Mattie Delaney
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Mattie Delaney (born c. 1905 – after 1930) was an American Delta 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 ...
and guitarist active in the 1930s. Only two recordings by her are known: "Down the Big Road Blues" and "Tallahatchie River Blues".


Career

Delaney may have been born Mattie Doyle south of
Tchula, Mississippi Tchula is a town in Holmes County, Mississippi, United States. The population was 1,650 at the 2020 census, down from 2,332 in 2000. A 2015 article in ''The Guardian'' described it as the poorest community in the United States. History The firs ...
, but the researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc suggest she was Mattie B. Delaney, born near
Goodman, Mississippi Goodman is a town in southeastern Holmes County, Mississippi, United States. Per the 2020 census, the population was 1,258. History Goodman was settled by European Americans in 1860. It was first chartered on November 16, 1865, after the end of ...
. Around 1927 she may have moved to
Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in the U.S. state of Tennessee. It is the seat of Shelby County in the southwest part of the state; it is situated along the Mississippi River. With a population of 633,104 at the 2020 U.S. census, Memphis is the second-mos ...
. Contemporary witnesses remember seeing her perform at Swan Lake, Mississippi. She recorded two songs for
Vocalion Records Vocalion Records is an American record company and label. History The label was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Company, a maker of pianos and organs, as Aeolian-Vocalion; the company also sold phonographs under the Vocalion name. "Aeolian" was ...
in February 1930.
/ref> Her song "Down the Big Road Blues" was a variant of Tommy Johnson (blues musician), Tommy Johnson's "Big Road Blues". 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 ...
noted "Delaney issuing a matter-of-fact report in 'Tallahatchie River Blues'". She was unusual for a female performer of the time, in that she played guitar accompaniment and sang topical songs. Nothing is known of her life after the recordings. Two of Delaney's songs were included on the compilation album ''Mississippi Girls (1928–1931)'', issued in September 1991.


See also

*
List of blues musicians Blues musicians are musical artists who are primarily recognized as writing, performing, and recording blues music. They come from different eras and include styles such as ragtime-vaudeville, Delta and country blues, and urban styles from Chic ...


References


External links


Illustrated Mattie Delaney discography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Delaney, Mattie 1900s births Year of death missing American blues guitarists Blues musicians from Mississippi American blues singers Songwriters from Mississippi Delta blues musicians Year of birth uncertain 20th-century American singers 20th-century American guitarists People from Holmes County, Mississippi Singers from Mississippi Guitarists from Mississippi 20th-century American women singers 20th-century American women guitarists