Midge Williams

about

Midge Williams (1915-1952) was an African American Swing Jazz vocalist during the 1930s and 1940s. Although not as famous as other Jazz recording artists, Williams was a respected singer and her group, Midge Williams and Her Jazz Jesters, made several well-received recordings during the late 1930s. Early life Midge Williams was born Virginia Louise Williams in May 1915, but she was known by her nickname "Midge" to distinguish her from her mother, also named Virginia Louise. She grew up in the African American agricultural community of Allensworth, California, in Tulare County. Williams’ grandfather, Joshua Singleton, was the son of the famous black separatist leader Benjamin "Pap" Singleton. Joshua Singleton moved his family to Allensworth when the colony was founded in 1909, and the Singletons became prominent members of the Allensworth community. Virginia Louise Williams, Midge's mother, helped run Singleton's grocery store and helped obtain a Girl Scout charter for the Allensworth settlement. Allensworth had problems with arsenic in the groundwater supply, and when promised new sources of water did not appear, the economic hopes of the community began to falter. Many residents had to leave, including the Williams family. Virginia Louise Williams moved to Oakland in 1925, while Midge and her brothers, John, Lewis, Charles, and Robert, remained in Allensworth. In 1929, Midge and her brothers joined her newly remarried mother and her uncle, Henry Singleton, in Berkeley, Ca

top songs

albums

Complete Jazz Series 1937 - 1938

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The Complete Midge Williams Volume #2

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The Complete Midge Williams, Vol. 1

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Midge Williams (Doxy Collection)

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Complementary Tracks

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«Mehr Jazz!» sagten die Frauen [Disc 1]

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The Best of the 1930's

1937-1938 {Chronological Classics, 745}

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Swing Street : Original 1931-1939) Recordings

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Swinging Thirties (30s)

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1937-1938

Classics by Midge Williams

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