Victoria Regina Spivey (October 15, 1906 – October 3, 1976), also called Queen Victoria, was an American blues singer, songwriter, and record company founder. Her music career lasted for 40 years, from 1926 to the mid-1960s. During this time, she collaborated with famous musicians such as Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Clarence Williams, Luis Russell, Lonnie Johnson, and Bob Dylan. She also performed in vaudeville shows and clubs, sometimes with her sisters Addie "Sweet Peas" (or "Sweet Pease") Spivey and Elton Island Spivey (also known as the Za Zu Girl). Some of her songs include "Black Snake Blues" (1926), "Dope Head Blues" (1927), and "Organ Grinder Blues" (1928). In 1961, she helped start Spivey Records with one of her husbands, Len Kunstadt. Her recordings are seen as important examples of classic female blues, and experts note that her music showed themes and styles similar to those of major women blues artists in the 1920s and 1930s.

Early life

She was born in Houston, Texas, to Grant and Addie (Smith) Spivey. Her father worked part-time as a musician and as a railroad flagman, while her mother was a nurse. She had three sisters, all of whom became professional singers: Leona, Elton "Za Zu" (August 12, 1900 – June 25, 1971), and Addie "Sweet Peas" (or "Sweet Pease") Spivey (August 22, 1910 – 1943). Addie "Sweet Peas" Spivey recorded songs for several major record labels between 1929 and 1937. She married four times, and her husbands included Ruben Floyd, Billy Adams, and Len Kunstadt, with whom she co-founded Spivey Records in 1961. Scholars describe her as an important figure in early urban and classic female blues music, known for her expressive singing and storytelling.

According to the Handbook of Texas Online, her early musical training began in Houston, where she performed with her family's string band and learned songs common in local Black musical communities. The African American Registry states that she showed musical talent at a young age, singing, playing piano, and performing in different settings.

Her first professional experience was in a family string band led by her father in Houston. After her father passed away, the seven-year-old Victoria performed at local parties on her own. In 1918, she was hired to accompany films at the Lincoln Theater in Dallas. As a teenager, she worked in local bars, nightclubs, and buffet flats, mostly alone, but sometimes with singer-guitarists, including Blind Lemon Jefferson.

Recording career (1920s–1940s)

In 1926, she moved to St. Louis, Missouri, where she signed with Okeh Records. Her first recording, "Black Snake Blues" (1926), sold well, and she continued working with the label. She recorded many songs for Okeh in New York City until 1929, when she switched to the Victor label. Between 1931 and 1937, she made more recordings for Vocalion Records and Decca Records. While based in New York, she kept an active performance schedule. Musicians who played with her included King Oliver, Charles Avery, Louis Armstrong, Lonnie Johnson, and Red Allen.

According to the Encyclopedia of the Blues, they name Spivey as one of Okeh's most important female blues artists. Her recordings from the 1920s, such as "Black Snake Blues," "Dope Head Blues," and "Organ Grinder Blues," included daring topics and clear, straightforward lyrics. Phil Hardy and Dave Laing describe her performances as full of energy and confidence, noting that she often used humor and emotional expression to convey the meaning of her songs.

Film and stage work

The Great Depression did not stop Spivey's music career. In 1929, she began a new opportunity when film director King Vidor gave her a role to play Missy Rose in his first sound movie, Hallelujah!. During the 1930s and 1940s, Spivey continued to perform in musical films and stage productions, including the popular musical Hellzapoppin (1938). She often worked with her husband, Billy Adams, a vaudeville performer.

Retirement and comeback (1950s–1960s)

In 1951, Spivey left show business to play the pipe organ and lead a church choir. She returned to non-religious music in 1961 when she joined her old singing partner, Lonnie Johnson, to record four songs on his Prestige Bluesville album, Idle Hours. The folk music revival of the 1960s allowed her to return to the spotlight. She recorded again for Prestige Bluesville, making an album called Songs We Taught Your Mother with Alberta Hunter and Lucille Hegamin. She also performed at festivals and clubs, including the 1963 European tour of the American Folk Blues Festival.

Spivey Records

In 1961, Spivey and jazz and blues historian Len Kunstadt started Spivey Records, a record company with limited funds that focused on blues, jazz, and similar music. The label recorded many well-known artists, such as Sippie Wallace, Lucille Hegamin, Otis Rush, Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, Roosevelt Sykes, Big Joe Turner, Buddy Tate, and Hannah Sylvester. It also recorded newer artists, including Luther "Guitar Junior" Johnson, Brenda Bell, Washboard Doc, Bill Dicey, Robert Ross, Sugar Blue, Paul Oscher, Danny Russo, and Larry Johnson.

The Blues Hall of Fame states that Spivey Records helped protect the work of older blues musicians during a time when few opportunities were available for them. The label also gave younger artists experience in recording music, including Bob Dylan, and helped connect older and younger blues performers.

Spivey wrote a column called "Blues Is My Business" for Len Kunstadt's magazine, Record Research, from 1962 to 1970. She disagreed with the idea that she and Blind Lemon Jefferson had a peaceful exchange about his recording of "Black Snake Moan," which was made shortly after her recording of "Black Snake Blues." While many sources say Spivey inspired Jefferson's song, her account suggests the situation was more similar to the way Black women performers of that time were often overlooked.

According to a 1976 obituary in The Black Perspective in Music, Spivey's songs often focused on daily life, relationships, and social challenges faced by African American women. Her work is frequently discussed as an important example of the expressive and storytelling traditions that influenced early blues.

In March 1962, Spivey and Big Joe Williams recorded music for Spivey Records. Bob Dylan played harmonica and provided backup vocals during these sessions. The recordings were released on Three Kings and the Queen (Spivey LP 1004) and Kings and the Queen Volume Two (Spivey LP 1014). Dylan's name appeared on the record covers. A photo of Spivey and Dylan from this time is on the back cover of Dylan's album New Morning. In 1964, Spivey recorded with an all-white band, the Connecticut-based Easy Riders Jazz Band, led by trombonist Big Bill Bissonnette. This recording was first released on an LP and later re-released on a compact disc.

Musical style

Spivey's music mixed together classic female blues, vaudeville, and early urban blues styles. Her singing was loud and clear, with rhythm and pacing that showed emotion. She told stories in a way that was easy to understand, often using simple or funny words to talk about topics not often found in 1920s recordings.

A 1976 article about Spivey in The Black Perspective in Music said her songs showed daily life and the experiences of African American women, highlighting their strength and deep feelings. A book called The Faber Companion to 20th-Century Popular Music described her performances as full of energy and interesting to watch.

Legacy

Spivey is known as an important person in blues history. The Blues Hall of Fame mentions her long career as a performer and her work in helping keep blues traditions alive through Spivey Records.

During the 1960s blues revival, she helped younger musicians, such as Bob Dylan, learn about older blues styles.

Scholars also say she helped shape the themes and singing style of classic female blues. Her recordings are still studied in research about African American music and women's history.

Honors and recognition

Victoria Spivey was added to the Blues Hall of Fame in 1986. She passed away in New York on October 3, 1976, at the age of 69 due to internal bleeding.

Selected discography

• Idle Hours (Bluesville, 1961) with Lonnie Johnson (three songs)
• Songs We Taught Your Mother (Bluesville, 1962) collaborated on with Alberta Hunter and Lucille Hegamin (four songs)
• Woman Blues! (Bluesville, 1962) with Lonnie Johnson
• A Basket of Blues (Spivey, 1962) collaborated on with Buddy Terry, Lucille Hegamin, and Hannah Sylvester
• Victoria and Her Blues (Spivey, 1962)
• Three Kings and the Queen (Spivey, 1964) collaborated on with Roosevelt Sykes, Big Joe Williams, and Lonnie Johnson
• The Queen and Her Knights (Spivey, 1965) collaborated on with Lonnie Johnson, Little Brother Montgomery, Memphis Slim, and Sonny Greer
• Music Down Home: An Introduction to Negro Folk Music, U.S.A. (1965)
• The Blues Is Life (1976)
• Classic Piano Blues from Smithsonian Folkways (2008)