Lillyn Brown

With only four three-minute songs as her recorded legacy, Lillyn Brown's career spanned six decades, beginning before the turn of the century. Born in 1885 to an Afro-American mother and an Erie Iroquois father in Atlanta, GA, she performed as "The Indian Princess" with an all-white female string band in 1894 and attracted attention as a male impersonator -- advertised as "The World's Youngest Interlocutor" -- in 1896. According to Lillyn Brown, she was the first professional vocalist to sing the blues in front of the public. This historical action was said to have taken place...