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Black Snake Blues/
No More Jelly Beans

Victoria Spivey

De Lloyd Barnes, Pierce Gist, Victoria Spivey

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"Black Snake Blues", recorded in St. Louis, Missouri on May 11th 1926 with Victoria Spivey piano & vocals.

"No More Jelly Bean Blues", recorded two days later on May 13th 1926 in St. Louis, Missouri at the same location with Victoria Spivey vocals, accompanied by Pierce Gist cornet, and De Lloyd Barnes piano.

These sides released as Okeh 8338 were Victoria Spivey's first recordings.

*"Black Snake Blues" was written by Victoria Spivey.

*"No More Jelly Bean Blues" was composed by De Lloyd Barnes, with lyrics by Victoria Spivey.

Victoria Spivey's first professional experience was in a family string band led by her father in Houston. In 1918 at the age of twelve, she was hired to accompany films at the Lincoln Theater in Dallas. As a teenager Victoria Spivey worked in local saloons, nightclubs, whore houses, and buffet flats, mostly alone, but occasionally with singer-guitarists such as Blind Lemon Jefferson. In 1926 she moved to St. Louis, Missouri where she was signed by Okeh Records. Her first recording "Black Snake Blues" did extremely well. Spivey continued to cut sides for Okeh until 1929 when she switched to the RCA Victor label.