Sara Martin (June 18, 1884 – May 24, 1955) 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 Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define singi ...

, in her time one of the most popular of the classic blues singers. She was billed as "The Famous Moanin' Mama" and "The Colored Sophie Tucker". She made many recordings, including a few under the names Margaret Johnson and Sally Roberts.

Biography

Martin was born Sara Dunn in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

, and was singing on the

African-American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from any of the Black racial groups of Africa. ...

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

circuit by 1915.Harris 1994, p. 350. She was the daughter of William T. Dunn and Mary Katherine "Katie' Pope. She was married three times, the first marriage to Christopher Wooden when she was 16. Christopher Wooden died in 1901. Her second marriage was to Abe Burton. At the time of her death she was married to Hayes Buford Withers. She began a successful recording career when she was signed by

Okeh Records OKeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name originally was spelled "OkeH" from the init ...

in 1922. Through the 1920s she toured and recorded with such performers as

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, and singer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz piano. A widely popular star ...

, Clarence Williams,

King Oliver Joseph Nathan "King" Oliver (December 19, 1881 – April 10, 1938) was an American jazz cornet player and bandleader. He was particularly recognized for his playing style and his pioneering use of mutes in jazz. Also a notable composer, he wro ...

, and Sylvester Weaver. She was among the most-recorded of the classic blues singers. She was possibly the first to record the famous blues song " 'T'aint Nobody's Bus'ness if I Do", with Waller on piano, in 1922. On stage she was noted for a dramatic performing style and for her lavish costumes, which she changed two or three times per show.Harrison 1990, p. 235. In his book ''Ma Rainey and the Classic Blues Singers'', Derrick Stewart-Baxter said of her:

...she was never a really great blues singer. The records she made varied considerably, on many she sounded stilted and very unrelaxed. ... Occasionally, she did hit a groove and when this happened, she could be quite pleasing, as on her very original "Brother Ben". ... The sides she did with King Oliver can be recommended, particularly "Death Sting Me Blues".

According to the blues historian Daphne Duval Harrison, "Martin tended to use more swinging, danceable rhythms than some of her peers ... when she sang a traditional blues her voice and styling had richer, deeper qualities that matched the content in sensitivity and mood: "Mean Tight Mama" and "Death Sting Me" approach an apex of blues singing". Martin's stage work in the late 1920s took her to New York,

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

, and

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, second-most populous city in Pennsylvania (after Philadelphia) and the List of Un ...

and to Cuba, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico.Harrison 1990, p. 236. She made one film appearance,Harris 1994, p. 351. in ''Hello Bill'', with

Bill "Bojangles" Robinson Bill "Bojangles" Robinson (born Luther Robinson; May 25, 1878 – November 25, 1949), was an American tap dancer, actor, and singer, the best known and the most highly paid black entertainer in the United States during the first half of the 20 ...

, in 1929. Her last major stage appearance was in ''Darktown Scandals Review'' in 1930. She performed with Thomas A. Dorsey as a

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christianity, Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the second century Anno domino, AD the term (, from which the English word originated as a calque) came to be used also for the books in which the message w ...

singer in 1932, after which she worked outside the

music industry The music industry are individuals and organizations that earn money by Songwriter, writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling Sound recording and reproduction, recorded music and sheet music, presenting live music, concerts, ...

, running a

nursing home A nursing home is a facility for the residential care of older people, senior citizens, or disabled people. Nursing homes may also be referred to as care homes, skilled nursing facilities (SNF), or long-term care facilities. Often, these terms ...

in Louisville. Martin died in Louisville of a

stroke Stroke is a medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to a part of the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemor ...

in May 1955.

References

Bibliography

* Harris, Sheldon (1994). ''Blues Who's Who''. Rev. ed. New York: Da Capo Press. . *Harrison, Daphne Duval (1990). ''Black Pearls: Blues Queens of the 1920s''. New Brunswick, N.J., and London: Rutgers University Press. . *McWilliams, Peter (1996). ''Ain't Nobody's Business if You Do: The Absurdity of Consensual Crimes in Our Free Country''. Prelude Press. . *Stewart-Baxter, Derrick (1970). ''Ma Rainey and the Classic Blues Singers''. London: Studio Vista. .

External links

Sara Martin recordings
at the

Discography of American Historical Recordings The Discography of American Historical Recordings (DAHR) is a database catalog of master recordings made by American record companies during the 78rpm era. The 78rpm era was the time period in which any flat disc records were being played at ...

. {{DEFAULTSORT:Martin, Sara 1884 births 1955 deaths Classic female blues singers Country blues musicians American blues singers Okeh Records artists Singers from Louisville, Kentucky Piedmont blues musicians American vaudeville performers Blues musicians from Kentucky Kentucky women musicians 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers