EDITH WILSON

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Edith Wilson (1896-1981) was one of the stars of early African-American musical theatre. After working in vaudeville with her pianist brother Danny Wilson, Edith rose to prominence in 1921 when she replaced Mamie Smith in Perry Bradford's musical revue "Put And Take". Bradford arranged for her to begin recording with Columbia in 1921. She then moved on to the "Plantation Revue" which was renamed "From Dover Street To Dixie" when the show moved to London, England in 1923. Returning to New York she appeared with Florence Mills in the musical revue Dixie To Broadway. She continued to do theatre and cabaret work in the New York area until 1926 when joined the Sam Wooding Orchestra and toured with the show "Chocolate Kiddies". Wilson traveled the world with this show visiting England, Germany, Sweden, Spain, France, Switzerland, Istanbul, Turkey, Romania, Italy, Czechoslovakia, Holland, Belgium, Russia and Argentina off and on until 1929. Throughout the 1930s she continued to be very busy appearing in dozens of musical revues and appearing with leading groups of the day such as the orchestras of Fess Williams, Cab Calloway, Jimmie Lunceford, Noble Sissle, Lucky Millinder and others. During World War she frequently toured with various USO shows entertaining the troops and had small roles in a couple of films. Wilson had a regular role on the Amos N' Andy radio show in the early 1940s playing Kingfish's mother-in-law and she continued to do theatre work. She sang on the radio and toured promotionally as Aunt Jemima for the Quaker Oats company up until the 1950s. She continued to be very activate in show business up until 1963 when she retired to work for the Negro Actors Guild. In the 1970s she began working in music again and recorded with Eubie Blake in 1972. Wilson died of a cerebral hemorrhage in 1980. Edith was the sister in law of Blues singer Lena Wilson. 

Source:Redhotjazz.com

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Edith Wilson (September 2, 1896 – March 30, 1981) was an American blues singer and vaudeville performer.

Wilson as Aunt Jemima in a 1956 appearance at the Seattle Kiwanis Club Pancake Festival

She was born Edith Goodall in Louisville, Kentucky. Her first professional experience came in 1919 in Louisville's Park Theater. The singer Lena Wilson and her brother, Danny, performed in Louisville; Edith married Danny and joined their act. Danny, a pianist who had been trained at a conservatory in Charleston, South Carolina, encouraged Lena and Edith to sing not just blues but also other song forms. Together the trio performed on the East Coast in 1920–1921, and when they were in New York City Wilson was signed by Columbia, which recorded her in 1921 with Johnny Dunn's Jazz Hounds. She recorded 17 songs with Dunn in 1921 and 1922. In 1924 she worked with Fletcher Henderson in New York, where she was slated to sing with Coleman Hawkins, but Hawkins refused to perform because he wanted additional compensation. She remained a popular Columbia artist through 1925.

Wilson recorded far less than other female blues stars of the 1920s like Bessie Smith. After Wilson left Columbia in 1925, she recorded one record for Brunswick in 1929 and a handful of sides for Victor in 1930. She remained a nightclub and theater singer, working for years on the New York entertainment scene. She sang with Florence Mills in the Lew Leslie Plantation Review in Harlem. She also made several trips to England, where she was well received. She sang with The Hot Chocolates revue, performing alongside Louis Armstrong and Fats Waller, and made appearances with Bill Robinson, Duke Ellington, Alberta Hunter, Cab Calloway, and Noble Sissle.

Wilson also did extensive work as an actress, appearing on radio in Amos and Andy and on film in To Have and Have Not (1944). Shortly after World War II she became the face of Aunt Jemima pancake mix. She retired from active performance in 1963, becoming executive secretary for the Negro Actors Guild, but made a comeback in 1973 to play with Eubie Blake, Little Brother Montgomery, and Terry Waldo. Her last live show was at the 1980 Newport Jazz Festival.

Wilson died in Chicago in March 1981.

Demonstration of Swedish "Halmslojd" (straw work), Chicago, Illinois; Mrs. Edith Wilson at Marina Towers businessman's jam session, "Jazz at Noon," Chicago, Illinois