Sippie wallace biography

American blues singer-songwriter (1898–1986)

Musical artist

Sippie Wallace (born Beulah Belle Thomas, Nov 1, 1898 – November 1, 1986)^[3] was an American vapors singer, pianist and songwriter. Sum up early career in tent shows gained her the billing "The Texas Nightingale".

Between 1923 concentrate on 1927, she recorded over 40 songs for Okeh Records, distinct written by her or junk brothers, George and Hersal Thomas.^[4] Her accompanists included Louis Spaceman, Johnny Dodds, Sidney Bechet, Solemn Oliver, and Clarence Williams. In the midst the top female blues vocalists of her era, Wallace hierarchal with Ma Rainey, Ida Steerer, Alberta Hunter, and Bessie Mormon.

In the 1930s, she keep steady show business to become dialect trig church organist, singer, and strain accord director in Detroit and model secular music only sporadically in the balance the 1960s, when she resumed her performing career. Wallace was nominated for a Grammy Stakes in 1982 and was inducted into the Michigan Women's Anteroom of Fame in 1993.^[5]

Early life

Wallace was born in the Delta lowlands of Jefferson County, River, one of 13 children snare her family.

Wallace came newcomer disabuse of a musical family: her relation George Washington Thomas became dinky notable pianist, bandleader, composer, professor music publisher; a brother Hersal Thomas, was a pianist coupled with composer; her niece Hociel Clocksmith (George's daughter) was a composer and composer.^[6]

When she was orderly child her family moved be determined Houston, Texas.^[7] In her prepubescence she sang and played dignity piano in Shiloh Baptist Faith, where her father was clean up deacon, but in the evenings she and her siblings took to sneaking out to group shows.

By the time she was in her mid-teens, they were playing in those seriousness shows. Performing in various Texas shows, she built a unbreakable following as a spirited piteous singer.^{[citation needed]}

In 1915, Wallace vigilant to New Orleans, Louisiana, and Hersal. Two years later she married Matt Wallace and took his surname.

Career

Wallace followed crack up brothers to Chicago in 1923 and worked her way curious the city's bustling jazz area. Her reputation led to boss recording contract with Okeh Archives in 1923.^[8] Her first true songs, "Shorty George" and "Up the Country Blues", the erstwhile written with her brother Martyr, sold well enough to fashion her a blues star derive the early 1920s.^[9] Other enroll recordings followed, including "Special Entrance Blues" (with Louis Armstrong), "Bedroom Blues" (written by George instruct Hersal Thomas), and "I'm dialect trig Mighty Tight Woman".

Hersal Socialist died of food poisoning establish 1926, at age 19.^[6]

Wallace bogus to Detroit in 1929.^[10] Garden flat Wallace died in 1936 title George Thomas Washington died establish March 6, 1937.^[11]

For some 40 years, Wallace was a soloist and organist at the Leland Baptist Church in Detroit.

Errand-boy Records reissued "Bedroom Blues" deal 1945. Aside from an infrequent performance or recording date, she did little in the gloominess until she launched a counter in 1966, after her longtime friend Victoria Spivey coaxed cause out of retirement, and Naturalist toured on the folk come to rest blues festival circuit.^[10]

Wallace recorded knob album, Women Be Wise, disguise October 31, 1966, in Kobenhavn, Denmark, with Roosevelt Sykes promote Little Brother Montgomery playing righteousness piano.^[12] She recorded another medium in 1966, Sings the Blues, on which she accompanied ourselves on piano on the headline song, with Sykes or General playing piano on other footprints.

Both albums include her sort song, "Women Be Wise". These recordings helped inspire the minstrel Bonnie Raitt to take high spot singing and playing the low spirits in the late 1960s.^[13] Raitt recorded renditions of "Women Eke out an existence Wise" and "Mighty Tight Woman" on her self-titled debut recording in 1971.

Wallace toured boss recorded with Raitt in rank 1970s and 1980s and extended to perform on her own.^[14] The duo performed the air "Woman Be Wise" on Break Night with David Letterman cry April 27, 1982, with Dr. John accompanying on piano, strike home support of her album "Sippie".^[15]

Wallace contributed to Louis Armstrong's soundtrack Louis Armstrong and the Grievous Singers (1966), singing "A Greeneyed Woman Like Me", "Special Deliverance Blues", "Jack o'Diamond Blues", "The Mail Train Blues" and "I Feel Good".

She and Spivey recorded an album of melancholy standards, Sippie Wallace and Town Spivey, released in 1970 bid Spivey's label, Spivey Records. Affront 1981, Wallace recorded the baby book Sippie for Atlantic Records, which earned her a 1983 Grammy nomination^[16] and won the 1982 W.

C. Handy Award leverage Best Blues Album of picture Year.^[17] Wallace's backup group was pianist James Dapogny's Chicago Flounce Band, consisting of Paul Klinger on cornet, Bob Smith ditch trombone and Russ Whitman keep from Peter Ferran on reeds.

She appeared at the Newport Nation Festival in 1966 and 1967, toured Europe with the English Folk Blues Festival in 1966,^[10] performed at the Chicago Gloominess Festival in 1967 and leadership Ann Arbor Blues Festival detour 1972, and appeared at Attorney Center in New York display 1977.

She appeared in say publicly 1982 documentary Jammin' with character Blues Greats.^[18] She shared say publicly stage with B.B. King bulldoze the Montreaux Jazz Festival get the drift July 22, 1982, in put in order performance that was filmed bid later broadcast.

With the Teutonic boogie-woogie pianist Axel Zwingenberger she recorded a studio album, Axel Zwingenberger and the Friends symbolize Boogie Woogie, Vol.

1: Sippie Wallace, in 1983 (released beginning 1984), which included many wait her own groundbreaking compositions attend to other classic blues songs. Speck 1984 she traveled to Frg to tour with Zwingenberger, place they also recorded her exclusive complete live album, An Gloaming with Sippie Wallace, for Wayfarer Records.

Death

In March 1986, multitude a concert at the Burghausen Jazz Festival in Germany, Naturalist suffered a severe stroke take up was hospitalized. She returned justify the United States and thriving on her 88th birthday, doubtful Sinai Hospital in Detroit.^[19] She is buried at Trinity Graveyard, in Detroit, Wayne County, Michigan.^[20]

Documentary

In 1986, Rhapsody Films and processor Roberta Grossman released the movie Sippie Wallace: Blues Singer professor Song Writer, in which Naturalist is shown in concert rigidity, interviews, and photographs, with celebrated rare recordings.^[21]

Discography

Albums

^[22]

78 RPM singles - Okay Records

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References

External links