Edith North Johnson

{{Short description|American blues singer, pianist and songwriter}}

{{Infobox musical artist

| name = Edith North Johnson

| image =

| caption =

| birth_name = Edith North

| alias = Hattie North, Maybelle Allen

| birth_date = January 2, 1903

| birth_place = St. Louis, Missouri, United States

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1988|2|28|1903|1|2|mf=y}}

| death_place = St. Louis, Missouri

| instrument = Vocals, piano

| genre = Classic female blues

| occupation = Singer, pianist, songwriter

| years_active = 1920s–1960s

| label = QRS, Paramount, Folkways

| associated_acts =

| website =

}}

Edith North Johnson (January 2, 1903 – February 28, 1988){{cite web|author=Doc Rock |url=http://thedeadrockstarsclub.com/1980.html |title=The 1980s |publisher=TheDeadRockStarsClub.com |date= |accessdate=2015-10-02}} was an American classic female blues singer, pianist and songwriter.{{cite web |url={{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p188390|pure_url=yes}}|title=Edith North Johnson: Biography|author=Leggett, Steve |publisher=AllMusic.com |accessdate=September 26, 2011}} Her most noted tracks are "Honey Dripper Blues", "Can't Make Another Day" and "Eight Hour Woman". She wrote another of her songs, "Nickel's Worth of Liver Blues".

Biography

She was born Edith North in 1903. She married Jesse Johnson, a St. Louis record producer.{{cite book

| first= Dennis

| last= Owsley

| year= 2006

| title= City of Gabriels: The History of Jazz in St. Louis, 1895–1973

| edition=

| publisher= Reedy Press

| location= St. Louis, Missouri

| isbn= 1-933370-04-1

| pages= 40/1}} She originally worked at her husband's Deluxe Music Store as a saleswoman.{{cite book

| first= Arnold

| last= Shaw

| year= 1986

| title= Black Popular Music in America

| edition=

| publisher= Schirmer Books

| location= London

| isbn= 0-02-872310-4

| page= [https://archive.org/details/blackpopularmusi00shaw/page/105 105]

| url-access= registration

| url= https://archive.org/details/blackpopularmusi00shaw/page/105

}} Although not a professional singer, Johnson recorded eighteen sides in 1928 and 1929. She started on QRS Records in 1928. She then switched to Paramount, recording at a session in Grafton, Wisconsin, attended by Charley Patton.{{cite book

| first= Bill

| last= Wyman

| year= 2001

| title= Bill Wyman's Blues Odyssey

| edition=

| publisher= DK Publishing

| location= London

| isbn= 0-7894-8046-8

| page= 95}} It is reckoned that Patton did not play on any of her recordings.

Using pseudonyms such as Hattie North (on Vocalion){{cite book

| first= Allan

| last= Sutton

| year= 2005

| title= Pseudonyms on AmericanRrecords, 1892–1942

| edition= 2nd

| publisher= Mainspring Press

| location= Denver, Colorado

| isbn= 0-9671819-9-2

| page= 243}} and Maybelle Allen, Johnson also recorded other tracks for small labels. Under the name Hattie North, she recorded "Lovin' That Man Blues" with Count Basie.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/song/lovin-that-man-blues-mt0012116469 |title=Count Basie, Hattie North, Lovin' That Man Blues |publisher=AllMusic.com |date= |accessdate=2015-10-02}}

During World War II, Johnson managed a taxicab operation in St. Louis. She ran Johnson's Deluxe Cafė, after her husband's death in 1946. Samuel Charters located her in 1961 and recorded her, accompanied by Henry Brown, for the anthology album The Blues in St. Louis, released by Folkways Records.

Her recording of "Honey Dripper Blues" was the inspiration for the nickname used by Roosevelt Sykes.{{cite book |title=American National Biography Sykes, Roosevelt (31 January 1906– 11 July 1983) |last1=McCulloch |first1=Bill |last2=Pearson |first2=Barry L. |year=1999 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn= 0195128001}}{{cite web |title=Roosevelt "The Honeydripper" Sykes (1906–1983) |url=https://encyclopediaofarkansas.net/entries/roosevelt-the-honeydripper-sykes-5881/ |website=Encyclopedia of Arkansas}}

In her later life, Johnson spent time undertaking social work in her hometown.{{cite book

| first= Paul

| last= Oliver

| year= 1997

| title= Conversation with the Blues

| edition= 2nd

| publisher= Cambridge University Press

| location= Cambridge

| isbn= 0-521-59181-3

| page= [https://archive.org/details/conversationwith0000unse/page/184 184]

| url= https://archive.org/details/conversationwith0000unse/page/184

}}

She died in St. Louis in February 1988, at the age of 85.

Four of her recordings are included in the boxed set Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charley Patton (2001).{{cite web |first=Richie |last=Unterberger |title= Charley Patton, Screamin' and Hollerin' the Blues: The Worlds of Charlet Patton: Review |url={{AllMusic|class=album|id=r555300|pure_url=yes}} |publisher=AllMusic.com |accessdate=September 26, 2011}}