Viola Bartlette was an American blues singer[1] and actress,[2] who recorded on Black Swan Records and Paramount Records. She was from Baltimore.[3] Bartlette recorded under the pseudonym Ida Lewis for Silvertone Records.[4]

She often was a backup singer for Lovie Austin[5] and accompanied Lovie Austin's Blue Serenaders band and Blythe's Sinful Five on records.[6] Johnny Dodds accompanied Bartlette on recordings made in the 1920s. Clarinetist Jimmy O'Bryant backed her on session recordings during 1923 to 1926. She also recorded with Kid Ory.[1]

Discography

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  • "Tennessee Blues" (1925)[7]
  • "Go Back Where You Stayed Last Night" (1925) by Lovie Austin's Blue Serenaders[6][8]
  • "Walk Easy 'Cause My Papa's Here" (1926), by Viola Bartlette with Cobb's Paramount Syncopators, Paramount[9]
  • "Shake That Thing" (1926) written by Papa Charlie Jackson[8][10]
  • "Anna Mina Forty And St. Louis Shorty" (1926) by Jimmy Blythe / Blythe's Sinful Five[6]
  • "Quit Knocking on My Door" (1926) by Blythe's Sinful Five[6]
  • "Sunday Morning Blues" (1926)[9]
  • "You Don't Mean Me No Good" (1926)[9]
  • "Out Bound Train Blues" (1926)[9]
  • "You Can Never Tell When Your Perfectly Good Man Will Do" (1926) by Viola Bartlette with Punch Miller[11]

References

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  1. ^ a b Yanow, Scott (2001). Classic Jazz. Backbeat Books. pp. 68, 176. ISBN 978-0-87930-659-5. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  2. ^ "Local Girl Recording". Baltimore Afro-American. September 11, 1926. p. 5. ProQuest 530641570. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  3. ^ Currin, Grayson (November 22, 2013). "Various Artists: The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records, Volume One (1917-1932)". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  4. ^ Sutton, Allan (1993). A Guide to pseudonyms on American records, 1892-1942. Greenwood Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-313-29060-2. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  5. ^ The Harlem Renaissance: a historical dictionary for the era. Greenwood Press. 1984. ISBN 978-0-313-23232-9. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c d Dixon, Robert M. W. (1982). Blues & gospel records, 1902-1943. Storyville Publications. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-902391-03-1. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  7. ^ Eagle, Bob (2004). "Directory of African-Appalachian Musicians". Black Music Research Journal. 24 (1): 50. doi:10.2307/4145499. ISSN 0276-3605. JSTOR 4145499. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  8. ^ a b "Stomp Off Records Index" (PDF). Stompoff.dickbaker.org. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  9. ^ a b c d "Illustrated Blind Blake discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  10. ^ Nick Tosches (1 August 2009). Where Dead Voices Gather. Little, Brown. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-316-07714-9.
  11. ^ "Illustrated Herwin Records discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved June 15, 2023.