Victoria Spivey
Victoria Regina Spivey (* October 15, 1906 in Houston, Texas, † October 3, 1976 in New York City, New York) was an American blues singer, piano player and composer.
Spiveys father had a band in Houston, Texas. Very early on, she played the piano at parties, soon also in bars and clubs, sometimes with such notable blues greats such as Blind Lemon Jefferson.
In 1926 she went to St. Louis, Missouri, where she made her first recording with the Black Snake Blues. It was followed by other hits, where she was accompanied by stars like Louis Armstrong, Lonnie Johnson and Henry " Red" Allen.
1929 Spivey played " Missy Rose" in the musical film Hallelujah (directed by King Vidor ) and recorded with JC Higginbotham and George " Pops " Foster. In the 1930s and 1940s, she was a successful actress and stage shows. Often they met with her husband, the vaudeville dancer Billy Adams, on.
1951 Spivey moved from the stage back and led a church choir. During the blues revival of the 1960s they had a comeback. With Len Kunstadt she founded the record company " Spivey Records ". They took pictures with their girlfriends sippie Wallace, Lucille Hegamin and Hannah Sylvester, but also with young artists such as Luther Johnson, Sugar Blue and Bob Dylan. In 1973 she joined with Roosevelt Sykes at the " Ann Arbor Blues & Jazz Festival".