Lucille Hegamin
Encyclopedia
Lucille Nelson Hegamin was an American
singer and entertainer, and a pioneer African American
blues
recording artist.
, United States
. From an early age she sang in local church choirs. By the age of 15 she was touring the US South with the Leonard Harper Minstrel
Stock Company. In 1914 she settled in Chicago
, Illinois
, where, often billed as "The Georgia Peach", she worked with Tony Jackson and Jelly Roll Morton
before marrying pianist
, Bill Hegamin. She later told a biographer: "I was a cabaret artist in those days, and never had to play theatres, and I sang everything from blues to popular songs, in a jazz style. I think I can say without bragging that I made the "St. Louis Blues" popular in Chicago; this was one of my feature numbers." Lucille Hegamin's stylistic influences included Annette Hanshaw
and Ruth Etting.
The Hegamins moved to Los Angeles, California
in 1918, then to New York City
the following year. Bill Hegamin led his wife's accompanying band, called the Blue Flame Syncopators; Jimmy Wade
was a member of this ensemble.
In November 1920, Hegamin became the second African American blues singer to record, after Mamie Smith
. Hegamin made a series of recordings for the Arto
record label
through 1922, then a few sides for Black Swan
, Lincoln
, Paramount
and Columbia
. From 1922 through late 1926 she recorded for Cameo Records
; from this association she was billed as 'The Cameo Girl'. Like Mamie Smith, Hegamin sang in a lighter, more pop-tune influenced style than the rougher rural-style blues singers such as Ma Rainey
and Bessie Smith
who became more popular a few years later. Two of her earliest recordings, "The Jazz Me Blues" and "Arkansas Blues" became classic tunes.
On January 20, 1922, she competed in a blues singing contest against Daisy Martin
, Alice Leslie Carter
and Trixie Smith
at the Fifteenth Infantry's First Band Concert and Dance in New York City. Hegamin placed second to Smith in the contest, which was held at the Manhattan Casino.
In 1926, Hegamin performed in Clarence Williams' Review at the Lincoln Theater in New York, then in various reviews in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey
through 1934. In 1929 she appeared on the radio
show "Negro Achievement Hour" on WABC, New York. In 1932 she recorded for Okeh Records
.
About 1934 she retired from music as a profession, and worked as a nurse. She came out of retirement to make more records in 1961 and 1962.
Lucille Hegamin died in Harlem Hospital
in New York
on March 1, 1970, and was interred in the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn, New York.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
singer and entertainer, and a pioneer African American
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...
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...
recording artist.
Life and career
Hegamin was born as Lucille Nelson in Macon, GeorgiaMacon, Georgia
Macon is a city located in central Georgia, US. Founded at the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is part of the Macon metropolitan area, and the county seat of Bibb County. A small portion of the city extends into Jones County. Macon is the biggest city in central Georgia...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. From an early age she sang in local church choirs. By the age of 15 she was touring the US South with the Leonard Harper Minstrel
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....
Stock Company. In 1914 she settled in Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, where, often billed as "The Georgia Peach", she worked with Tony Jackson and 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....
before marrying pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
, Bill Hegamin. She later told a biographer: "I was a cabaret artist in those days, and never had to play theatres, and I sang everything from blues to popular songs, in a jazz style. I think I can say without bragging that I made the "St. Louis Blues" popular in Chicago; this was one of my feature numbers." Lucille Hegamin's stylistic influences included Annette Hanshaw
Annette Hanshaw
Catherine Annette Hanshaw was born at her parents' residence in New York City on October 18, 1901. [Ed. While Annette sometimes gave her birth date as 1910, nephew Frank W. Hanshaw III confirms 1901 as the date on Annette's birth certificate.]-Biography:...
and Ruth Etting.
The Hegamins moved to Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles , with a population at the 2010 United States Census of 3,792,621, is the most populous city in California, USA and the second most populous in the United States, after New York City. It has an area of , and is located in Southern California...
in 1918, then to 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...
the following year. Bill Hegamin led his wife's accompanying band, called the Blue Flame Syncopators; Jimmy Wade
Jimmy Wade
Jimmy Wade was an American jazz trumpeter and bandleader.Wade began leading groups in the Chicago area about 1916. He played in California and Seattle, Washington with Lucille Hegamin, and then moved with her to New York City, where they played together until 1922...
was a member of this ensemble.
In November 1920, Hegamin became the second African American blues singer to record, after 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...
. Hegamin made a series of recordings for the Arto
Arto Records
Arto Records was a short lived record label based in the United States of America, operating from 1920 to 1923.Arto Records was owned by the Arto Company of Orange, New Jersey which in turn was owned by the Standard Music Roll Company, a business which made player piano rolls. They went into the...
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,...
through 1922, then a few sides for Black Swan
Black Swan Records
Black Swan Records was a United States record label founded in 1921 in Harlem, New York. It was the first widely distributed label to be owned and operated by, and marketed to, African Americans....
, Lincoln
Lincoln Records
Lincoln Records was a United States record label in the 1920s.The bulk of material on Lincoln were dance tunes recorded by bands of no particular note. Lincoln Records filled a market niche for people who wanted inexpensive, danceable records of popular tunes and did not particularly care who...
, Paramount
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 Columbia
Columbia Records
Columbia Records is an American record label, owned by Japan's Sony Music Entertainment, operating under the Columbia Music Group with Aware Records. It was founded in 1888, evolving from an earlier enterprise, the American Graphophone Company — successor to the Volta Graphophone Company...
. From 1922 through late 1926 she recorded for Cameo Records
Cameo Records
Cameo was a USA based budget record label, first flourishing in the 1920s, not connected with a later record label of the same name which was active in the 1950s and 1960s.The Cameo Record Company was based in Manhattan, New York...
; from this association she was billed as 'The Cameo Girl'. Like Mamie Smith, Hegamin sang in a lighter, more pop-tune influenced style than the rougher rural-style blues singers such as Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. She was billed as The Mother of the Blues....
and Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer.Sometimes referred to as The Empress of the Blues, Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s...
who became more popular a few years later. Two of her earliest recordings, "The Jazz Me Blues" and "Arkansas Blues" became classic tunes.
On January 20, 1922, she competed in a blues singing contest against Daisy Martin
Daisy Martin
Daisy Martin was an African American actress and blues singer. who performed in the classic female blues style that was popular during the 1920s....
, Alice Leslie Carter
Alice Leslie Carter
Alice Leslie Carter was an American classic female blues singer. She was active as a recording artist in the early 1920s, and her best known tracks were "Decatur Street Blues", and "Aunt Hagar's Children Blues." Although Carter was a contemporary of better known recording artists of the time, such...
and Trixie Smith
Trixie Smith
Trixie Smith was an African American blues singer, recording artist, vaudeville entertainer, and actress. She made four dozen recordings.-Biography:...
at the Fifteenth Infantry's First Band Concert and Dance in New York City. Hegamin placed second to Smith in the contest, which was held at the Manhattan Casino.
In 1926, Hegamin performed in Clarence Williams' Review at the Lincoln Theater in New York, then in various reviews in New York and Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City, New Jersey
Atlantic City is a city in Atlantic County, New Jersey, United States, and a nationally renowned resort city for gambling, shopping and fine dining. The city also served as the inspiration for the American version of the board game Monopoly. Atlantic City is located on Absecon Island on the coast...
through 1934. In 1929 she appeared on the radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
show "Negro Achievement Hour" on WABC, New York. In 1932 she recorded for 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:...
.
About 1934 she retired from music as a profession, and worked as a nurse. She came out of retirement to make more records in 1961 and 1962.
Lucille Hegamin died in Harlem Hospital
Harlem Hospital Center
Harlem Hospital Center is a 272-bed public, municipally owned teaching hospital in New York City founded in 1887. It is located at 506 Lenox Avenue at 135th Street in the Harlem community of Manhattan.-Overview:...
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...
on March 1, 1970, and was interred in the Cemetery of the Evergreens in Brooklyn, New York.