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Artist
Virginia Liston
12+ albums
bluesfemale vocalistsAllfemale vocalistClassic Blues
about
Virginia Liston (née Crawford; c. 1890 – June 1932) was an American classic female blues and jazz singer. She spent most of her career in vaudeville. She performed with her husband, Samuel H. Gray, as Liston and Liston. In the 1920s she made a series of recordings that included performances with Clarence Williams and his Blue Five on "You've Got the Right Key, but the Wrong Keyhole" and "Early in the Morning", and with the Clarence Williams Washboard Band on "Cushion Foot Stomp", and "P.D.Q. Blues". Little is known about her childhood. It is thought that she was born around 1890 in Louisiana, although U.S. census records suggest that she may have been born in Mississippi. By the time she was ten years old, she and her family were living in New Orleans. She was working in local theaters in 1909 and was performing in Texas by 1910. In 1911 she married Dave Liston, a singer; the couple apparently were separated by 1913, but she kept his surname for the rest of her career. In about 1912, she was performing as a blues singer at the Segal Theater in Philadelphia. She subsequently lived in Washington, D.C., until the early 1920s. From 1920 to 1923, she performed in a duo with her new husband, pianist Sam Gray, as Liston and Liston. They performed in the South on the Theatre Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.) vaudeville circuit between 1920 and 1923, while also playing theaters in Philadelphia and Atlantic City. She regularly performed in Harlem theaters, and settled in New York
top songs
1
I've Got What It Takes
2,4802You've Got the Right Key, But the Wrong Keyhole
1,5903I Don't Love Nobody
7724Evil Minded Blues
2975I'm Gonna Get Me A Man, That's All
1876Bed Time Blues
957Pineland Blues
918You Though I Was Blind But Now I See
729You Don't Know My Mind Blues
7110You Thought I Was Blind But Now I See
61albums
Virginia Liston Vol. 1 (1923-1924)
Presenting Virginia Liston
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Blues Women Anthology Vol.1 - DISC 2
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Bed Time Blues
Those Dirty Blues, Vol. 2
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Oh, Run Into Me, But Don't Hurt Me! Female Blues Singers Rarities 1923-1930
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Blues Women Anthology vol.1 [CD2]
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Complete Recorded Works Volume 1
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Speakeasy Music of the 1920's
Virginia Liston Vol. 2 (1924-1926) Lavinia Turner (1921-1922)
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Oh, Run Into Me, But Don't Hurt Me ! Female Blues Singers : Rarities 1923-1930
Vocal and Jazz (1923-1924)