Dorothea Trowbridge (born c. 1914),
first name also spelled Dorthea,
Doretha, was an American
blues
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spiritual (music), spirituals, work songs, field hollers, Ring shout, shouts, cha ...
singer active in
St. Louis
St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a populatio ...
in the 1930s. A few recordings by her remain, at least one of which includes lyrics on the theme of "grinding".
Career
Trowbridge is thought to have been born in
Dublin, Georgia
Dublin is a city and county seat of Laurens County, Georgia, United States. The population was 16,074 at the 2020 census.
History
The City of Dublin, Georgia was incorporated by the Georgia General Assembly on December 9, 1812, and made the c ...
.
She became a singer in St. Louis in the early 1930s, and she was taken to Chicago in 1933 to record a number of songs.
One of her recording sessions was with
James "Stump" Johnson on August 2, 1933,
during which she recorded a version of the raunchy "Steady Grinding".
It is likely that she is identical with Dorothy Baker,
who recorded the song "Steady Grinding Blues" with
Roosevelt Sykes
Roosevelt Sykes (January 31, 1906July 17, 1983) was an American blues musician, also known as "the Honeydripper".
Career
Sykes was born the son of a musician in Elmar, Arkansas. "Just a little old sawmill town", Sykes said of his birthplace. The ...
[ in 1930 and/or 1934 (Decca 7080).
She is credited for the words and music of the song "Bad Luck Blues", which she recorded in 1933; it is registered in the US Copyright Catalog for January 24, 1935.
In his memoir, ]Henry Townsend Henry Townsend may refer to:
* Henry Townsend (Norwich) (1626–1695), early American colonist born in Norwich, Norfolk, England
* Henry Townsend (Oyster Bay) (1649–1703), American colonist born in Oyster Bay
* Henry Townsend (missionary) (1815†...
recalled that she was at one time the girlfriend of pianist Roosevelt Sykes and that she got to record through Sykes, or possibly through Jesse Johnson, the brother of "Stump" Johnson; he also mentioned that in the early 1930s she was singing in many places around town, and had recorded with St. Louis pianist Pinetop Sparks ("Slavin' Mama Blues").
Recordings
*August 2, 1933, Chicago: "Grinding Blues", with James "Stump" Johnson, Bluebird
The bluebirds are a North American group of medium-sized, mostly insectivorous or omnivorous passerine birds in the genus ''Sialia'' of the thrush family (Turdidae). Bluebirds are one of the few thrush genera in the Americas.
Bluebirds lay an ...
B-5159[
*August 2, 1933, Chicago: "Slavin' Mama Blues"/"Bad Luck Blues", with Pinetop Sparks, Bluebird 5431][
*1933: "Bad Luck Blues", with Pinetop Sparks]
See also
*St. Louis blues (music)
Blues is a music genre and musical form that originated among African Americans in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues has incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrat ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Trowbridge, Dorothea
1910s births
Year of birth uncertain
Possibly living people
American blues singers
American women singers
St. Louis blues musicians
Bluebird Records artists