Ada Scott Brown (May 1, 1890 – March 30, 1950) was an American blues

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

. She is best known for her recordings of "Ill Natural Blues", "Break o' Day Blues", and "Evil Mama Blues.

Biography

Brown was born and raised in

Kansas City, Kansas Kansas City, abbreviated as "KCK", is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas, and the county seat of Wyandotte County. It is an inner suburb of the older and more populous Kansas City, Missouri, after which it is named. As of ...

. Her cousin James Scott was a

ragtime Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott J ...

composer and pianist. Her early career was spent primarily on stage in

musical theater Musical theatre is a form of theatrical performance that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance. The story and emotional content of a musical – humor, pathos, love, anger – are communicated through words, music, movemen ...

and

vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...

. She recorded with

Bennie Moten Benjamin Moten (November 13, 1893 – April 2, 1935) was an American jazz pianist and band leader born and raised in Kansas City, Missouri, United States. He led his Kansas City Orchestra, the most important of the regional, blues-based orchest ...

in 1926; the side "Evil Mama Blues" is possibly the earliest recording of

Kansas City jazz Kansas City jazz is a style of jazz that developed in Kansas City, Missouri during the 1920s and 1930s, which marked the transition from the structured big band style to the much more improvisational style of bebop. The hard-swinging, bluesy tra ...

. Aside from her time with Moten, she did several tours alongside bandleaders such as George E. Lee. Brown was a founding member of the

Negro Actors Guild of America Negro Actors Guild of America (NAG) was formed in 1936 and began operation in 1937 to create better opportunities for black actors during a period in America where the country was at a crossroads regarding how its citizens of color would be depi ...

in 1936. She worked at the

London Palladium The London Palladium () is a Grade II* West End theatre located on Argyll Street, London, in the famous area of Soho. The theatre holds 2,286 seats. Of the roster of stars who have played there, many have televised performances. Between 1955 a ...

and on

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

in the late 1930s. She sang "

That Ain't Right "That Ain't Right" was the 1942 debut single by The King Cole Trio. "That Ain't Right" hit number one on ''Billboard'' magazine's Harlem Hit Parade chart for one week. Although the song was the King Cole Trio's first successful single, it would b ...

" with Fats Waller in the musical film '' Stormy Weather'' (1943). She also appeared in ''Harlem to Hollywood'', accompanied by Harry Swannagan. Brown was featured on two tracks of the compilation album ''Ladies Sing the Blues'' ("Break o' Day Blues" and "Evil Mama Blues"). Brown died in Kansas City of kidney disease in March 1950.

References

External links

Eugene Chadbourne Eugene Chadbourne (born January 4, 1954) is an American banjoist, guitarist and music critic. Life and career Chadbourne was born in Mount Vernon, New York, but grew up in Boulder, Colorado. He started playing guitar when he was eleven or twel ...

Ada Brown
at

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Brown, Ada 1890 births 1950 deaths American blues singers Singers from Kansas Okeh Records artists Deaths from kidney disease 20th-century American singers 20th-century American women singers