VICTORIA SPIVEY

VICTORIA SPIVEY

Victoria Spivey (Houston, Texas, 15 de octubre de 1906 - Nueva York, 3 de octubre de 1976) fue una pianista y cantante de blues.

Recorrió Texas muy joven, con compañías ambulantes de comedias, hasta que se trasladó a Saint Louis, donde firmó contrato con la discográfica Okeh, obteniendo gran éxito con su primer single, "Black snake blues". Continuó grabando habitualmente hasta 1937. Su estilo estaba muy enraizado en el blues texano (Blind Lemon Jefferson), aunque a partir de 1929 lo modernizó, haciéndolo más agresivo y alejándose del music hall de sus comienzos. Tocó con Lonnie Johnson, Louis Armstrong y Tampa Red, entre otros, antes de trasladarse a Nueva York, a final de los años 1950. Actuaciones en Greenwich Village y grabaciones para Bluesville, la hicieron mantenerse en escena. Creó además su propia discográfica, "Spivey Records", en la que debutaron músicos como Luther Johnson, Sugar Blue o el mismo Bob Dylan.

Victoria Spivey (October 15, 1906 – October 3, 1976) was an American blues singer and songwriter. During a recording career that spanned forty years, from 1926 to the mid-1960s, she worked with Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Clarence Williams, Luis Russell, Lonnie Johnson, and Bob Dylan. She also performed in vaudeville and clubs, sometimes with her sister, Addie "Sweet Pease" Spivey. Among her compositions are "Black Snake Blues", "Dope Head Blues" and "Organ Grinder Blues". In 1962 she initiated her own recording label, Spivey Records.

She was born Victoria Regina Spivey in Houston, Texas, United States, the daughter of Grant and Addie (Smith) Spivey. Her father was a part-time musician and a flagman for the railroad; her mother was a nurse. Her sisters were Addie "Sweet Peas" Spivey (1910–1943), also a singer and musician, who recorded for several major record labels between 1929 and 1937; and Elton Island Spivey (1900–1971), who also sang professionally.


Spivey's first professional experience was in a family string band led by her father in Houston. After Grant Spivey died, the seven-year-old Victoria played on her own at local parties and, in 1918, was hired to accompany films at the Lincoln Theater in Dallas. As a teenager, she worked in local bars, nightclubs, and buffet flats, mostly alone, but occasionally with singer-guitarists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson. In 1926, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where she was signed by Okeh Records. Her first recording, "Black Snake Blues", did well, and her association with the record label continued. She made numerous Okeh sides in New York until 1929, then switched to the RCA Victor label. Between 1931 and 1937, more recordings followed on the Vocalion and Decca labels, and, working out of New York, she maintained an active performance schedule. Spivey's recorded accompanists included King Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Lonnie Johnson, and Red Allen. Read more.

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