Bessie Brown & Liza Brown

"The Original" Bessie Brown is believed to have been born in Cleveland, Ohio in 1895. Unlike her nemesis, the Bessie Brown who recorded Blues duets with George Williams, "The Original" Bessie Brown was a solo act and worked for a time as a male impersonator. She had a deep voice, and belted out her blues in a manner similar to that of "Red Hot Mama" Sophie Tucker. "The Original" Bessie Brown began her recording career at Pathé in November, 1925 with "Them Has Been Blues". All of her 24 selections were recorded either for the Plaza Group of labels or for Brunswick, and she had excellent help, her accompanists being (aside from unknown pianists) either drawn from Clarence Williams' "Blue" Groups or from the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. After she cut her last selections for Brunswick around April Fool's Day, 1929, "The Original" Bessie Brown is no longer heard from in terms of records or otherwise, although she is said to have married entertainer Clarence Shaw in the early 1930s, and subsequently retired from show business. Some of "The Original" Bessie Brown's recordings were issued under pseudonyms Caroline Lee, Mandy Lee and Sadie Green, names also used for a similar sounding white vocalist, Vaughn de Leath. One record by Bessie Brown was even issued as being by Rosa Henderson!