Bessie Brown (Cleveland
(Ohio), 1895 - ?, 1955), ook bekend als the
original Bessie Brown, was een Amerikaanse blues- en jazzzangeres. In de jaren twintig trad
ze in meerdere revues op als zangeres en in
een travestie-act (zoals 'Moonshine Revue', 'the Whirl of Joy' en
'Dark-Town Frolics'). In 1925 kwam haar eerste plaat bij Pathé uit,
'Them Has Been Blues'. Tot 1929 zouden er nog meer volgen, op
verschillende labels, waarbij ze werd begeleid door mannen uit de
groepen van pianist Clarence Williams of Fletcher Henderson. Enkele
namen: Rex Stewart, Coleman Hawkins, Buster Bailey, Henderson en
Williams. De platen werden onder verschillende namen uitgebracht:
Caroline Lee, Mandy Lee, Sadie Green en, zelfs, Rosa Henderson. Bessie
Brown had een diepe stem en zong zoals Sophie Tucker. Ze moet niet
worden verward met een andere Bessie Brown, een blueszangeres die
duetten opnam met George Williams.
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. 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. 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.
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).
She left the music industry in 1932 and married Clarence Shaw in the
early 1930s. She had one child, Helen Smith Mcreynolds, from her first
marriage. She died of a heart attack in 1955.
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.