Lucille Hegamin Vol. 4: Alternative Takes & Remaining Titles (1920-1926)

The life and career of Lucille Hegamin (1894-1970) are dealt with in detail in the notes to Document DOCD-5419/20/21. Her chief claim to fame is as the second African- American blues singer to record, after Mamie Smith; she is also noteworthy for a more bluesy delivery than Smith generally managed, albeit often on songs that are close to the pop end of the blues. In those early days, the interaction that generated recordings took place between stage and vaudeville artists, usually female, the record companies, and Tin Pan Alley composers, both white and black. For many years neglected by comparison with the folk blues singers, and even with the more consistently jazzy stage performers, artists like Lucille Hegamin may perhaps be finally accorded their true place, and their true merits, thanks to the Document series which is now approaching its conclusion.

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