Bessie Brown

Brown was born in Marysville, Ohio. She recorded between November 10, 1925, and April 1, 1929. In her concurrent vaudeville career, she sometimes performed as a male impersonator.^[3] She also appeared in revues, including Moonshine Revue, The Whirl of Joy and Dark-Town Frolics, and on the stage as a cabaret performer, primarily on the East Coast.^[1] 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 that of Sophie Tucker.^[3][4]

On her recordings Brown was backed by some of the best Harlem-based musicians of the time, including Thomas Morris and Rex Stewart (cornet); Charlie Irvis and Charlie Green (trombone); Coleman Hawkins and Buster Bailey (saxophone); Buddy Christian and Clarence Holiday (banjo); and Porter Grainger, Clarence Williams and Fletcher Henderson (piano).^[3]

She left the music industry in 1932^[1] and married Clarence Shaw in the early 1930s. She had one child, Helen Smith Mcreynolds, from her first marriage. Brown died of a heart attack, aged 65, in 1955.^[1]

The bulk of her known recorded work was issued as a compilation album, Complete Recorded Works (1925–29), by Document Records in 1996. The album also includes four October 1929 recordings by the unrelated comedian Eliza "Liza" Brown.^[3]