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GEESHIE WILEY /
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Although Geeshie Wiley is regarded by some musicologists as having been one of the rural South's finest female blues singers and musicians, almost nothing is known of her. She was born in Mississippi, in or close to Natchez, around 1900. Nothing at all is recorded about her early life but she was working the medicine show/circus circuit around the Jackson area by the early 1920's. It is possible that she was married at some time to Kansas Joe McCoy, second husband of Memphis Minnie, and she was also romantically linked with Casey Bill Weldon, Minnie's first husband. She is best known for her recording of "Last Kind Word Blues," which was recorded, along with "Skinny Leg Blues" for Paramount Records in 1930. She was backed on second guitar on the recording by Elvie Thomas, said to be from Palmers Crossing, near Hattiesburg, Mississippi. At the same session Thomas also recorded two songs, "Motherless Child Blues" and "Over to My House," with Wiley providing second guitar and vocal harmonies. The pair came back together a year later and recorded two more songs, "Pick Poor Robin Clean" and "Eagles on a Half". There were no further recordings and these two fine country blues singers and guitarists just disappeared, presumably back to relative obscurity.
Pick Poor Robin Clean |
