Bessie Brown - Life and Career

Life and Career

Brown was born in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. She recorded between the dates of November 10, 1925 and April 1, 1929. Her concurrent vaudeville career, saw her appear sometimes as a male impersonator. She also appeared in revues including Moonshine Revue, The Whirl Of Joy and Dark-Town Frolics. In addition, Brown took to the stage as a cabaret performer, primarily on the East Coast. On her recordings she sang in a deepened tone, without any notable African American dialect. Thus, to more than one commentator, her style was similar to Sophie Tucker.

Her recordings saw Brown backed by some of the best Harlem based musicians of the time. These included Thomas Morris and Rex Stewart (cornet); Charlie Irvis and Charlie Green (trombone); Coleman Hawkins and Buster Bailey (saxophone); Buddy Christian and Clarence Holiday (banjo); plus Porter Grainger, Clarence Williams and Fletcher Henderson (piano).

She left the music industry in 1932, and married Clarence Shaw in the early 1930s. She had three children, before dying of a heart attack in 1955.

The bulk of her known recorded work, Complete Recorded Works (1925-29), was made available in 1996 by Document Records. Somewhat confusingly, the compilation album also included four October 1929 recordings by the unrelated comedienne, Eliza "Liza" Brown.