- Josie Miles
Josie Miles (c. 1900 – c. 1953–65) was an American
vaudeville andblues singer. She was one of theclassic female blues singers popular in the 1920s.She was born in
Summerville, South Carolina .Harris, Sheldon (1994). "Blues Who's Who" (Revised Ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80155-8. p. 374] By the early 1920s she was working inNew York City , where she appeared inEubie Blake andNoble Sissle 's musical comedy "Shuffle Along ". In 1922 she made her first recordings, for theBlack Swan Company, and later recorded for the Gennett, Ajax, Edison, andBanner Records labels. In 1923 she toured theAfrican-American theatre circuit with the Black Swan Troubadours, and performed in New York City inJames P. Johnson 's revue "Runnin' Wild" at theColonial Theatre . In that same year she also performed on WDT Radio in New York City.According to blues writer Steve Tracy, Josie Miles was characterized by "a light but forceful delivery that was not low-down but was nevertheless convincing." [Tracy, S. (1996). "Josie Miles: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order. Volume 1 (1922–1924)" (CD booklet) Document Records DODC-5466] Her last recordings date from 1925. After the early 1930s, she devoted herself to church activities in
Kansas City, Missouri , where she had settled. She is thought to have died in an automobile accident in the 1950s or 1960s.Josie Miles has often been credited with the six sides recorded in 1928 by the fiery Missionary Josephine Miles (also issued under the name Evangelist Mary Flowers), although blues historians
Paul Oliver [Oliver, P. (1984). "Songsters and saints: vocal traditions on race records". Cambridge [Cambridgeshire] : Cambridge University Press. OCLC|10323548. p. 186] and Chris Smith [Smith, C. (1995). "Gospel Classics: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order. Volume 3 (1924–1942)". (CD booklet) Document Records DODC-5350] believe that the aural evidence does not support this identification.References
External links
* [http://www.redhotjazz.com/josiemiles.html Biography and photograph at www.Redhotjazz.com]
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