Esther Bigeou
Encyclopedia
Esther Bigeou was an American
vaudeville
and blues
singer. Billed as "The Girl with the Million Dollar Smile", she was one of the classic female blues
singers popular in the 1920s.
She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana
, United States
. Her extended family featured several musicians; drummer Paul Barbarin
was her cousin. In 1917 Esther Bigeou appeared as a singer, dancer, and recitalist in the Broadway Rastus Revue at the Standard Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
, the Lafayette Theater in New York City
, and the Orpheum Theater in Baltimore
, Maryland
. She recorded for the OKeh
label in 1921 and 1923, and toured the TOBA
vaudeville circuit with the Billy King Company in 1923. During 1923–1925 and 1927–1930, she toured as a single act throughout the American South, Midwest, and Northeast.
Blues writer Chris Smith says that Esther Bigeou was "a singer at the pop end of African-American entertainment", and that she "seems to have retired, aged only 35, to settle in New Orleans, where reports indicate that she died circa 1936".
All of Esther Bigeou's recordings were reissued in 1996 by Document Records
on the CD
, Esther Bigeou: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order (1921–1923) (DODC-5489).
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
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...
and 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...
singer. Billed as "The Girl with the Million Dollar Smile", she was one of 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...
singers popular in the 1920s.
She was born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Her extended family featured several musicians; drummer Paul Barbarin
Paul Barbarin
Adolphe Paul Barbarin was a New Orleans jazz drummer, usually regarded as one of the very best of the pre-Big Band era jazz drummers...
was her cousin. In 1917 Esther Bigeou appeared as a singer, dancer, and recitalist in the Broadway Rastus Revue at the Standard Theater in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
, the Lafayette Theater in New York City
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...
, and the Orpheum Theater in Baltimore
Baltimore
Baltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
, Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
. She recorded for the OKeh
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:...
label in 1921 and 1923, and toured the TOBA
Toba
Toba may refer to:In Geography:* Lake Toba, a lake in northern Sumatra, Indonesia, and site of the volcanic Toba eruption 75,000 years ago** Toba catastrophe theory, according to which modern human evolution was affected by the Toba eruption...
vaudeville circuit with the Billy King Company in 1923. During 1923–1925 and 1927–1930, she toured as a single act throughout the American South, Midwest, and Northeast.
Blues writer Chris Smith says that Esther Bigeou was "a singer at the pop end of African-American entertainment", and that she "seems to have retired, aged only 35, to settle in New Orleans, where reports indicate that she died circa 1936".
All of Esther Bigeou's recordings were reissued in 1996 by Document Records
Document Records
Document Records is a British record label that specializes in early American blues, bluegrass, gospel, spirituals jazz, and other rural American genres , generally made between 1900 and 1945...
on the CD
Compact Disc
The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...
, Esther Bigeou: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order (1921–1923) (DODC-5489).