Josephine Miles
Josie Miles (c. 1900 – c. 1953–65) was an American vaudeville and blues singer. She was one of the classic female blues singers popular in the 1920s. Miles was born in Summerville, South Carolina. By the early 1920s she was working in New York City, where she appeared in Eubie Blake and Noble Sissle's musical comedy Shuffle Along. In 1922, Miles made her first recordings for the Black Swan Company. She later recorded for the Gennett, Ajax, Edison, and Banner Records labels. In 1923 she toured the African-American theatre circuit with the Black Swan Troubadours, and performed in New York City in James P. Johnson's revue Runnin' Wild at the Colonial Theatre. In that same year she also performed on WDT radio in New York City. The blues writer Steve Tracy described Miles as having "a light but forceful delivery that was not low-down but was nevertheless convincing." Her last recordings date from 1925. After the early 1930s, she devoted herself to church activities in Kansas City, Missouri, where she had settled. According to some accounts, Miles died in an automobile accident in the 1950s or 1960s. In 1928, a preacher billed sometimes as Missionary Josephine Miles and sometimes as Evangelist Mary Flowers recorded six sides of fiery sermons for the Gennett label. It is not known if these recordings are attributable to Josie Miles. The blues historians Paul Oliver and Chris Smith believe that the aural evidence does not support this identification. |
Birth and Death Data: Born 1900 (Summerville), Died 20th century
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1924 - 1928
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, speaker
Notes: Often listed as Josie Miles.
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Edison | 9707 | 10-in. | 9/15/1924 | Sweet man Joe | Josephine Miles | Female vocal solo, with cornet and piano | vocalist | |
Edison | 9761 | 10-in. | 10/2/1924 | Temper'mental papa | Kansas City Five ; Josephine Miles | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist | |
Edison | 9762 | 10-in. | 10/2/1924 | Sweet man Joe | Kansas City Five ; Josephine Miles | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist | |
Edison | 9862 | 10-in. | 11/21/1924 | Mad mama's blues | Kansas City Five ; Josephine Miles | Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance ensemble | vocalist | |
Gennett | 13839 | 10-in. | 5/15/1928 | Vacation in heavan | Josephine Miles | Female vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
Gennett | 13840 | 10-in. | 5/16/1928 | God's warning to the church | Elizabeth Cooper ; Josephine Miles | Female vocal duet and talk, with piano | vocalist, speaker | |
Gennett | 13841 | 10-in. | 5/16/1928 | Holiness | Elizabeth Cooper ; Josephine Miles | Female vocal duet and talk, with piano | vocalist, speaker | |
Gennett | 13842 | 10-in. | 5/16/1928 | Holiness | Elizabeth Cooper ; Josephine Miles | Female vocal duet and talk, with piano | vocalist, speaker | |
Gennett | 13844 | 10-in. | 5/16/1928 | You have lost Jesus | Elizabeth Cooper ; Josephine Miles | Female vocal duet and talk, with piano | vocalist, speaker | |
Gennett | 13845 | 10-in. | 5/16/1928 | The ways | Elizabeth Cooper ; Josephine Miles | Female vocal duet, with piano | vocalist | |
Gennett | 13846 | 10-in. | 5/16/1928 | An aweful responsibilty | Lottie Beeman and Congregation ; Rev. B. L. Wightman | Male vocal solo, with mixed vocal ensemble | vocalist | |
Gennett | 13847 | 10-in. | 5/16/1928 | The soul's physician | Lottie Beeman and Congregation ; Rev. B. L. Wightman | Male vocal solo, with mixed vocal ensemble | vocalist | |
Gennett | 13848 | 10-in. | 5/16/1928 | The soul's physician | Lottie Beeman and Congregation ; Rev. B. L. Wightman | Male vocal solo, with mixed vocal ensemble | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Miles, Josephine," accessed November 5, 2024, https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/106659.
Miles, Josephine. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved November 5, 2024, from https://adpprod2.library.ucsb.edu/names/106659.
"Miles, Josephine." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 5 November 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Josie Miles
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Miles, Josephine - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n92092052
Wikidata: Josie Miles - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q13561949
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/60744350
MusicBrainz: Josie Miles - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/1bbfedb7-f7be-4962-b452-a41893842780
Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license
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