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Mr. Brakes-Man
(Let Me Ride Your Train)

Martha Copeland

Bob Fuller , Ernest Elliott, Martha Copeland, Porter Grainger

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This side was recorded by Martha Copeland in New York City on May 5th 1927 accompanied by Bob Fuller and Ernest Elliott clarinets, and Porter Grainger piano.

*"Mr. Brakes-Man (Let Me Ride Your Train)" is credited to Porter Grainger.

Martha Copeland was an American classic female blues singer, who recorded thirty four songs between 1923 and 1928. Her birth date is unknown, but she was in her forties when Victoria Spivey (born 1906) was still in her teens. Her best known offerings are "Everybody Does It Now," "Good Time Mama Blues," and "Sorrow Valley Blues." Promoted by Columbia Records as 'Everybody's Mammy', her recordings did not sell in the quantities enjoyed by her label mates Bessie and Clara Smith. Outside of her recording career, little is known of her life.

Copeland started her recording career with Okeh in 1923, and appeared in a vaudeville revue, Shuffle Along. Her output veered between blues standards; mirror images of current popular tracks ("Soul and Body," in response to Coleman Hawkins's, "Body and Soul"); and comedic numbers ("I Ain't Your Hen, Mr. Fly Rooster" and "When The Wind Make Connection With Your Dry Goods").