Article · Wikipedia archive · Last revised Jul 22, 2026

Viola Bartlette

Viola Bartlette was an American blues singer and actress, who recorded on Black Swan Records and Paramount Records. She was from Baltimore. Bartlette recorded under the pseudonym Ida Lewis for Silvertone Records.

Last revised
Jul 22, 2026
Read time
≈ 2 min
Length
362 w
Citations
19
Source
Wikipedia ↗

Viola Bartlette was an American blues singer1 and actress,2 who recorded on Black Swan Records and Paramount Records. She was from Baltimore.3 Bartlette recorded under the pseudonym Ida Lewis for Silvertone Records.4

She often was a backup singer for Lovie Austin5 and accompanied Lovie Austin's Blue Serenaders band and Blythe's Sinful Five on records.6 Johnny Dodds accompanied Bartlette on recordings made in the 1920s. Clarinetist Jimmy O'Bryant backed her on session recordings during 1923 to 1926. She also recorded with Kid Ory.1

Discography

  • "Tennessee Blues" (1925)7
  • "Go Back Where You Stayed Last Night" (1925) by Lovie Austin's Blue Serenaders68
  • "Walk Easy 'Cause My Papa's Here" (1926), by Viola Bartlette with Cobb's Paramount Syncopators, Paramount9
  • "Shake That Thing" (1926) written by Papa Charlie Jackson810
  • "Anna Mina Forty And St. Louis Shorty" (1926) by Jimmy Blythe / Blythe's Sinful Five6
  • "Quit Knocking on My Door" (1926) by Blythe's Sinful Five6
  • "Sunday Morning Blues" (1926)9
  • "You Don't Mean Me No Good" (1926)9
  • "Out Bound Train Blues" (1926)9
  • "You Can Never Tell When Your Perfectly Good Man Will Do" (1926) by Viola Bartlette with Punch Miller11
References

References

  1. Yanow, Scott (2001). Classic Jazz. Backbeat Books. pp. 68, 176. ISBN 978-0-87930-659-5. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  2. "Local Girl Recording". Baltimore Afro-American. September 11, 1926. p. 5. ProQuest 530641570. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  3. Currin, Grayson (November 22, 2013). "Various Artists: The Rise & Fall of Paramount Records, Volume One (1917-1932)". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  4. Sutton, Allan (1993). A Guide to pseudonyms on American records, 1892-1942. Greenwood Press. p. 29. ISBN 978-0-313-29060-2. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  5. The Harlem Renaissance: a historical dictionary for the era. Greenwood Press. 1984. ISBN 978-0-313-23232-9. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  6. Dixon, Robert M. W. (1982). Blues & gospel records, 1902-1943. Storyville Publications. p. 61. ISBN 978-0-902391-03-1. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  7. Eagle, Bob (2004). "Directory of African-Appalachian Musicians". Black Music Research Journal. 24 (1): 50. doi:10.2307/4145499. ISSN 0276-3605. JSTOR 4145499. Retrieved November 1, 2020.
  8. "Stomp Off Records Index" (PDF). Stompoff.dickbaker.org. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  9. "Illustrated Blind Blake discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved June 15, 2023.
  10. Nick Tosches (1 August 2009). Where Dead Voices Gather. Little, Brown. p. 89. ISBN 978-0-316-07714-9.
  11. "Illustrated Herwin Records discography". Wirz.de. Retrieved June 15, 2023.