Ida Cox
Encyclopedia
Ida Cox was an African American
singer and vaudeville
performer, best known for her blues
performances and recordings
. She was billed as "The Uncrowned Queen of the Blues".
, Habersham County, Georgia
, United States
(Toccoa was in Habersham County, not yet Stephens County
at the time), the daughter of Lamax and Susie (Knight) Prather, and grew up in Cedartown, Georgia
, singing in the local African Methodist Church choir
. She left home to tour with traveling minstrel show
s, often appearing in blackface
into the 1910s; she married fellow minstrel performer Adler Cox.
By 1920, she was appearing as a headline act at the 81 Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
; another headliner at that time was Jelly Roll Morton
.
After the success of Mamie Smith
's pioneering 1920 recording of "Crazy Blues", record label
s realized there was a demand for recordings of race music. The classic female blues
era had begun, and would extend through the 1920s. From 1923 through to 1929, Cox made numerous recordings for Paramount Records
, and headlined touring companies, sometimes billed as the "Sepia Mae West", continuing into the 1930s. During the 1920s, she also managed Ida Cox and Her Raisin' Cain Company, her own vaudeville
troupe. At some point in her career, she played alongside Ibrahim Khalil, a Native American and one of the several jazz musicians of that era who belonged from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
.
In the early 1930s "Baby Earl Palmer"
entered show business as a tap dancer in Cox's Darktown Scandals Review.
In 1939 she appeared at Café Society Downtown, in New York
's Greenwich Village
, and participated in the historic Carnegie Hall
concert, From Spirituals to Swing
. That year, she also resumed her recording career with a series of sessions for Vocalion Records
and, in 1940, Okeh Records
, with groups that at various times included guitarist Charlie Christian
, trumpeters Hot Lips Page
and Henry "Red" Allen
, trombonist J. C. Higginbotham
, and Lionel Hampton
.
She had spent several years in retirement by 1960, when record producer
Chris Albertson
persuaded her to make one final recording, an album for Riverside
titled Blues For Rampart Street. Her accompanying group comprised Roy Eldridge
, Coleman Hawkins
, pianist Sammy Price, bassist Milt Hinton
, and drummer Jo Jones
. The album featured her revisiting songs from her old repertoire, including "Wild Women Don't Have the Blues
", which found a new audience, including such singers as Nancy Harrow
and Barbara Dane
, who recorded their own versions. Cox referred to the album as her "final statement," and, indeed, it was. She returned to live with her daughter in Knoxville
, Tennessee
, where she died of cancer
in 1967.
African American
African Americans are citizens or residents of the United States who have at least partial ancestry from any of the native populations of Sub-Saharan Africa and are the direct descendants of enslaved Africans within the boundaries of the present United States...
singer and vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
performer, best known for her blues
Blues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
performances and recordings
Sound recording and reproduction
Sound recording and reproduction is an electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording...
. She was billed as "The Uncrowned Queen of the Blues".
Life and career
Cox was born in February, 1896 as Ida Prather in ToccoaToccoa, Georgia
Toccoa is a city in Stephens County, Georgia, United States located approximately from Athens and approximately northeast of Atlanta. The population was 9,323 at the 2000 census...
, Habersham County, Georgia
Habersham County, Georgia
Habersham County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. It was created on December 15, 1818, and named for Colonel Joseph Habersham. As of 2000, the population was 35,902. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 42,272. Clarkesville is the county seat.Chartered in 1823, the...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
(Toccoa was in Habersham County, not yet Stephens County
Stephens County, Georgia
Stephens County is a county located in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 Census, the population was 26,175. The 2007 Census Estimate shows a population of 25,268. The county seat is Toccoa.-History:...
at the time), the daughter of Lamax and Susie (Knight) Prather, and grew up in Cedartown, Georgia
Cedartown, Georgia
Cedartown is a city in Polk County, Georgia, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city had a population of 9,750. The city is the county seat of Polk County...
, singing in the local African Methodist Church choir
Choir
A choir, chorale or chorus is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform.A body of singers who perform together as a group is called a choir or chorus...
. She left home to tour with traveling minstrel show
Minstrel show
The minstrel show, or minstrelsy, was an American entertainment consisting of comic skits, variety acts, dancing, and music, performed by white people in blackface or, especially after the Civil War, black people in blackface....
s, often appearing in blackface
Blackface
Blackface is a form of theatrical makeup used in minstrel shows, and later vaudeville, in which performers create a stereotyped caricature of a black person. The practice gained popularity during the 19th century and contributed to the proliferation of stereotypes such as the "happy-go-lucky darky...
into the 1910s; she married fellow minstrel performer Adler Cox.
By 1920, she was appearing as a headline act at the 81 Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta, Georgia
Atlanta is the capital and most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia. According to the 2010 census, Atlanta's population is 420,003. Atlanta is the cultural and economic center of the Atlanta metropolitan area, which is home to 5,268,860 people and is the ninth largest metropolitan area in...
; another headliner at that time was Jelly Roll Morton
Jelly Roll Morton
Ferdinand Joseph LaMothe , known professionally as Jelly Roll Morton, was an American ragtime and early jazz pianist, bandleader and composer....
.
After the success of Mamie Smith
Mamie Smith
-External links:* African American Registry* with photos* with .ram files of her early recordings* NPR special on the selection on "Crazy Blues" to the 2005...
's pioneering 1920 recording of "Crazy Blues", record label
Record label
In the music industry, a record label is a brand and a trademark associated with the marketing of music recordings and music videos. Most commonly, a record label is the company that manages such brands and trademarks, coordinates the production, manufacture, distribution, marketing and promotion,...
s realized there was a demand for recordings of race music. The classic female blues
Classic female blues
Classic female blues was an early form of blues music, popular in the 1920s. An amalgam of traditional folk blues and urban theater music, the style is also known as vaudeville blues. Classic blues were performed by female vocalists accompanied by pianists or small jazz ensembles, and were the...
era had begun, and would extend through the 1920s. From 1923 through to 1929, Cox made numerous recordings for Paramount Records
Paramount Records
Paramount Records was an American record label, best known for its recordings of African-American jazz and blues in the 1920s and early 1930s, including such artists as Ma Rainey and Blind Lemon Jefferson.-Early years:...
, and headlined touring companies, sometimes billed as the "Sepia Mae West", continuing into the 1930s. During the 1920s, she also managed Ida Cox and Her Raisin' Cain Company, her own vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
troupe. At some point in her career, she played alongside Ibrahim Khalil, a Native American and one of the several jazz musicians of that era who belonged from the Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
Ahmadiyya Muslim Community
The Ahmadiyya Muslim Community is the larger of two communities that arose from the Ahmadiyya movement founded in 1889 in India by Mirza Ghulam Ahmad of Qadian . The original movement split into two factions soon after the death of the founder...
.
In the early 1930s "Baby Earl Palmer"
Earl Palmer
Earl Cyril Palmer was an American rock & roll and rhythm and blues drummer, and member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame....
entered show business as a tap dancer in Cox's Darktown Scandals Review.
In 1939 she appeared at Café Society Downtown, in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
's Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, and participated in the historic Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City, United States, located at 881 Seventh Avenue, occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street, two blocks south of Central Park....
concert, From Spirituals to Swing
From Spirituals to Swing
From Spirituals to Swing was the title of two concerts presented by John Hammond in Carnegie Hall on 23 December 1938 and 24 December 1939. The concerts included performances by Count Basie, Benny Goodman, Big Joe Turner and Pete Johnson, Helen Humes, Meade Lux Lewis, Albert Ammons, Mitchell's...
. That year, she also resumed her recording career with a series of sessions for Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records
Vocalion Records is a record label active for many years in the United States and in the United Kingdom.-History:Vocalion was founded in 1916 by the Aeolian Piano Company of New York City, which introduced a retail line of phonographs at the same time. The name was derived from one of their...
and, in 1940, Okeh Records
Okeh Records
Okeh Records began as an independent record label based in the United States of America in 1918. From 1926 on, it was a subsidiary of Columbia Records.-History:...
, with groups that at various times included guitarist Charlie Christian
Charlie Christian
Charles Henry "Charlie" Christian was an American swing and jazz guitarist.Christian was an important early performer on the electric guitar, and is cited as a key figure in the development of bebop and cool jazz. He gained national exposure as a member of the Benny Goodman Sextet and Orchestra...
, trumpeters Hot Lips Page
Oran Page
Oran Thaddeus Page was an American jazz trumpeter, singer, and bandleader born in Dallas, Texas, United States. He was better known as Hot Lips Page by the public, and Lips Page by his fellow musicians...
and Henry "Red" Allen
Red Allen
Henry James "Red" Allen was a jazz trumpeter and vocalist whose style has been claimed to be the first to fully incorporate the innovations of Louis Armstrong.-Life and career:...
, trombonist J. C. Higginbotham
J. C. Higginbotham
J. C. Higginbotham was an American jazz trombonist. His playing was robust and swinging.In the 1930s and 1940s he played with some of the premier swing bands, including Luis Russell's, Benny Carter's, Red Allen's, and Fletcher Henderson's. He also played with Louis Armstrong, who had taken over...
, and Lionel Hampton
Lionel Hampton
Lionel Leo Hampton was an American jazz vibraphonist, pianist, percussionist, bandleader and actor. Like Red Norvo, he was one of the first jazz vibraphone players. Hampton ranks among the great names in jazz history, having worked with a who's who of jazz musicians, from Benny Goodman and Buddy...
.
She had spent several years in retirement by 1960, when record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
Chris Albertson
Chris Albertson
Christiern Gunnar Albertson is a New York City-based jazz journalist, writer and record producer.He was born in Reykjavík and educated in Iceland, Denmark and England before studying commercial art in Copenhagen...
persuaded her to make one final recording, an album for Riverside
Riverside Records
Riverside Records was a United States record label specializing in jazz. Founded by Orrin Keepnews and Bill Grauer under his firm Bill Grauer Productions, Inc. in 1953, the label was a major presence in the jazz record industry for a decade...
titled Blues For Rampart Street. Her accompanying group comprised Roy Eldridge
Roy Eldridge
Roy David Eldridge , nicknamed "Little Jazz" was an American jazz trumpet player. His sophisticated use of harmony, including the use of tritone substitutions, his virtuosic solos and his strong influence on Dizzy Gillespie mark him as one of the most exciting musicians of the swing era and a...
, Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Hawkins
Coleman Randolph Hawkins was an American jazz tenor saxophonist. Hawkins was one of the first prominent jazz musicians on his instrument. As Joachim E. Berendt explained, "there were some tenor players before him, but the instrument was not an acknowledged jazz horn"...
, pianist Sammy Price, bassist Milt Hinton
Milt Hinton
Milton John "Milt" Hinton , "the dean of jazz bass players," was an American jazz double bassist and photographer. He was nicknamed "The Judge".-Biography:...
, and drummer Jo Jones
Jo Jones
Jo Jones was an American jazz drummer.Known as Papa Jo Jones in his later years, he was sometimes confused with another influential jazz drummer, Philly Joe Jones...
. The album featured her revisiting songs from her old repertoire, including "Wild Women Don't Have the Blues
Wild Women Don't Have the Blues
"Wild Women Don't Have the Blues", "Wild Women Don't Get the Blues", or simply "Wild Women" is an American popular song composed by singer Ida Cox in the blues style, in 1924. It has a strong feminist message. From date, it has been performed by numerous musicians, notably by its composer Ida Cox...
", which found a new audience, including such singers as Nancy Harrow
Nancy Harrow
Nancy Harrow is an American jazz singer and songwriter.Harrow studied classical piano from age seven, then decided to pursue careers in dancing and singing...
and Barbara Dane
Barbara Dane
Barbara Dane is an American folk, blues, and jazz singer.-Early life:Barbara Dane's parents arrived in Detroit from Arkansas in the 1920s. Out of high school, Dane began to sing regularly at demonstrations for racial equality and economic justice. While still in her teens, she sat in with bands...
, who recorded their own versions. Cox referred to the album as her "final statement," and, indeed, it was. She returned to live with her daughter in Knoxville
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, where she died of cancer
Cancer
Cancer , known medically as a malignant neoplasm, is a large group of different diseases, all involving unregulated cell growth. In cancer, cells divide and grow uncontrollably, forming malignant tumors, and invade nearby parts of the body. The cancer may also spread to more distant parts of the...
in 1967.