b. 1895 in Cleveland, OH, d. in 1955.
There were two blues singers operating during the 20s using the name Bessie Brown and biographical details are slim for both. One, known to have worked as a male impersonator and speculated to have been born around 1895 in Cleveland, Ohio, began her career on record in 1925, billed as ‘The Original’ Bessie Brown - probably indicating a conflict with her namesake who had issued records in the previous year. Just to confuse things further she also used the names Caroline Lee and Sadie Green, the latter also used by popular singer Vaughn De Leath. Brown was married to Clarence Shaw and appears to have retired from showbusiness in the early 30s. Her rival worked on the TOBA circuit with her husband George W. Williams in an act that at one time included a young Fats Waller. Her career on record seems to have been restricted to a brief period on the Columbia label during 1924.
Brown was born in Marysville, Ohio, United States. She recorded between the dates of November 10, 1925 and April 1, 1929. Her concurrent vaudeville career, saw her appear sometimes as a male impersonator. She also appeared in revues including Moonshine Revue, The Whirl Of Joy and Dark-Town Frolics. In addition, Brown took to the stage as a cabaret performer, primarily on the East Coast. On her recordings she sang in a deepened tone, without any notable African American dialect. Thus, to more than one commentator, her style was similar to Sophie Tucker.
Her recordings saw Brown backed by some of the best Harlem based musicians of the time. These included Thomas Morris and Rex Stewart (cornet); Charlie Irvis and Charlie Green (trombone); Coleman Hawkins and Buster Bailey (saxophone); Buddy Christian and Clarence Holiday (banjo); plus Porter Grainger, Clarence Williams and Fletcher Henderson (piano).
She left the music industry in 1932, and married Clarence Shaw in the early 1930s. She had one child Helen Smith Mcreynolds from her first marriage, before dying of a heart attack in 1955.
The bulk of her known recorded work, Complete Recorded Works (1925-29), was made available in 1996 by Document Records. Somewhat confusingly, the compilation album also included four October 1929 recordings by the unrelated comedienne, Eliza "Liza" Brown.