Catherine "Katie" Crippen (November 17, 1895 – November 25, 1929), also billed as Little Katie Crippen or Ella White, was an American entertainer and singer.

Career

Crippen was born in Philadelphia to an African-American family. She performed at Edmond's Cellar in New York City about 1920.[1] In 1921, she recorded four sides for Black Swan Records in the classic female blues style under her name and one under the pseudonym of Ella White, accompanied by Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra.[2][3] She toured in 1922–23 as the star of a revue, "Liza and Her Shuffling Sextet", which included Fats Waller.[1][4] She subsequently formed a revue, "Katie Crippen and Her Kids", in which she was accompanied by a teenaged Count Basie.[5][6] She was managed by her husband and musician Lou Henry.[7]

In the later 1920s she appeared in revues at the Lafayette Theater in New York City and toured the RKO theater circuit with Dewey Brown as Crippen & Brown.[1]

After a long illness, Crippen died of cancer in New York City on November 25, 1929. She is buried in Merion Memorial Park, in Bala Cynwyd, Pennsylvania, outside of Philadelphia.[1]

Crippen's complete recordings have been reissued in CD format by Document Records on Fletcher Henderson and the Blues Singers: Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume 1 (1921–1923) (DODC-5342).

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 Harris 1994, p. 137.
  2. ↑ Allen 1973, pp. 18, 576.
  3. ↑ Magee 2005, p. 22.
  4. ↑ Shipton 1988, p. 21.
  5. ↑ Murray, 1985, pp. 55–66
  6. ↑ "This Week in Black History". Jet. 94 (13): 19. August 1998.
  7. ↑ "Allen" 1973, p. 576

References

  • Harris, Sheldon (1994). Blues Who's Who (Rev. ed.). New York: Da Capo Press. ISBN 0-306-80155-8.
  • Magee, Jeffrey (2005). The Uncrowned King of Swing: Fletcher Henderson and Big Band Jazz. Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-509022-5.
  • Shipton, Alyn (1988). Fats Waller: His Life and Times. Universe Books. ISBN 0-87663-687-3.
  • Allen, Walter C. (1973). Henderson – The Music of Fletcher Henderson and His Musicians. Walter C. Allen. ISSN 0075-3564 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 72-85818.
  • Murray, Albert (1985). Good Morning Blues. The Autobiography of Count Basie as told to Alter Murray. Primus, Donald I. Fine ISBN 0-917657-89-6.


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