Finnie was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the second child and only daughter of Noble Armond Finnie, a butler, and Mary "Mamie" Anderson Finnie, a housewife. She had an older brother, Noble Finnie, Jr. Finnie was a graduate of New Orleans University (later incorporated into Dillard University) and was employed as a schoolteacher at the McDonogh School No. 6. Finnie married the pianist and composer Porter Grainger on September 25, 1923, in Stamford, Connecticut, with whom she performed throughout the northeastern United States, appearing at various venues and performing on radio programs, as documented in the pages of the African-American press of the period. It seems that after the birth of their daughter, Portia Lee Grainger, Finnie curtailed her activities and remained in New Orleans, close to her family, residing at 4021 Dryades Street. Eventually Porter and Finnie divorced. She subsequently married William Turner and went into business in New Orleans as a hairdresser and later as the owner of a beauty shop, restaurant and grocery. She was involved in the sorority Iota Phi Lambda, serving as its southwestern regional director of during the 1950s. She also served as the treasurer of the Fourth Region of the National Council of Negro Women in the 1960s. Finnie died in New Orleans on May 1, 1981, aged 83.
Finnie's short recording career was partly produced by Joe Davis. Some of her material was written by her first husband, Porter Grainger. She recorded eight songs in 1923 and 1924, including "You're Gonna Wake Up Some Morning, but Your Papa Will Be Gone". It was released by Edison as part of the Edison Diamond Discs series in 1924 and was also issued on Edison's Amberol cylinder. She also recorded for Ajax and Emerson during this short time span. Another song she recorded, "Mistreatin' Daddy Blues", was initially not released, which may have prevented her gaining a wider audience. Other little-known blues singers, including Gladys Bryant, Dolly Ross, and Ada Brown, vied with Finnie for Grainger's material. All her recorded work was eventually released by Document Records.
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By Eugene Chadbourne
This classic blues singer was one of a number of such talents recorded in the mid-'20s by producers such as Joe Davis. Ethel Finnie cut a total of five sides between 1923 and 1924, most famous of which is "You're Gonna Wake Up Some Morning, But Your Papa Will Be Gone," originally issued as one of the Edison company's "Diamond Discs" in 1924 as well as a special "Amberol" cylinder. The singer was also represented with releases on the Ajax and Emerson labels during this period -- although with so few numbers recorded in the first place, the fact that some songs such as "Mistreatin' Daddy Blues" went unissued at the time must have contributed to her obscurity. Her husband, pianist Porter Grainger, was more famous than she was, but not by much. The couple had basically vanished into the mist by the time the '20s were done roaring.
Grainger's discography is considerably more extensive than Finnie's, consisting of a great many accompaniments to similar sorts of blues singers as well as some vaudeville material. He was actually better known as a composer of theater music. Four years after the recordings with his wife, Grainger was involved in perhaps the peak of his collaborations, a 1928 stage production entitled Mississippi Days featuring classic blues goddess Bessie Smith. Names such as Gladys Bryant, Dolly Ross, and Ada Brown competed with Finnie for her husband's attention, at least when it came time to singing the blues. Every one of her recordings has been eventually issued by the Document label on collections examining Grainger's career as well as the work of miscellaneous female blues singers.