Margaret Johnson was an American blues and early jazz vocalist and pianist. [1]
Johnson's primary era of recording activity as a vocalist was from 1923 to 1927. [2] Prior to this, she had worked in vaudeville. She is best known for her recording of the song, "Dead Drunk Blues". [1] [3] Her main output was released on the Okeh and Victor labels.
She recorded with the harmonica player Bobby Leecan and guitarist Robert Cooksey, playing country blues; she also did several recordings with New Orleans jazz ensembles which included Sidney Bechet, Clarence Williams, Louis Armstrong, Bubber Miley, and Tom Morris. [1] In 1924, she recorded "Absent Minded Blues", which was written by Tom Delaney, and another of his compositions, "Nobody Knows the Way I Feel This Mornin'". [4] She was accompanied by Williams on these recordings. [5] [6] She and Clarence Williams also played with the Jazz Rippers, Buddy Christian's ensemble, although Williams was not credited and Johnson was listed under the name Margaret Carter. Her songs were often humorous and sexually suggestive in tone. [1]
In September 1927, she released one of her final recordings, "Second-Handed Blues" / "Good Woman Blues", on Victor Records. [7] After the late 1920s she ceased to record as a vocalist.
Most of Johnson's 1920s sides were reissued on CD by Document Records. [1]
She is not to be confused with "Countess" Margaret Johnson (1919–1939), who was active primarily in bands in the 1930s. There can be further confusion in that Sara Martin made several recordings using the 'Margaret Johnson' name. [8]
The Original Dixieland Jass Band (ODJB) was a Dixieland jazz band that made the first jazz recordings in early 1917. Their "Livery Stable Blues" became the first jazz record ever issued. The group composed and recorded many jazz standards, the most famous being "Tiger Rag". In late 1917, the spelling of the band's name was changed to Original Dixieland Jazz Band.
Clarence Williams was an American jazz pianist, composer, promoter, vocalist, theatrical producer, and publisher.
This is a list of notable events in music that took place in the year 1923.
Willie Gary "Bunk" Johnson was an American prominent jazz trumpeter in New Orleans. Johnson gave the year of his birth as 1879, although there is speculation that he may have been younger by as much as a decade. Johnson stated on his 1937 application for Social Security that he was born on December 27, 1889. Many jazz historians believe this date of birth to be the most accurate of the various dates Johnson gave throughout his life.
Isham Edgar Jones was an American bandleader, saxophonist, bassist and songwriter.
Clara Smith was an American classic female blues singer, billed as the "Queen of the Moaners", although she had a lighter and sweeter voice than many of her contemporaries. Clara Smith was not related to the singers Bessie Smith and Mamie Smith.
James Columbus "Jay" McShann was an American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader. He led bands in Kansas City, Missouri, that included Charlie Parker, Bernard Anderson, Walter Brown, and Ben Webster.
Seger Pillot Ellis was an American jazz pianist and vocalist. He also made a few brief film appearances, most notably in collaboration with director Ida Lupino.
Sippie Wallace was an American blues singer, pianist and songwriter. Her early career in tent shows gained her the billing "The Texas Nightingale". Between 1923 and 1927, she recorded over 40 songs for Okeh Records, many written by her or her brothers, George and Hersal Thomas. Her accompanists included Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds, Sidney Bechet, King Oliver, and Clarence Williams. Among the top female blues vocalists of her era, Wallace ranked with Ma Rainey, Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, and Bessie Smith.
Eva Taylor was an American blues singer and stage actress.
Sara Martin was an American blues singer, in her time one of the most popular of the classic blues singers. She was billed as "The Famous Moanin' Mama" and "The Colored Sophie Tucker". She made many recordings, including a few under the names Margaret Johnson and Sally Roberts.
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Virginia Liston was an American classic female blues and jazz singer. She spent most of her career in vaudeville. She performed with her husband, Samuel H. Gray, as Liston and Liston. In the 1920s she made a series of recordings that included performances with Clarence Williams and his Blue Five on "You've Got the Right Key, but the Wrong Keyhole" and "Early in the Morning", and with the Clarence Williams Washboard Band on "Cushion Foot Stomp", and "P.D.Q. Blues".
Roger A. Graham was an American lyricist, composer, singer, and music publisher who flourished from 1906 to 1920 — a period that included World War I, the golden age of Tin Pan Alley, the dawn of the Jazz Age (circa 1914), and the silent film era. Graham was a proponent of vaudeville and burlesque songs. But as a lyricist and publisher, Graham is most remembered for having been an exponent of blues songs.
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Katherine Henderson was an American classic female blues singer. Most of her recording sessions took place in Long Island City, New York, in October and November 1928.
Lavinia Turner was an American classic female blues singer. Originally a vaudeville vocalist, Turner recorded 10 songs in 1921 and 1922, making her one of the first female blues singers to be recorded.
Ida May Mack or Ida Mae Mack was an American classic female blues, country blues, and Texas blues singer and songwriter. She recorded eight songs in 1928, four of which she recorded twice. Six of these tracks were released at the time.