Sippie Wallace
| Sippie Wallace | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Background information | |
| Birth name | Beulah Belle Thomas |
| Born |
November 1, 1898 Plum Bayou, Jefferson County, Arkansas, U.S. |
| Died | November 1, 1986 (aged 88) Detroit, Michigan |
| Genres | Blues, jazz |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, pianist, organist, songwriter |
| Instruments | Piano, organ |
| Years active | ca. 1918–1986 |
| Labels | Okeh, Victor, Alligator, Storyville, Atlantic, Spivey |
Sippie Wallace (born Beulah Belle Thomas, November 1, 1898 – November 1, 1986) was an American singer-songwriter. Her early career in tent shows gained her the billing "The Texas Nightingale". Between 1923 and 1927, she recorded over 40 songs for Okeh Records, many written by her or her brothers, George and Hersal Thomas. Her accompanists included Louis Armstrong, Johnny Dodds, Sidney Bechet, King Oliver, and Clarence Williams. Among the top female blues vocalists of her era, Wallace ranked with Ma Rainey, Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, and Bessie Smith.
In the 1930s, she left show business to become a church organist, singer, and choir director in Detroit and performed secular music only sporadically until the 1960s, when she resumed her performing career. Wallace was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1982 and was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1993.
Wallace was born in the Delta lowlands of Jefferson County, Arkansas, one of 13 children in her family. Wallace came from a musical family: her brother George W. Thomas became a notable pianist, bandleader, composer, and music publisher; another brother, Hersal Thomas, was a pianist and composer; her niece Hociel Thomas (George's daughter) was a pianist and composer.
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