Tag: Edith Wilson and Johnny Dunn’s Original Jazz Hounds

The early 20s was a time of musical ascendancy for black women, who were the first to popularize the blues. Kentucky-born Edith Wilson was an actress and vaudeville performer who joined a Perry Bradford musical revue in NYC in 1921. It was Bradford who helped sign her to Columbia label in 1921 following the explosion of interest in blues records that came after Mamie Smith’s hit “Crazy Blues”.

She recorded 36+ sessions for Columbia from 1921-25, including a number of unissued numbers. Most were with Johnny Dunn’s band – but some sessions were with other performers such as guitarist Roy Smeck or a small combo curated from the Fletcher Henderson orchestra. In 1929 she made a record for both the Brunswick and Victor labels.

Wilson first recorded this Bradford-penned song, Evil Blues, (along with Pensacola Blues) on September 18, but those takes were never issued and no known test pressings have been located. The group came back to the studio on October 2 and new versions under the same matrix numbers were made. One of the instrumental highlights of this take is the band taking a full double-time chorus starting at 1:55 .

I put the lyrics in the subtitles – a few I couldn’t figure out. So add a comment if you think you’ve deciphered any of the lines I couldn’t catch!

Recorded in New York City on October 2, 1922.
Released as Columbia A3746.

Credits
Edith Wilson – vocals
Johnny Dunn (or Gus Aiken?) – cornet
Herb Flemming (or Eugene Bud Aiken?) – trombone
Garvin Bushell – clarinet
Will Tyler – violin
Leroy Tibbs (or Dan Wilson?) – piano
John Mitchell – banjo

Sources:
Jazz and Ragtime Records (1897-1942), 6th Ed, Brian Rust
The Recordings of Edith Wilson: An Annotated Tentative Personnel – Discography, K.B. Rau,
https://www.harlem-fuss.com/pdf/singers/harlem_fuss_singers_wilson_edith.pdf