Lil Green
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Lil Green | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Lillian Green |
| Born | December 22, 1919 |
| Origin | Mississippi, U.S. |
| Died | April 14, 1954 (aged 34) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Genres | Blues |
| Occupations | Singer |
| Labels | Atlantic |
| Associated acts | Big Bill Broonzy |
Lil Green (December 22, 1919 – April 14, 1954[1]) was an American blues singer and songwriter.
Contents |
[edit] Life and career
Originally named Lillian Green, she was born in Mississippi; after the early deaths of her parents, she went to Chicago, Illinois, where she began performing in her teens and where she would make all of her recordings.[2]
Green was noted for superb timing and a distinctively sinuous voice. In the 1930s she and Big Bill Broonzy had a night club act together.[1] Her two biggest hits were, firstly, her own composition "Romance in the Dark" (1940), which was later covered by many artists, although Billie Holiday also recorded a different song with the same name. Then came Green's own (1941) version of Kansas Joe McCoy's minor key blues and jazz influenced song, "Why Don't You Do Right?", which was covered by Peggy Lee in 1942 and many others since.[2] As well as performing in Chicago clubs, Green toured with Tiny Bradshaw and other bands, but never really broke away from the black theatre circuit.[3]
Although Green signed with Atlantic Records in 1951, she was already in poor health.[3] She died in Chicago in 1954 of pneumonia, at the age of 34, and is buried in Oak Hill Cemetery in Gary, Indiana.
[edit] See also
- List of Classic female blues singers
- List of blues musicians
- List of people who died in their thirties
[edit] References
- ^ a b Allmusic biography - accessed January 2008
- ^ a b Russell, Tony (1997). The Blues - From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray. Dubai: Carlton Books Limited. pp. 114–115. ISBN 1-85868-255-X.
- ^ a b Oldies.com biography
