Elizabeth Mary Landreaux (March 31, 1895 – March 17, 1963), known by the stage name Lizzie Miles, was an Afro- Creole

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

singer in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Biography

Miles was born in the

Faubourg Marigny The Faubourg Marigny ( ; sometimes called The Marigny) is a neighborhood of the city of New Orleans, Louisiana, United States. Its boundaries, as defined by the City Planning Commission, are North Rampart Street and St. Claude Avenue to the n ...

neighborhood of

New Orleans New Orleans ( , ,New Orleans
Merriam-Webster. ; french: La Nouvelle-Orléans , es, Nuev ...

, Louisiana, in an Afro-Creole Kouri-Vini (

Louisiana Creole Louisiana Creole ( lou, Kréyòl Lalwizyàn, links=no) is a French-based creole language spoken by fewer than 10,000 people, mostly in the state of Louisiana. It is spoken today by people who may racially identify as White, Black, mixed, and N ...

) speaking family. As a child, she sang in her

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

church and performed at parties and dances. She worked with Joe Oliver,

Kid Ory Edward "Kid" Ory (December 25, 1886 – January 23, 1973) was an American jazz composer, trombonist and bandleader. One of the early users of the glissando technique, he helped establish it as a central element of New Orleans jazz. He was ...

Bunk Johnson Willie Gary "Bunk" Johnson (December 27, 1879 – July 7, 1949) was an American prominent jazz trumpeter in New Orleans. Johnson gave the year of his birth as 1879, although there is speculation that he may have been younger by as much as a dec ...

, and A.J. Piron from 1909 to 1911. She then toured the South, performing in theaters, circuses, and with minstrel shows owned/managed by J. Augustus Jones, Elmer H. Jones and their family. In 1917 she sang in Chicago with Manuel Manetta, and then, in 1921 with

Freddie Keppard Freddie Keppard (sometimes rendered as Freddy Keppard; February 27, 1890 – July 15, 1933) was an American jazz cornetist who once held the title of "King" in the New Orleans jazz scene. This title was previously held by Buddy Bolden and suc ...

Charlie Elgar Charles Anthony Elgar (June 13, 1879 – August 1973) was an American violinist, musician, teacher and jazz bandleader. Early life and education Elgar was born in New Orleans, Louisiana on June 13, 1879. He played violin as a child from age 5. H ...

, and again with Oliver. She moved to New York and made her first

phonograph A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

recordings A record, recording or records may refer to: An item or collection of data Computing * Record (computer science), a data structure ** Record, or row (database), a set of fields in a database related to one entity ** Boot sector or boot record, r ...

in 1922. They were blues songs, but she did not like to be referred to as a blues singer since she sang a wide repertoire. Miles toured Europe in 1924 and 1925 and then returned to New York and worked in clubs from 1926 to 1931. During this time she worked with her half-brother,

Herb Morand Herbert Morand (1905 – February 23, 1952) was an American jazz trumpeter, associated with the New Orleans jazz scene. Morand began on trumpet at age eleven after hearing King Oliver. He played with Nat Towles in New Orleans, then moved to New ...

. Miles recorded as leader of a trio with Oliver, and in a duo with

Jelly Roll Morton Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe (later Morton; c. September 20, 1890 – July 10, 1941), known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and jazz pianist, bandleader, and composer. Morton was jazz's first arranger, proving that a gen ...

. There is uncertainty in that some sources suggest that several of the

Miss Frankie Miss Frankie was an American classic female blues singer. She recorded eight sides in 1926 and 1927. Speculation still persists as to the real identity of the recording artist. Nothing is known of her life outside of the recording studio. Car ...

recordings were the work of Lizzie Miles. This particularly applies to the tracks "When You Get Tired of Your New Sweetie", and "Shooting Star Blues", issued on

Conqueror Records Conqueror Records was a United States-based record label, active from 1928 through 1942. The label was sold exclusively through Sears, Roebuck and Company. History Conqueror was originally owned by the Plaza Music Company, then became part of ...

(January 1928). She suffered a serious illness and retired from the

music industry The music industry consists of the individuals and organizations that earn money by writing songs and musical compositions, creating and selling recorded music and sheet music, presenting concerts, as well as the organizations that aid, train, ...

in the 1930s, not before she recorded "My Man o' War", described by one

music journalist Music journalism (or music criticism) is media criticism and reporting about music topics, including popular music, classical music, and traditional music. Journalists began writing about music in the eighteenth century, providing commentary on w ...

as "a composition stuffed with rococo suggestiveness". Despite her illness, Miles appeared in two films in the early 1930s. She began working regularly again in 1935, performing with

Paul Barbarin Adolphe Paul Barbarin (May 5, 1899 – February 17, 1969) was an American jazz drummer from New Orleans. Career Barbarin grew up in New Orleans in a family of musicians, including his father, three of his brothers, and his nephew (Danny Barker) ...

at the

Strollers Club Various methods of transporting children have been used in different cultures and times. These methods include baby carriages (prams in British English), infant car seats, portable bassinets (carrycots), strollers (pushchairs), slings, backpacks ...

in New York. She sang with

Fats Waller Thomas Wright "Fats" Waller (May 21, 1904 – December 15, 1943) was an American jazz pianist, organist, composer, violinist, singer, and comedic entertainer. His innovations in the Harlem stride style laid much of the basis for modern jazz pi ...

in 1938 and then worked in Chicago until she left music in 1942. In 1950, Miles lived in California where she sang with

George Lewis George Lewis may refer to: Entertainment and art * George B. W. Lewis (1818–1906), circus rider and theatre manager in Australia * George E. Lewis (born 1952), American composer and free jazz trombonist * George J. Lewis (1903–1995), Mexica ...

in 1953 and 1954. She performed and spent time with

Bob Scobey Robert Alexander Scobey Jr. (December 9, 1916 – June 12, 1963) was an American jazz trumpet player of traditional or Dixieland music based originally in the San Francisco area and later in Chicago, Illinois. He was born in Tucumcari, New Mex ...

Las Vegas, Nevada Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

, from 1955 to 1957. She sang with

Joe Darensbourg Joe Darensbourg (July 9, 1906 – May 24, 1985) was an American, New Orleans-based jazz clarinetist and saxophonist, notable for his work with Buddy Petit, Jelly Roll Morton, Charlie Creath, Fate Marable, Andy Kirk, Kid Ory, Wingy Manone, J ...

in Chicago in 1958 and 1959. She returned to New Orleans, where she appeared with

Freddie Kohlman Louis Freddie Kohlman (August 25, 1918 – September 29, 1990, aged 72) was an American jazz drummer, vocalist, and bandleader who was a native of New Orleans. He studied under the famed drummer Louis Cottrell, Sr., and Manuel Manetta. Biography ...

and Paul Barbarin. She recorded with several

Dixieland Dixieland jazz, also referred to as traditional jazz, hot jazz, or simply Dixieland, is a style of jazz based on the music that developed in New Orleans at the start of the 20th century. The 1917 recordings by the Original Dixieland Jass Band ( ...

and

traditional jazz Trad jazz, short for "traditional jazz", is a form of jazz in the United States and Britain in the 1930s, 1940s, 1950s and 1960s, played by musicians such as Chris Barber, Acker Bilk, Kenny Ball, Ken Colyer and Monty Sunshine, based on a reviva ...

bands, appeared at the

Monterey Jazz Festival The Monterey Jazz Festival is an annual music festival that takes place in Monterey, California, United States. It debuted on October 3, 1958, championed by Dave Brubeck and co-founded by jazz and popular music critic Ralph J. Gleason and jaz ...

in 1958, and made regular radio broadcasts before retiring in 1959. In 1959 she quit singing, except for

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

. She began working closely with the Sisters of the Holy Family, an order of Black

religious Religion is usually defined as a social system, social-cultural system of designated religious behaviour, behaviors and practices, morality, morals, beliefs, worldviews, religious text, texts, sacred site, sanctified places, prophecy, prophecie ...

in the city, declaring that she had decided "to live the life of a nun". She died of a heart attack, in March 1963, at the sisters' Lafon Nursing Home in New Orleans and was buried in the city at Saint Louis Cemetery No. 3.

Woody Allen Heywood "Woody" Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American film director, writer, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades and multiple Academy Award-winning films. He began his career writing ...

included her version of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" on the soundtrack of his 2013 film ''

Blue Jasmine ''Blue Jasmine'' is a 2013 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film tells the story of a rich Manhattan socialite ( Cate Blanchett) who falls on hard times and has to move into her working-class sister's (Sally Ha ...

''. Her half-sister,

Edna Hicks Edna Hicks (October 14, 1891 or 1895 – August 16, 1925) was an American blues singer and musician. Her recorded songs include "Hard Luck Blues" and "Poor Me Blues". She also recorded "Down Hearted Blues", and "Gulf Coast Blues" on the Brunswic ...

, was also a blues singer.

Personal life

She married August Pajaud in New Orleans, Louisiana on May 9, 1912. The marriage certificate indicates that she was 19 'sic'' She married John C. Miles, from whom she took her stage name, in Norfolk, Virginia in 1914. He was a bandleader also working for the Jones brothers. J.C. Miles died of

Spanish flu The 1918–1920 influenza pandemic, commonly known by the misnomer Spanish flu or as the Great Influenza epidemic, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 influenza A virus. The earliest documented case was ...

in Shreveport, Louisiana on October 19, 1918 while on tour and was buried in Crown Hill Cemetery, Indianapolis, Indiana.

Selected discography

Singles released in 1922

The following singles were all released in 1922 by

Okeh Records Okeh Records () is an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation, a phonograph supplier established in 1916, which branched out into phonograph records in 1918. The name was spelled "OkeH" from the initials of Ott ...

: * "Wicked Blues" * "Take It 'Cause It's All Yours" * "Lonesome Monday Morning Blues" * "Please Don't Tickle Me, Babe" * "He May Be Your Man, but He Comes to See Me Sometimes" * "Muscle Shoals Blues" * "She Walked Right Up and Took My Man"

References

External links

Discography
for Lizzie Miles at

Smithsonian Folkways Smithsonian Folkways is the nonprofit record label of the Smithsonian Institution. It is a part of the Smithsonian's Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage, located at Capital Gallery in downtown Washington, D.C. The label was fou ...