Viola McCoy (c. 1900 – c. 1956) 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 who performed in the

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 ...

style during a career that lasted from the early 1920s to the late 1930s.

Life and career

Her birth name may have been Amanda Brown (a name under which she sometimes recorded). She is believed to have been born in

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

,Rye 1995. although a press release of 1924 claimed she was from

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

. She performed with the sideshow annex band attached to Sparks Circus in 1916, performing the comic "Scaddle-de-Mooch," written by

Cecil Mack Cecil Mack (November 6, 1873 – August 1, 1944) was an American composer, lyricist and music publisher. Biography Born as Richard Cecil McPherson in Portsmouth, Virginia, he attended the Norfolk Mission College and Lincoln University in Pennsy ...

in 1915, and "Daddy," a blues number. "Daddy" may be an early version of "Oh, Daddy," recorded by

Ethel Waters Ethel Waters (October 31, 1896 – September 1, 1977) was an American singer and actress. Waters frequently performed jazz, swing, and pop music on the Broadway stage and in concerts. She began her career in the 1920s singing blues. Her no ...

in 1921 and

Bessie Smith Bessie Smith (April 15, 1892 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Empress of the Blues" and formerly Queen of the Blues, she was t ...

in 1922. In 1917, McCoy toured with the Georgia Smart Set. In the early 1920s, she moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, where she worked in cabarets and appeared in revues at the Lincoln and Lafayette Theatres. She toured the

Theater Owners Booking Association Theatre Owners Booking Association, or T.O.B.A., was the vaudeville circuit for African American performers in the 1920s. The theaters mostly had white owners, though about a third of them had black owners. These included the restored Morton Theat ...

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 and made numerous recordings from 1923 to 1929 for various labels, including

Gennett Gennett Records () was an American record company and label in Richmond, Indiana, United States, which flourished in the 1920s and produced the Gennett, Starr, Champion, Superior, and Van Speaking labels. The company also produced some Supertone, ...

Vocalion Vocalion Records is an American record label, originally founded by the Aeolian Company, a piano and organ manufacturer before being bought out by Brunswick in 1924. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pian ...

, and

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. On her recordings from 1923 her most frequent accompanist was the pianist

Porter Grainger Porter Grainger ( Granger; October 22, 1891 − October 30, 1948) was an African American pianist, songwriter, playwright, and music publisher. Early life When Grainger was born in Bowling Green, Kentucky, the Granger family name did not include ...

; later accompanists included

Fletcher Henderson James Fletcher Hamilton Henderson (December 18, 1897 – December 29, 1952) was an American pianist, bandleader, arranger and composer, important in the development of big band jazz and swing music. He was one of the most prolific black musical ...

, Louis Hooper, and

Bob Fuller Bob Fuller (December 31, 1898 – unknown) was an American blues and jazz saxophonist and clarinetist, best known for his recordings accompanying female singers of the 1920s. Born and raised in New York City, Fuller toured the United States with ...

, among others. A few of her recordings are enlivened by

kazoo The kazoo is a musical instrument that adds a ''buzzing'' timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. It is a type of '' mirliton'' (itself a membranophone), one of a class of instruments that modify the player's v ...

solos performed by McCoy. In 1927, she briefly owned and performed in Jack's Cabaret in New York City. By 1930 she owned and operated a nightclub in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

.Harris 1994, p. 357. In 1938, she settled in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It is located on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River. Albany is the oldes ...

, and was mostly inactive in music during the remainder of her life. McCoy is thought to have died in

, in about 1956. Author Derrick Stewart-Baxter wrote of McCoy, "She belongs to the great vaudeville tradition, but in all she does there is a strong jazz strain ... Possessing a lovely contralto voice and fine diction, she was able to project herself through even the worst recording ... It would be true to say that in the three years she was recording most prolifically she hardly ever made a bad record".

Aliases

McCoy recorded songs under various pseudonyms, including Amanda Brown (Columbia, Perfect and Pathe labels), Daisy Cliff (Guardsman label), Clara White or Bessie Williams (Oriole and Domino labels), Gladys White (Variety label), Fannie Johnson (Cameo) and Susan Williams (Lincoln label).

Notes

References

* Harris, Sheldon (1994). ''Blues Who's Who'' (Revised Ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. . *Rye, Howard (1995). ''Viola McCoy: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order. Volume 1: 1923''. Document Records DOCD-5416 (CD booklet). *Stewart-Baxter, Derrick (1970). ''Ma Rainey and the Classic Blues Singers''. London: Studio Vista. . {{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Viola Classic female blues singers American blues singers American vaudeville performers Vocalion Records artists Gennett Records artists Ajax Records artists 1900s births 1950s deaths Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain 20th-century African-American women singers 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American singers