Hello John,

Only thing I ever knew about Victoria Spivey is what I read. She was a in that class of Blues ladies who made names for themselves during the blues golden age. She and BobDylan were buds way back when. You have to be interested in someone who one of her signature tunes was "Dope Head Blues." Makes you wanna know more about her. Read and see what I mean.

Still putting the finishing touches on Blues Blast '23. If it's a blazing success we might have found a permanent home for the 3event. No reason why it won't be. Look at the lineup.

There'll be plenty of parking available at the school on the corner of 12th St. and Indian School. A block away.

Two stages with performers playing inside between band changes outside. Gon' be big fun! BE THERE!!

Sad to hear the Pho Cao jam folded up after 10 years. Word is Victor, the owner, just got burned out. Happens if you don't play an instrument. Hopefully Gypsy can find another spot.

Still too damn hot for October but it's slowly getting there. Get Out & About and show your support for live music in our Valley of the Sun.

And, oh yeah, hugs all around.

Have a week!

Jim Crawford,

Phoenix Blues Society

www.phoenixblues.com

DIVA

by Ben E. Bailey

Born Victoria Regina Spivey on October 15, 1906, in Houston, to Addie (a nurse) and Grant (a musician) Spivey; she died on October 3, 1976, in New York, NY; she married and divorced Reuben Floyd (a trumpeter); She married and divorced Bill Adams (a dancer).

Victoria Spivey established herself as a classic blues singer, pianist, and composer in the 1920s. Later, she and her sister Addie and her brother Elton toured the vaudeville circuit and performed in barrelhouses and theaters throughout Texas, Michigan, and Missouri. Spivey went on to perform and record until her retirement in 1952; In the late 1950s, she made a comeback when the blues were "discovered" by white audiences.

Victoria Regina Spivey, or "Queen Victoria Spivey," was born on October 15, 1906, in Houston, Texas, and died of a liver ailment in New York City on October 3, 1976. She was born into a musical family; Ella's mother, Addie, a nurse, sang semiclassical and religious songs, and Ella's father, Grant, and Ella's brothers played in a family string band. Thus, it is not surprising that Spivey began to play piano early in her childhood.

The parents of Grant and Addie had been slaves. After freedom came, Grant's father amassed land holdings in Texas and Louisiana but was unable to retain them. After moving to Houston, where they sought a more economically stable life, Grant was accidentally killed while at work, leaving Addie with a family to rear. Apparently, Spivey's musical talents were drawn upon to help support the family, for her mother reluctantly allowed her to play piano at various places of questionable character in Houston. As a preteen, Spivey also played for the Lincoln Theater in Houston. When it was discovered that she could not read music, she was fired from the job. She and her brother Willie began to play for black entertainments and in whorehouses around Houston.

Spivey very early came under the influence of pioneering blues women such as Ida Cox, Ma Rainey, Mamie Smith, and others through hearing them perform in clubs and theaters and on recordings. She was also influenced by bluesmen such as Daddy Fillmore, with whom she played, and Robert and John Calvin. Perhaps one of the most important influences upon Spivey's musical development and style came from her association of ella with Blind Lemon Jefferson as they performed together at picnics and house parties. Eventually, Ida Cox heard Spivey perform at such a house party and encouraged Spivey to join her show; However, nothing came of this because Cox, for some unexplained reason, left without Spivey. Spivey later went to St. Louis with the intention of recording.

Spivey's vocal style was characterized by angularity, nasality, and a type of moan, which she called the "tiger moan," reminiscent of a style of black church singing. She also altered the familiar twelve-bar blues structure by adding another four bars, resulting in a sixteen-bar form. Her songs were filled with sexual overtones, double entendres, and outright pornography. Ella's lyrics dealt with contemporary subjects and problems including drugs, the penal system, capital punishment, and lesbianism, all of which were of concern in the daily lives of her listeners.

It has been suggested that Spivey was an assertive personality. This, coupled with an innate business acumen and ambition, led her into areas other than merely singing blues. Spivey went on the musical stage in 1927 in Hits and Bits from Africana, a production that also featured Jackie Mabley, who was later to win fame as the shameless comedian, "Moms" Mabley. In 1929 Spivey entered the film world in the minor role of Missy Rose in King Vidor's musical, Hallelujah! She later toured Oklahoma and Texas in the starring role in Tan Town Topics 1933 . She and her husband, dancer Bill Adams, were featured in the revue Hellzapoppin on the Glaser booking circuit. These activities brought occasional performances with stars such as Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith.

From 1934 to 1951 she managed her husband's career as a dancer. By 1930, she had settled in Chicago, where she worked with or knew other blues musicians such as "Tampa Red," "Georgia Tom" (Thomas Dorsey of gospel music fame), "Memphis Minnie," "Washboard Sam," Lil Green , Sonny Boy Williamson, Big Bill Broonzy, and "Memphis Slim." She also recorded for Vocalion and Decca in Chicago, occasionally under the name Jane Lucas. She toured the country as the featured singer with her own band, The Hunter Serenaders, which included Ben Webster on tenor saxophone, her previous husband Reuben Floyd on trumpet, and Joe Jones on drums. Her driving energy, business sense, and passion for perfection enabled her to continue to pursue her career long after many other blues artists had been forgotten.

After she and Adams ended their marriage and after a brief stint with the Balaban and Katz shows, Spivey left the entertainment world in 1952 to become a church organist in Brooklyn, although she continued to perform in clubs occasionally.

The discovery and acceptance of blues by white America in the late 1950s and early 1960s brought eleven more recognition to many of the early blues performers. Spivey was among the most visible of these "discoveries." Spurred by the enthusiastic support of white blues lover Leonard Kunstadt, Spivey began to appear frequently in New York clubs and was engaged by promoters of blues festivals, which had by this time become popular. Ever the businesswoman, Spivey set up her own record company, Spivey Records, and reissued many of her old works and recorded such early performers as Lucille Hegamin, Lonnie Johnson, Little Brother Montgomery, Memphis Slim, Big Joe Williams, and younger musicians such as John Hammond, Bill Dicey, and Bob Dylan. A notable issue of Spivey Records was Spivey's Blues Cavalcade which featured "Bunka" White and Bob Dylan among other performers.

In 1963 Spivey participated in the American Blues Festival in Europe and sang his famous "TB Blues." In 1965 she and an old friend, Sippi Wallace, appeared together at festivals. Spivey was generous in helping other show business personalities. She continued to write and sing the blues until her death in 1976.

EARLY BIRD TICKET PRICE FOR BLUES BLAST ENDS OCT. 8!

GET YOUR TICKETS BEFORE PRICES GO UP

Blues Blast Tickets

OUT & ABOUT

Tuesday, Oct 17

Johnny's JAM,6:30p.m., Jimbo's Sports Bar & Grill, Glendale

Carvin Jones, 7 p.m., Good

Time Charli’s, Chandler

Carolyn Wonderland, 8 p.m., The Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Wednesday, Oct 18

Tool Shed JAM , 7 p.m., The Blooze, Phoenix

The Sugar Thieves, 6:00 p.m., Cambria Hotel, Phoenix

Mike Bourne & Kansas

City Boogie, 7 p.m., Westside Blues & Jazz

Carvin Jones, 6 p.m., The Burg, Phoenix

Eric Ramsey/Robby Roberson, 5:30 p.m., Janey’s, Cave Creek

The Black Hole, 6:30 p.m., Starz American Grill, Mesa

Thursday, Oct 19

Johnny's JAM , 7 p.m.,

Starlight Lounge, Glendale

Chuck Hall, 6:30 p.m.,

Westside Blues and Jazz, Glendale

Hans Olson, 6 p.m., Handlebar Bar & Grill, Apache Junction

Carvin Jones, 6 p.m., The Bearded Barber, New River

Eric Ramsey, Old Ellsworth Brewing Co., Queen Creek

The Black Hole, 8:30 p.m., Bourbon Jacks, Mesa

JD Simo, 8 p.m., The Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Friday, Oct 20

Cold Shott & The Hurricane Horns, 7 p.m., Westside Blues & Jazz, Glendale

The Sugar Thieves, 6 p.m., Spokes on Southern, Phoenix

Hans Olson, 7 p.m., The Time Out Lounge, Tempe

The Rocket 88’s, 9 p.m., Stacy’s at Dunlap, Phoenix

Carvin Jones, 5 p.m., Dos Gringos, Mesa

Bluesman Mike & The Blues Review Band, 5 p.m., Val Vista RV Resort, Mesa

Big Daddy D & the Dynamites, 5:30 p.m., Gold Stallion Restaurant, Gold Canyon

Cadillac Assembly Line, 7 p.m., Arizona Italian Club, Phoenix

The Black Hole, 9 p.m., Gypsy’s Roadhouse, Phoenix

The Jokerz, 7 p.m., Handlebar Pub & Grill, Apache Junction

West of the Blues, 5 p.m., Briarwood Country Club, Sun City West

Sugaray Ray Rayford, 8 p.m., The Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Saturday, Oct 21

Cold Shott & The Hurricane Horns,

8:30 p.m., Cactus Jacks, Phoenix

The Sugar Thieves, 8 p.m., The Rhythm Room, Phoenix

Carvin Jones, 7 p.m., The Rack, Scottsdale

The Black Hole, 2 p.m., What The Hell Bar & Grill, Mesa

The Black Hole, 8 p.m., Playa II, Phoenix

Sunday, October 22

Rocket 88's JAM , 4:30

p.m., Chopper John's, Phoenix

Monday, October 23

Carvin Jones, 6 p.m., Hooper’s Pub, Phoenix

Check Out: AZ Blues Scene for great Blues in Northern Arizona. And stay in touch with the Northern Arizona Blues Alliance .

In the Tucson Area: The Southern Arizona Blues Heritage Foundation has all the Tucson area Blues info you can use!

Music Makers

Big Pete Pearson