numbers included "Heartbreaking Blues" and "Blackville After Dark", both sung in her contralto voice.[2]

Biography

Meyers' recording career composed of a total of forty-one sides, the majority waxed between September 1923 and August 1924. She saw her output released by several record labels, including Ajax, Brunswick (issued under the Vocalion banner) Pathė, Banner, Bell, and Emerson, with her final couple of releases appearing on Okeh in June 1926.[1] Meyers had gramophone record releases on six different labels in 1924.[3] Her accompanists variously included Fletcher Henderson, Porter Grainger, James "Bubber" Miley, Leslie "Hutch" Henderson and Don Redman, plus on one recording, Fats Waller.[1] Meyers' tracks included the first female vaudeville artist recording of the satirical song, "Black Star Line", released in May 1924. The song was recorded by both Meyers and Rosa Henderson within a twenty-four-hour period.[4]

One source speculated that Meyers also recorded under the pseudonyms of Mae Harris for Domino, and Louella Smith for Oriole.[5]

Meyers appeared in vaudeville throughout the 1920s. Detailed information is not available, but she did appear in Steppin' High, a variety show staged in Harlem, New York, where she was backed by the orchestra of Fletcher Henderson. More generally, she is believed to have made regular appearances in the theater until the early 1930s.[1]

However, little is known of life outside of her professional engagements.[1]

Meyers entire recorded work was made available in 1996 by Document Records.[6][7]

Compilation discography

Year Title Record label
1996 Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1923-24) Document
1996 Edna Hicks - Hazel Meyers - Laura Smith Vol. 2 (1923-1927)Document

[6][7]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Uncle Dave Lewis. "Hazel Meyers | Biography & History". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  2. ↑ Duval Harrison, Daphne (1988). Black Pearls: Blues Queens of the 1920s (4th ed.). New Brunswick, New Jersey: Rutgers University Press. p. 59. ISBN 0-8135-1279-4.
  3. ↑ Oliver, Paul (1970). Yonder come the blues: the evolution of a genre (1st ed.). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press. p. 262. ISBN 0-521-78259-7.
  4. ↑ Springer, Robert (2006). Nobody Knows Where the Blues Come from: Lyrics and History (1st ed.). Jackson, Mississippi: The University Press of Mississippi. p. 198. ISBN 1-57806-797-9.
  5. ↑ Sutton, Allan (1993). A Guide to pseudonyms on American records, 1892-1942 (1st ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. pp. 22 & 44. ISBN 0-313-29060-1.
  6. 1 2 arwulf arwulf (1996-05-14). "Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1923-24) - Hazel Meyers | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
  7. 1 2 Scott Yanow. "Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1923-27) - Edna Hicks | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 2015-10-03.
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