Mamie Smith at Okeh Records, Take One
THE FIRST OF SEVERAL FEATURES ABOUT THE PATHBREAKING MAMIE SMITH. TAKE A LOOK AT OUR POSTS FOR FEBRUARY 14 AND AUGUST 10.
One hundred years ago today ... Mamie Smith entered the Okeh Phonograph Corporation’s studio at 25 West 45th Street for the first time, though maybe it was the next day or so. The exact date is in dispute; it is noted variously as the dates from February 11th to February 14th. In any case, the moment she started singing, she became the first African American to record vocals for a US label.
Later that year, in August of 1920, Smith would make what would prove to be among the most historic recordings in US popular music history. But the session that produced the smash hit “Crazy Blues”–considered the first blues recording–would have never happened had the groundwork not been laid the previous February.
Smith, born 1891 in Cincinnati, began her theater career as a teenager, touring the US with vaudeville companies as singer, dancer and actor. She moved to New York at the age of 22 and became a fixture of Harlem stages.
In February 1920, Smith recorded two songs, "That Thing Called Love" ( above) and "You Can't Keep a Good Man Down" (below), both composed by Perry Bradford, who had been instrumental in setting up the session. The recordings were made in vaudeville style, with the Okeh house orchestra, “Rega Orchestra” as accompaniment.
Check back for more about Smith, Bradford, and Okeh Records, coming throughout the year.
Mamie Smith in 1920. The New York Age, November 13, 1920, p. 6. Newspapers.com.