Geeshie Wiley
Encyclopedia
Geeshie Wiley was an American
female blues
singer and guitar
player. She recorded three records
in the early 1930s. There are no known photographs or images of the artist in existence.
(whose testimony may not be reliable) stated Wiley hailed from Natchez
, Mississippi
, and was romantically linked to Papa Charlie McCoy
. It is thought that in the 1920s she worked in a medicine show
in Jackson, Mississippi
. Some evidence suggests that Wiley may have married Casey Bill Weldon
following his divorce from Memphis Minnie
.
In March 1930, Wiley recorded "Last Kind Word Blues" and "Skinny Leg Blues" for Paramount Records
in Grafton, Wisconsin
. Elvie Thomas
provided guitar accompaniment. Thomas herself also recorded two songs at the time; "Motherless Child Blues" and "Over to My House," with Wiley playing guitar and supplying vocal harmonies
. In March 1931 Wiley and Thomas returned to Grafton and recorded "Pick Poor Robin Clean" and "Eagles on a Half."
Further details of Wiley's early and later life, her career, and her legal name are unknown. The nickname "Geechie" or "Geechee" was most commonly given to people from around coastal South Carolina
and Georgia
, and is an alternate name for the Gullah
ethnic group of that region.
Her song "Last Kind Word Blues" was used in the documentary Crumb
(1994) by Terry Zwigoff
in the scene where Robert Crumb
puts a record on (not the Wiley selection) and sits down to listen. During the song a slideshow of his cartoons is shown. The song also appeared on the latter day compilation album
, Mississippi Masters: Early American Blues Classics 1927-1935 (Yazoo Records
).
David Johansen
and the Harry Smiths covered "Last Kind Words" on their 2002 album Shaker. Johansen also sang a portion of "Last Kind Words" in the movie Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (2003).
Dex Romweber Duo
released a version of "Last Kind Word Blues", featuring Jack White
, on White's vinyl only label, Third Man Records
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
female 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 and guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
player. She recorded three records
Gramophone record
A gramophone record, commonly known as a phonograph record , vinyl record , or colloquially, a record, is an analog sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed, modulated spiral groove...
in the early 1930s. There are no known photographs or images of the artist in existence.
Biography
Ishman BraceyIshman Bracey
Ishman Bracey was an American blues singer and guitarist from Mississippi, considered one of the most important early delta blues performers. With Tommy Johnson, he was the center of a small Jackson, Mississippi group of blues musicians in the 1920s...
(whose testimony may not be reliable) stated Wiley hailed from Natchez
Natchez, Mississippi
Natchez is the county seat of Adams County, Mississippi, United States. With a total population of 18,464 , it is the largest community and the only incorporated municipality within Adams County...
, Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
, and was romantically linked to Papa Charlie McCoy
Papa Charlie McCoy
Charles "Papa Charlie" McCoy was an African American delta blues musician and songwriter.-Career:Born in Jackson, Mississippi, McCoy was best known by the nickname 'Papa Charlie'. He became one of the major blues accompanists of his time...
. It is thought that in the 1920s she worked in a medicine show
Medicine show
Medicine shows were traveling horse and wagon teams which peddled "miracle cure" medications and other products between various entertainment acts. Their precise origins unknown, medicine shows were common in the 19th century United States...
in Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
. Some evidence suggests that Wiley may have married Casey Bill Weldon
Casey Bill Weldon
Casey Bill Weldon was an American country blues musician, born in Pine Bluff, Arkansas who later lived and worked in Chicago was known as one of the great early pioneers of the slide guitar. He played upbeat, hokum and country blues tunes, both as a solo artist and as a member of the Memphis Jug...
following his divorce from Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie
Memphis Minnie was an American blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter. She was the only female blues artist considered a match to male contemporaries as both a singer and an instrumentalist.-Career:...
.
| “If Geeshie Wiley did not exist, she could not be invented: her scope and creativity dwarfs most blues artists. She seems to represent the moment when black secular music was coalescing into blues.” |
| Don Kent's liner notes to Mississippi Masters: Early American Blues Classics 1927-35 (Yazoo CD 2007, 1994) |
In March 1930, Wiley recorded "Last Kind Word Blues" and "Skinny Leg Blues" for Paramount Records
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:...
in Grafton, Wisconsin
Grafton, Wisconsin
Grafton is a village in Ozaukee County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 10,312 at the 2000 census. The village is adjacent to the Town of Grafton and the City of Cedarburg.-History:...
. Elvie Thomas
Elvie Thomas
Elvie Thomas was an American country blues singer and guitarist, probably from Palmer's Crossing, Mississippi, 10 miles from Hattiesburg, United States. She recorded two known songs in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records in March 1930, with Geeshie Wiley on second guitar...
provided guitar accompaniment. Thomas herself also recorded two songs at the time; "Motherless Child Blues" and "Over to My House," with Wiley playing guitar and supplying vocal harmonies
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
. In March 1931 Wiley and Thomas returned to Grafton and recorded "Pick Poor Robin Clean" and "Eagles on a Half."
Further details of Wiley's early and later life, her career, and her legal name are unknown. The nickname "Geechie" or "Geechee" was most commonly given to people from around coastal South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
and Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
, and is an alternate name for the Gullah
Gullah
The Gullah are African Americans who live in the Lowcountry region of South Carolina and Georgia, which includes both the coastal plain and the Sea Islands....
ethnic group of that region.
Her song "Last Kind Word Blues" was used in the documentary Crumb
Crumb (film)
Crumb is a 1994 documentary film about the noted underground comic artist Robert Crumb and his family. Directed by Terry Zwigoff and produced by Lynn O'Donnell and David Lynch, it won widespread acclaim, including both the Grand Jury Prize and best cinematography prize at the Sundance Film Festival...
(1994) by Terry Zwigoff
Terry Zwigoff
Terry Zwigoff is an American filmmaker whose work often deals with misfits, antiheros, and themes of alienation. His fiction films are the features Ghost World , Bad Santa , and Art School Confidential...
in the scene where Robert Crumb
Robert Crumb
Robert Dennis Crumb —known as Robert Crumb and R. Crumb—is an American artist, illustrator, and musician recognized for the distinctive style of his drawings and his critical, satirical, subversive view of the American mainstream.Crumb was a founder of the underground comix movement and is regarded...
puts a record on (not the Wiley selection) and sits down to listen. During the song a slideshow of his cartoons is shown. The song also appeared on the latter day compilation album
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
, Mississippi Masters: Early American Blues Classics 1927-1935 (Yazoo Records
Yazoo Records
Yazoo Records is an American record label, founded in the late 1960s by Nick Perls. It specializes in early American blues, country, jazz, and other rural American genres ....
).
David Johansen
David Johansen
David Roger Johansen is an American rock, protopunk, blues, and pop singer, as well as a songwriter and actor. He is best known as a member of the seminal protopunk band The New York Dolls and also achieved commercial success under the pseudonym Buster Poindexter.-Early life:Johansen was born in...
and the Harry Smiths covered "Last Kind Words" on their 2002 album Shaker. Johansen also sang a portion of "Last Kind Words" in the movie Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (2003).
Dex Romweber Duo
Dexter Romweber
John Michael Dexter Romweber is an American rockabilly/roots rock musician from Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Dex is best known as one-half of the seminal two-piece Flat Duo Jets...
released a version of "Last Kind Word Blues", featuring Jack White
Jack White (musician)
Jack White , often credited as Jack White III, is an American musician, songwriter, record producer and occasional actor...
, on White's vinyl only label, Third Man Records
Third Man Records
Third Man Records is an independent record label founded by Jack White in Detroit, Michigan, in 2001. Third Man established its first physical location — a combination record store, performance venue, and headquarters for the label — in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2009.-History:Jack White founded...
.
Discography
- Paramount RecordsParamount RecordsParamount 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:...
#12951 - March 1930 Geeshie Wiley: "Last Kind Words" / "Skinny Leg Blues" - Paramount Records #12977 - March 1930 Elvie Thomas & Geeshie Wiley: "Motherless Child BluesMotherless Child Blues"Motherless Child Blues" is the name of two distinctly different traditional blues songs. They are different melodically and lyrically...
" / "Over to My House" - Paramount Records #13074 - March 1931 Geeshie Wiley & Elvie Thomas: "Pick Poor Robin Clean" / "Eagles On a Half"
External links
- Illustrated Geeshie Wiley discography
- Three of Geeshie's songs are available for download at archive.org: http://www.archive.org/audio/audio-details-db.php?collection=opensource_audio&collectionid=Robin, http://www.archive.org/audio/audio-details-db.php?collection=opensource_audio&collectionid=Words, http://www.archive.org/audio/audio-details-db.php?collection=opensource_audio&collectionid=Skinny