Elzadie Robinson
Elzadie Robinson (possibly April 24, 1897 – January 17, 1975)[2] was an American classic female blues singer and songwriter. She recorded 34 songs between 1926 and 1929.[3] Unusually for the time, she composed or co-composed most of her work. Few details of her life outside the recording studio are known.
Elzadie Robinson | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Elzadie Wallace |
| Also known as | Bernice Drake Blanche Johnson Elzadie Henderson |
| Born | April 24, 1897 (or 1900) Logansport, DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, United States |
| Died | January 17, 1975 (age 74–77) Flint, Michigan, United States |
| Genres | Classic female blues[1] |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1926–1929 |
| Labels | Paramount, Broadway |
AllMusic noted that "Robinson was a second-level blues singer whose voice seemed to get stronger with time".[4]
Biography
The music researchers Bob Eagle and Eric S. LeBlanc suggest that she was born Elzadie Wallace in Logansport, DeSoto Parish, Louisiana, in 1897, but 1900 is also possible.[2]
She relocated to Chicago to make her recordings and remained in the city for some while thereafter. Her recordings were made between 1926 and 1929. Robinson had different piano accompanists over that period, including Bob Call and her most regular accompanist, William Ezell.[5] Songs most associated with them are "Barrelhouse Man", "Sawmill Blues" and the Ezell-penned number, "Arkansas Mill Blues", which related the grim reality of lumber camp work and conditions.[5] Robinson chiefly recorded for Paramount Records but also cut several sides for Broadway Records using the alias Bernice Drake.[1] On two of her recordings, the pianist Bob Call or the guitarist Johnny St. Cyr replaced Ezell, and on two occasions in 1926, B. T. Wingfield or Shirley Clay played the cornet, with either Tiny Parham or Richard M. Jones on the piano. In 1928, she was backed by the clarinetist Johnny Dodds, the guitarist Blind Blake and either the pianist Jimmy Blythe or Jimmy Bertrand on xylophone.[3]
To add to the variation, two of her sides ("Galveston Blues" and "2:16 Blues") were released under the name of Blanche Johnson, another pseudonym.[6]
Little is known of her life after her recording career ended.[1] She is thought to have married Perry Henderson in Flint, Michigan, in 1928, and to have died there in 1975.[2]
In 1994, Document Records issued two anthologies incorporating all of her known recorded work.[3][4]
Discography
78 rpm singles - Paramount Records
| 12417 | "Barrel House Man" | October 1926 |
| 12417 | "Saw Mill Blues" | October 1926 |
| 12420 | "Houston Bound" | October 1926 |
| 12420 | "Humming Blues" | October 1926 |
| 12469 | "Baltimore Blues" | March 1927 |
| 12469 | "Troubled With The Blues" | March 1927 |
| 12509 | "Back Door Blues" | July 1927 |
| 12509 | "Whiskey Blues" | July 1927 |
| 12544 | "Tick Tock Blues" | October 1927 |
| 12544 | "Hour Behind the Gun" | October 1927 |
| 12573 | "Santa Claus Crave" | November 1927 |
| 12573 | "St Louis Cyclone Blues" | November 1927 |
| 12627 | "You Ain't the Last Man" | March 1928 |
| 12627 | "Love Crazy Blues" | March 1928 |
| 12635 | "Pay Day Daddy Blues" | April 1928 |
| 12635 | "Elzadie Policy Blues" | April 1928 |
| 12573 | "Santa Claus Crave" | November 1927 |
| 12573 | "St Louis Cyclone Blues" | November 1927 |
| 12627 | "You Ain't the Last Man" | March 1928 |
| 12627 | "Love Crazy Blues" | March 1928 |
| 12635 | "Pay Day Daddy Blues" | April 1928 |
| 12635 | "Elzadie Policy Blues" | April 1928 |
| 12676 | "Mad Blues" | June 1928 |
| 12676 | "Pleading Misery Blues" | June 1928 |
| 12689 | "Wicked Daddy" | July 1928 |
| 12689 | "It's Too Late Now" | July 1928 |
| 12701 | "Arkansas Mill Blues" | October 1928 |
| 12701 | "Gold Mansion Blues" | October 1928 |
| 12724 | "Going South Blues" | October 1928 |
| 12724 | "Rowdy Man Blues" | October 1928 |
| 12745A | "Unsatisfied Blues" | October 1928 |
| 12745B | "Need My Lovin' - Need My Daddy" | October 1928 |
| 12768A | "Cheatin' Daddy" | March 1929 |
| 12768B | "This is Your Last Night With Me" | March 1929 |
| 12795 | "My Pullman Porter Man" | March 1929 |
| 12795B | "I Ain't Got Nobody" | March 1929 |
| 12900A | "Driving Me South" | March 1929 |
| 12900B | "Past and Future Blues" | March 1929 |
78 rpm singles - Broadway Records
| 5006 | As Bernice Drake | "Humming Blues" | September 1926 |
| 5006 | As Bernice Drake | "Houston Bound" | October 1926 |
| 5037 | As Bernice Drake | "Sawmill Blues" | October 1926 |
| 5037 | As Bernice Drake | "Barrel House Man" | October 1926 |
| 5038 | As Bernice Drake | "Whiskey Blues" (736) | July 1927 |
| 5038 | As Bernice Drake | "Back Door Blues" (735) | July 1927 |
See also
References
- Layne, Joslyn. "Elzadie Robinson: Biography". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- Eagle, Bob; LeBlanc, Eric S. (2013). Blues: A Regional Experience. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger. pp. 302–303. ISBN 978-0313344237.
- Yanow, Scott Yanow (1994-07-12). "Elzadie Robinson, Complete Works, Vol. 1 (1926–1928): Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- Yanow, Scott (1994-07-12). "Elzadie Robinson, Complete Works, Vol. 2 (1928–1929): Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- Giles Oakley (1997). The Devil's Music. Da Capo Press. p. 73/4. ISBN 978-0-306-80743-5.
- "Elzadie Robinson [Blanche Johnson] Complete Works, Vol. 1: Galveston Blues". Artistdirect.com. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
- "Illustrated Will Ezell Discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved 2020-11-02.