Mozelle Alderson (November 20, 1904 – February 15, 1994) was an American

classic female blues Classic female blues was an early form of blues music, popular in the 1920s. An amalgam of traditional folk blues and urban theater music, the style is also known as vaudeville blues. Classic blues were performed by female singers accompanied by ...

singer. She recorded a small number of tracks for

Black Patti Records Black Patti Records was a short-lived American record label based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, founded by Mayo Williams in 1927. It was named after the black opera singer Matilda Sissieretta Joyner Jones, who was called Black Patti bec ...

in 1927 and for

Brunswick Records Brunswick Records is an American record label founded in 1916. History 1916–1929 Records under the Brunswick label were first produced by the Brunswick-Balke-Collender Company, a company based in Dubuque, Iowa which had been manufacturing ...

In 1930. Her most regular pianist was Judson Brown. She was a one-time vocalist for the Famous Hokum Boys in 1930 and toured and recorded as a backing vocalist for other blues artists. Alderson used a number of aliases, possibly including Kansas City Kitty, Hannah May, Thelma Holmes, Mae Belle Lee, and Jane Lucas. Little is known of her life outside of her recording career.

Career

She was born Mozelle Fagans in Bedford, Ohio, in 1904. She married and moved to Chicago, Illinois. Alderson recorded three singles released by

in 1927, on which she was accompanied on the six tracks by the pianist Blind James Beck: "Mobile Central Blues", "Tall Man Blues", "Mozelle Blues", "State Street Special", "Sobbin' the Blues" and "Room Rent Blues". She recorded "Tight Whoopee" backed with "Tight in Chicago", released by

in 1930. The pianist Judson Brown accompanied her on the Brunswick recordings. She also recorded for the ARC and Vocalion labels. Harum Scarums, a trio comprising

Big Bill Broonzy Big Bill Broonzy (born Lee Conley Bradley; June 26, 1893 or 1903August 14, 1958) was an American blues singer, songwriter, and guitarist. His career began in the 1920s, when he played country music to mostly African-American audiences. In the 19 ...

, Georgia Tom and Alderson, recorded the two-part "Alabama Scratch" in Grafton, Wisconsin, for

Paramount Records Paramount Records was an American record label known for its recordings of jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey, Tommy Johnson (guitarist), Tommy Johnson and Blind Lemon Jefferson. Early years Paramoun ...

(Paramount 13054) in January 1931, and it was reported that it sounded "as if it was a real party." The self-titled compilation album of the Famous Hokum Boys, issued in 2015 by JSP Records, includes the following in its credits: Mozelle Alderson,

Scrapper Blackwell Francis Hillman "Scrapper" Blackwell (February 21, 1903 – October 7, 1962) was an American blues guitarist and singer, best known as half of the guitar-piano duo he formed with Leroy Carr in the late 1920s and early 1930s. He was a 2024 indu ...

, Big Bill Broonzy, Georgia Tom, Frank Brasswell, Kansas City Kitty, Hannah May, and Arthur Petties. Alderson was widowed by 1941. She married John Slocum in Chicago in 1943. She died in Chicago in 1994, aged 89. Her recordings are available on several compilation albums.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Alderson, Mozelle 1904 births 1994 deaths 20th-century African-American women singers American blues singers Classic female blues singers People from Bedford, Ohio 20th-century American singers Vocalion Records artists Paramount Records artists Brunswick Records artists Singers from Ohio 20th-century American women singers

Career

See also

References