Marion Abernathy

By Marv Goldberg

© 2024 by Marv Goldberg

Marion Abernathy is mostly known today for her recording of "Voo-It! Voo-It!". It was her only hit record, but her name wasn't even on the label, having been billed as "The Blues Woman".

Marion Chestyne Abernathy was born in Memphis, Tennessee. In the 1920 census, they said she was four months old. Since the census was taken as of January 1 of that year, Marion would have been born around August 1919. Since it was often spelled "Marian" in blurbs and ads; I'll just give it as it was written without further comment. Making my research that much more fun, most people named "Marion Abernathy" were men.

Her father, George Washington "Shuffle" Abernathy, Jr., was a trombonist-bandleader with an extremely popular territory band in the early 1930s. They were first called "George Abernathy & the Royal Knights" in 1930-31, then "Shuffle Abernathy & the Harlem High Hatters" from 1932-42. (Around 1932, one of his musicians was saxophonist Bill Johnson, who'd go on to Erskine Hawkins' orchestra, become one of the writers of "Tuxedo Junction", and form the Musical Notes.) They mostly played in Wisconsin (he lived in Milwaukee), but traveled as far east as Pennsylvania and as far west as Montana. In the 1920 census, when the family lived in Memphis, he was a "musician - own band".

Her mother was Rose Estelle Alexander. Their marriage license was reported in the February 16, 1916 Memphis Commercial Appeal. By the time of the 1930 census, separated from George, she and her children had moved to Chicago, where she was an apartment house manager. She said she was a widow (although George wouldn't die for another 30 years). I don't know what happened to her after 1930.

By 1930, George Abernathy had relocated to Milwaukee (he was a "cabaret musician" in the census), but at least he said he was married. When he registered for the draft in 1942, he was working for the WPA (although he still fronted a band as late as September of that year). In 1950, he was working as a machine oiler in a Milwaukee steel foundry.

Marion had an older sister, Ernestine Jacqueline Abernathy, born in 1916. She became a dancer in the Chicago club scene (called a chorine in one place; a shake dancer in another). In late 1949, she was "one of the glorious glamour girls of [Chicago's] Joe's Deluxe Club chorus". The February 7, 1945 Madison (Wisconsin) State Journal said: "Ernestine J. Abernathy, 28, of Chicago, Ill., disorderly conduct, $50 or 30 days" [no comment]. In August 1976, she showed up for a Club DeLisa alumnae get-together.

There was also a brother, Lawrence Bernard Abernathy. His July 1941 World War 2 registration said he was born on November 28, 1919 in Memphis; however, the year is wrong, since Marion was born around August 1919 (plus, he wasn't in the 1920 census). In the 1940 census, he was 19 (therefore November 28, 1920 is reasonable), but his tombstone just says 1921. He died young, on October 4, 1943, in Chicago. In that WW2 registration, he was working at Club Siesta in Calumet City, Illinois as a musician. This was a true musical family.

The first time we hear of Marion Abernathy is when she was part of bandleader Eli Rice's floorshow, appearing at the Aragon Ballroom (Minneapolis, Minnesota) on April 22, 1935. She was just listed under "With" in the ads, so I don't know if she was his band singer or just a singer in his "Mammoth Floor Show". Note that Eli Rice and Shuffle Abernathy played many of the same places; that probably had something to do with her being hired.

On May 15, 1935, she was with Eli Rice at the Deutsche Haus in St. Paul, still being listed in the "With" section of the ad.

The last time she was mentioned with Rice was when they appeared at the Finnish Hall (Seattle) in early September 1935.

Although she got the year wrong, in a later article (Chicago Defender, June 1, 1946) she talked about discrimination the Rice band suffered. The article was titled "Negro Actors Cheered, Then Barred At Hotels, Restaurants":

Marian Abernathy, famous blues singer who made the best selling record "Voo-It Voo-It", declared: "While on a tour with Eli Rice's orchestra in 1939, we played for three nights in Sheridan, Wyo. We were refused accommodations and had to stay in Billings, 30 miles away.

"We went to a place to eat," she added. "When we had finished, they broke up the dishes."

This is the only genuine quote from Marion. There's kind of another one later, but, well..., you'll see.

There's nothing at all about Marion in 1936, but she had one fairly useless mention in a May 22, 1937 Chicago Defender column: "During the past week we were well entertained by some of the stars of yesterday and today, Marion Abernathy.... [her name was first on a long list of performers I never heard of, with the exception of Slim Green, who had been part of the early Ink Spots story.] All were unanimous in their vote for the return of FLESH, as they realize that it will be the only method by which the actor will be able to live up to the present day routine of high prices." "Flesh", in this case, refers to live stage shows.

In December 1937, Marion, as well as sister Ernestine, was at the Club Paradise in Chicago. Dot Brown seemed to be the featured act.

By early April 1938, Marion was appearing at Chicago's Creole Inn. Also there was her sister, "Ernestine Boyd" (her married name), presumably in the chorus. While revues changed from time to time, Marion would remain there for a year. The early July revue was called "Jazznocracy" and, said the July 9 Chicago Defender: "Dick (Mae West) Barrows has placed that versatile little soubrette Marion Abernathy at the helm [that is, she's the star], and this young lady has everything that it takes to put the show on the map." By December 10, the show was called "Park Avenue Revue", in which Marion sang "My Reverie". On December 17, she was noted as singing "Found My Yellow Basket". Still there in early 1939, the February 11 Chicago Defender described her as "singer of sweet songs". The March 24 show was called "The Creole Inn Shuffle", and Marion was still a part of it, although that was the last time she was specifically mentioned.

By November, she was in a revue at the Club DeLisa, called "Murder At The DeLisa". She was still there at year's end in a revue called "Winter Time Is Swing Time". That one starred the Red Saunders Orchestra, Chippie Hill, and Sam "Spo-Dee-O-Dee" Theard.

In early 1940, she started appearing in Milwaukee, where her father lived. Although there were no mentions of her in local papers, when the census was taken in April, "Miriam Abernathy" (she didn't answer the questions herself) was 23 (she actually would have been 20), was born in Tennessee, lived in Chicago in 1935, and was a nightclub entertainer. It also said she'd worked 15 hours the prior week and had made $600 in 1939, although I don't know how the person who answered could have known that if she didn't even know Marion's correct name.

[Around 2010, I began doing serious research into my family genealogy. Up to then, I believed, as I'm sure most of you do, that censuses were golden documents. In truth, it's amazing the amount of misinformation they contain (when they can even be read and deciphered). I learned quickly.]

By early October, Marion was part of the "I've Got To Have Music" revue at the Club Plantation in St. Louis. Leonard Reed was the MC and the band was the well-known Jeter-Pillars Orchestra. The October 5 St. Louis Star And Times said: "Marion Abernathy, singing "Imagination" and "Sugar Blues" in true Ella Fitzgerald fashion, clicks again." However, only the band was mentioned in Plantation ads, so I don't know how long she was there.

On October 12, the entire cast (along with other clubs' acts) appeared at the Fox Theater for a benefit for delinquent children (couldn't they steal their own money?). The big star was actor Walter Brennan, who flew in just for the show.

The week of February 22, 1941, Marion appeared at Club B&C in Detroit, although that was her only mention that year. But she was back at the B&C a year later, starting on January 22, 1942. The January 31 Michigan Chronicle said, under the heading "Singer Tops Club B&C Show":

Marian Abernathy gets the public's rave here at the P. V.'s [Paradise Valley's] theater bar of Roy Lightfoot. In a manner New Yorkish in style, Miss Abernathy is best when she grooves her voice down low with a bluesical giveout in the theme of 'good loving'. The patrons bust their mitts appreciating her.

The first time her name appeared in a 1942 Club B&C ad was on January 31 ("New York Song Stylist and Queen Of Blues"). She'd be featured in their ads through June 6.

Here's an interesting item from a Wayne State University dissertation, called "Detroit Blues Women", written by Michael Duggan Murphy in 2011. He talked about Alberta Adams, who was also appearing at the Club B&C in March 1942 (as a dancer, she said, although she'd been in other clubs' ads as a singer the year before). Marion became ill and, for some reason, Alberta was chosen to go on in her stead. However, Alberta wasn't at the B&C prior to June; she'd been appearing, as a singer, since the beginning of the year at Detroit's Cozy Corner Bar and was last advertised there on May 16. She didn't appear in a B&C ad until June 13, by which time Marion was gone. Make of that what you will.

On September 3, 1942, Marion opened at Chicago's Club DeLisa. By November 20, she'd been joined by the dance team of the Miller Brothers & Lois in the "Autumn Frolics" revue. Also there were the Two Zephyrs "comic slow motion dancers" and the Red Saunders Orchestra. She was still there by the time of their "Holiday Capers" Christmas show, which also had Paul, Dinky, & Eddie (mentioned in my 3 Chocolateers article).

After that, Alberta Adams left behind in the dust, Marion made her triumphant return to the Club B&C. The January 30, 1943 Detroit Free Press said:

The B and C Club, Paradise Valley's first theater-bar, which for years was operated by the late Roy Lightfoot, "mayor of Paradise Valley", is presenting a sepia revue featuring Marion Abernathy, Harlem blues singer. [I assume that refers to her style rather than her origins, but you never know.]

Miss Abernathy appeared in B and C shows last spring, and because of the demands of patrons is returning for a limited engagement. Her most popular number, "I'm Gonna Move On [sic] The Outskirts Of Town" [the Louis Jordan hit from the year before], will be featured in the show. Also appearing will be [John] Ashcan Larue, blackface comedy star, who has appeared in the movies and on the stage for several years.

Advertised at the B&C through the end of March, by May 15, she was back at Chicago's Club DeLisa, along with Red Saunders. But only a couple of weeks later, she returned to the B&C. Then, it was back down to Chicago to open at the Rhumboogie, along with Tiny Bradshaw, Dolores Brown, and the 3 Riffs.

On October 1, 1943, she opened in the Harlem Capers revue at the DeLisa. Others in the cast were the 4 Congeroos, Bing Williams, Dot Adams, Louise Cook, and Billy Mitchell. Still at the DeLisa, she appeared at the annual Chicago Defender Christmas party on December 11 at the Regal Theater. Its stated purpose was to "bolster the morale of the kiddies whose fathers, brothers and other relatives have joined the armed forces". Erskine Hawkins was there, as well as comedian Crackshot Hackley.

She was still at the DeLisa on January 15, 1944, as part of the "Winter Dream" revue.

Now, under the heading You Can't Trust Everything You Read In Newspapers [first said in a speech given by Cato The Younger to the Roman Senate], The Chicago Defender of June 10, 1944 said this: "FLASH! Blues singing MARION ABERNATHY leaves next week for Club Alabam, Los Angeles, at a figure that is plenty big." Well, the part about Club Alabam is true, although I doubt that the pay was all that good since the star of the show was Mabel Scott. Note that the Alabam was owned (or, at least, run) by Curtis Mosby, brother of the 3 Chocolateers' Esvan Mosby.

There was a big ad in the June 8 California Eagle saying that the new Club Alabam show would open on Saturday, June 10. The band would be Harlan Leonard & His Rockets, with Leonard Reed as MC. So far, so good.

Now, not so good. The ad for Detroit's Club Zombie said that, on Monday, June 12, their new show would begin. A featured performer was Marion Abernathy. OK, ads are usually prepared in advance, so they sometimes have information that was true at the time, but no longer. However, the June 17 Chicago Defender had an article titled "Detroit Raves Over Ziggy's Zombie Show". It began like this:

Joe "Ziggy" Johnson, welcomed back to this city via Club Zombie after several seasons, premiered one of his finest attractions Monday before a house packed with celebs from all sections of the nation.... For song roles, Ziggy presented Marian Abernathy direct from the Club DeLisa in Chicago and Jimmie Anderson, a Pacific Coast crooner. Both handled themselves splendidly to the chorus of numerous encores.

This was echoed by the June 17 Michigan Chronicle:

The show comes on with a burst of song and color, featuring those whirlwind dancers, the Miller Brothers and Lois, stars of stage and nite club renown.

Twisting a mean torso is the shapely and lovely lady known as Lovie Lane. She practically steals the show with her interpretive dancing. Lovie has already been acclaimed the toast of New York and Chicago, and now bids to become Detroit's favorite dancer, too. [Remember, the word "acclaimed" has no meaning whatever, unless they tell you was doing the acclaiming.]

Bringing some novel arrangements and a good voice to the mike, Marian Abernathy, song stylist, takes the vocal honors in the gala new production. Exquisitely gowned, Miss Abernathy makes a delightful addition to the show.

Nice write-ups; they kind of make you feel like you were there. So does this blurb from the June 15 California Eagle:

Newcomer to the Alabam revue, and to the angel city too, for that matter, is an attractive lass known as Marian Abernathy [for some reason, more times than not, California papers called her "Marian"]. Fresh from a two year triumph at Mike's Club DeLisa in Chicago, she popped in port and nearly stole spotlight honors from her co-workers with her seductive-styled vocalizing.

She has a deep, full voice that's definitely made to order for the blues. Or, torch songs. Sticking strictly to ballads, she would soon make you forget Ella Fitzgerald ever existed.

So, boys and girls, here's today's vocabulary word: simulkinesis. It's the ability to be in two places at the same time (try it, it's fun). So, how could papers report, first-hand, on how well she was received in two different clubs that were about 2300 miles apart?

Here's a hint, although they're still tap-dancing around the truth. The June 17 Detroit Tribune reported that "After the publicity had been released on Joe Johnson's show at the Club Zombie, which opened Monday night, a slight change has been made in the line-up. Instead of Marion Abernathy, the two additional stars are Lucille Chance, versatile dancer; Anne Baker, singing star and Jimmy Anderson, whose singing made a hit with the female patrons." That sounds like three people, not two, but Jimmy Anderson was already in the show, so it's just totally confusing, although mathematically correct.

It took the June 24 Chicago Defender to finally set the record straight:

Marian Abernathy dropped the w.k. shuck [not a clue what that means] on "Ziggy" Johnson by failing to show up at the Zombie opening. She went to the Coast without informing him of her decision not to show, "Ziggy" says.

So how, you ask, does this square with the June 17 Defender column that told what a big hit Marion was at the opening? A cynic would say that the earlier blurb was written ahead of time by a public relations flack for the club. (Fortunately, I'm not a cynic.)

By this time, Marion actually was in two places, although not at once. Besides, the Alabam, she was also at the Apex Breakfast Club, where Alton Redd was the host. Because World War 2 was still raging, and because there were many round-the-clock construction sites in Los Angeles, it bred a bunch of "breakfast clubs". These clubs opened around midnight and closed around dawn, so that war workers would be able to see shows too.

Marion was advertised at the Club Alabam from June 8, 1944 through November 23, when a blurb said she'd be held over for the next show. Bands came and went (like Harlan Leonard, Roy Milton, Ansel Hill, and Ernie Fields), but Marion remained.

The headline in the October 19, 1944 California Eagle J.T. Gipson column read: "Solid Song Sends Nightclub Scribe As Slick Chick Clicks" [be still, my lunch]. This comes under the heading of "Why Do I Even Bother?":

I have just come from seeing Marian Abernathy, the cute singer who wraps her honey-larynx vocals around seductive-style torchants nitely at the Club Alabam.

I can count on one finger the singers I know whose singing gives me goose pimples. Marian Abernathy is all of them. [So why couldn't he spell her name correctly?] What she does to a song is something that should happen to other so-called "greats" in the chanteuse kingdom.

She saucily sauntered up to the bar where I was having a planter's punch and said, "It's an honor being interviewed by the great Gipson with the JT handle."

I blushed three colors and continued with the interview. "You look very good in a sweater," I said.

"You've never seen me in a sweater," she said.

"What is that you're wearing now?" I asked, the while rubbing the planters' punch out of my eyes to make sure the one I drink hadn't affected me.

She looked down at her chest and exclaimed "Oh, I forgot I had the damb [sic] thing on!"

See, and Mrs. Bass thinks I've got an easy job! [Charlotte Bass was the paper's publisher.] Marian told me of her early start around Chicago, where she sang in most of the big time clubs. Her longest stay at a club there was a two year run at Mike DeLisa's nitery on State street.

She "packed 'em in" she recalls.

She's packing 'em in at the Alabam, too. With a final look at the lovely sweater she was wearing, thus ended the interview with Marian Abernathy, singer of torch songs.

On October 19, she spent a week doubling at the Lincoln Theater, joined by the Noble Sissle Band, Crackshot Hackley, Jimmie Baskette, the Two Esquires, and Bobby Davis (also from the Alabam), who practiced the dying art of lifting things, like tables, with his teeth. The October 26 California Eagle said:

The opening night crowd wrapped its arms around the return of the Lincoln theater stage shows, which premiered last Friday night to a capacity crowd. Show is socko. It's eighty minutes long, but the time passes quickly. Every act wound up its stint with show stopping finality.

Doubling from the Alabam, where she stars nitely except Tuesday, Marian Abernathy is easily the star of this show. With her sensuous style and curved proportions, she cut through the house like a minesweeper. She warmed them up with the sexy claw in her voice. The audience loved her and she returned the affection by taking four curtain calls and then saying "the union will fine me" if she did any more.

She'd been advertised a lot in 1944, but after November 30, Marion completely disappeared from the California music scene until the late summer of 1945.

Maybe she was off practicing. So far, she'd been appearing for some ten years, but hadn't yet recorded. Not to worry; there's going to be an ocean of recordings coming up.

Art Rupe, future owner of Specialty Records, started its predecessor, Juke Box, in 1944. Around September 1945, Marion Abernathy recorded a couple of songs for them: "Voo-It! Voo-It!" and "Cryin' Blues", backed by the Buddy Banks Sextet.

The songs feature band vocals, along with nice piano and sax work. "Voo-It! Voo-It!", written by "Frosty" Pyles, was probably meant to compete with Helen Humes' "Be-Baba-Leba", which had been recently been released (August 1945). Reinforcing this is that Humes herself would soon record "Voo-It".

Juke Box released the tunes around October 1945 (they were already being advertised in mid-November), but the label didn't credit either Marion Abernathy or the Buddy Banks Sextet. Instead, it was "The Blues Woman - assisted by B. Banks, W. Pyles, E. Beal, E. Shepard, A. Durham, and M. McFay". [That's Ulysses "Buddy" Banks (tenor sax), William "Frosty" Pyles (guitar), Eddie Beal (piano), Ernie Shephard (bass),Allen Durham (trombone), and Nat "Monk" McFay (drums).]

A couple of months before, Juke Box had released "Kansas City Boogie" by The Blues Man, but that doesn't really explain why they billed her as "The Blues Woman". When the disc was sent out for review, the info sheet mentioned the Buddy Banks Sextet, but Marion's identity remained hidden.

Marion was back at the Alabam in November, in a show that also had Babe Wallace, Claude Trenier, Wynonie Harris, and the Johnny Otis Orchestra. This is from the November 1 California Eagle: "The fourth singing member of the [Alabam] show is a femme. Her name is Marian Abernathy, a favorite returnee to the Alabam, who is very engagingly regaining the favors of her appreciative audiences." The November 29 California Eagle added (in what the writer mistook for English):

Marion Abernathy, her blues notes, worries one; her sentimental numbers, wafts you to slumberland, while those catchy ballads she sings nightly as a feature star of the Club Alabam show, produces the effect of a highly entertaining evening. Miss Abernathy is a welcome returnee to the Alabam show line-up.

The October 10, 1945 Billboard had talked about Karl George:

HOLLYWOOD, October 8 - Success of his record sales for Melodisc, one of the newer independent recording outfits, has inspired Karl George, a top trumpet man from Count Basie's band, to leave Basie and form a seven-piece unit of his own. George recorded four sides for Melodisc while the Basie band played on location dates here. He is taking with him Lucky Thompson, tenor sax man with Basie, also featured on the Melodisc date. Marian Abernathy, who has worked as a single previously, joins the band on blues vocals. She is to cut four new Melodisc sides with George's band in a few days.

The band was credited as "George's Dukes And Duchess" and recorded six known songs for Daniel O'Brien's Melodisc Records in either October or November. Melodisc really needed a better recording engineer; the recordings aren't of very good quality. On top of that, she often sings too low and the band isn't very enthusiastic (except in "Abernathy's Voo-it Voo-it", where they drown her out). Although she was off to a good start with "Voo-It! Voo-It!", it's hard to get excited about these.

"Abernathy's Voo-it Voo-it"
      A re-recording of "Voo-It! Voo-It!".
"I'm Gonna See My Baby"
      When released, the label credited authorship to Phil Moore, but his 1944 song by that name was completely different
      (and, she only sings "I wanna see my baby").
"You Can't Take That Away From Me"
      This is the Gershwin's "They Can't Take That Away From Me", both mis-titled and mis-sung.
"Frantic Blues"
      Nice sax solo on this, but some lyrics are indistinct.
"Abernathy's Boogie"
      Some indistinct words and some standard Blues lyrics. Nice sax.
"Slowing Down The Blues"
      More indistinct words; more standard Blues lyrics.

As far as I can determine, the band never appeared anywhere as "George's Dukes".

There was more recording in November 1945, this time with Bob Mosley & His All Stars (a term that was very popular with record companies, but has no real meaning). Waxed for Dick Elwell's Bel-Tone Records, the tunes were: "Baggin' The Boogie", "Stormy Mood", (both with Marion's vocals), "Voot Rhythm", and "Bee Boogie Boo (both instrumentals; with some Lucky Thompson sax work).

The musicians were: Bob Mosley (piano), Karl George (trumpet), Marshall Royal (alto sax and clarinet), Eli "Lucky" Thompson (tenor sax), Gene Phillips (guitar), Charlie Mingus (bass), and Lee Young (drums). Note "Bob Mosley" is correct, although it also appears as "Mosely" on the label. George spelled his first name "Karl", although the initial on the label was "C". These were probably mostly the same musicians as on those Melodisc sides, but both they and the recordings sound much better here.

A lot of recording, but, by the end of the year, only Juke Box had released anything (Voo-It! Voo-It! / Cryin' Blues); and that, by the anonymous "The Blues Woman". The disc was reviewed in the January 19, 1946 Billboard:

An unbilled gal for the blues shouting, with the Buddy Banks Sextet for instrumental support [presumably that name was on the info sheet sent with the record; it wasn't on the label], provides the lowdown Harlem flavor for these sides. "Voo-It Voo-It" is an inane race blues geared to a lively boogie beat, with the dash of Eddie Beal's keyboard capers more interesting than the singer or the song. Gal goes weepy, waking up at dawn to find her lover gone, for "Cryin' Blues", singing it in a slow and knocked-out fashion that makes for a minimum of enthusiasm. Here again, Buddy Banks' flash of tenor saxing sells better than the shouter. Coin appeal for these sides is limited to the rugged race locations. [Just to throw it in somewhere: by 1946, Fluffy Hunter had become the singer with the Buddy Banks band.]

The February 25 Cash Box was kinder:

Here's a gal that must be a favorite in the race spots. She sings songs the way they like them and these two recordings are very good along that line. For a background, she uses a hot jazz group which handles the assignment in quiet fashion. "Voo-It" is the number we like on the disk and it should bring plenty of nickels to the cash boxes.

They were right and Billboard was wrong. "Voo-It! Voo-It!" went to #4 on Billboard's own Most-Played Juke Box Race Records chart in a six-week run, entering the charts on March 2, 1946; it was still being advertised as late as November 1946. Helen Humes released her own version (just called "Voo-It"), on Philo, as a follow-up to her "Be-Baba-Leba".

February 1946 saw many, many Marion Abernathy records released (note that the flips of all of them were instrumentals; see discography):

BEL-TONE:
751 Baggin' The Boogie
752 Stormy Mood
      The best Bel-Tone could do on the labels was "Vocal By M. Abernathy".

MELODISC (at least her full name is now on the labels):
1001 Abernathy's Voo-it Voo-it
1001A I'm Gonna See My Baby
1002 You Can't Take That Away From Me
1002A Frantic Blues
1003 Abernathy's Boogie
1004 Slowing Down The Blues
      The first four say "Marian"; the other two, "Marion"

I get the feeling that Melodisc had no idea how to number records.

"Abernathy's Boogie" was reviewed in the February 23 Billboard (although it didn't show up in their Advance Record Releases column until March 16):

Marion Abernathy sings her own song patterned after the customary blues in which, despite the boogie title, the boogie rhythm becomes lost completely and is never heard after four bars. The band plays with a steady beat, but sounds thin and very inadequate. Abernathy's vocal does little to help. Reverse side [the instrumental, "Hour Of Parting"] is much better, as the band seems to fall into a good rhythmic groove and keeps it while trumpeter Karl George, recently with Stan Kenton, plays very clean and pretty. "Hour Of Parting" is an excellent tune for solo improvisation and George's ideas are in very good taste.

A February 2 blurb in the Ohio State News said that she and Gatemouth Moore were at the DeLisa. In the same vein, the February 21, 1946 California Eagle said that "Marion Abernathy is still wowin' 'em at the Chi-Delisa." The May 11 Chicago Defender had: "Marian Abernathy, blues chirper, and Jesse Miller's ork headlined the dance Mac Thomas presented at Westside Masonic Hall, Lake and San Francisco aves., Saturday night." The June 6 California Eagle continued with "Marion Abernathy is doing her warbling currently on Chicago's Westside." She had really returned to Chicago, but was never advertised there in 1946, nor was there a single ad for her in Los Angeles all year (and wouldn't be again until mid-1948).

The March 9, 1946 Billboard reviewed "Baggin' The Boogie" (which they insisted on spelling "Bagging":

For lowdown groove spinning, Bob Mosley comes thru with a fine disking. Leader sets the pace by dusting off an ear-easy Steinway and Marion Abernathy keeps platter going with a neat piping on Bagging The Boogie. Bass man takes an interesting duo break with Mosley's piano between chirp's choruses. Underside spins improvisations a la Voot Rhythm with Lucky Thompson taking a man-sized slice of the sax cake. Jam is spread on a moderate beat which rides the groove strong from edge to edge.

Remember, these reviews were written for record distributors and operators (those who owned juke boxes). They were all businessmen (with some organized crime thrown in) and probably would have really appreciated these reviews being in English).

The March 3, 1946 Billboard reviewed "Abernathy's Voo-it Voo-it" (the first part of review was for Howard McGhee's "Night Mist"):

Voo-It, on the reverse side of McGhee's opus and done by another little band headed by a trumpet player, Karl George, is ordinary blues. Singer Abernathy fails to enunciate clearly and is too far from the mike most of the time. Band has a good beat and shows much promise, but it will have to do better than this. Neither side strong for the jukes.

There are sources that list Bel-Tone 763 as "Stormy Mood" and "Baggin' The Boogie", which would have been released around May 1946. However, I can't find concrete proof that it actually existed.

The July 6, 1946 Chicago Defender had this: "Marian Abernathy, blues chirper, reported in line for a brief tour with Tommy Dorsey's ork." Over the years, I've realized that events characterized as "reported in line for" or "is being considered for" are always fictitious and never happen. It's just press agent nonsense.

Probably in July, Melodisc released two more Marion Abernathy records:

Melodisc 1016 Ink Splink / Lonely Blues
Melodisc 1017 Goin' For The Okey-Doke / Roses Of Picardy

These were never advertised or noted in Billboard in any way. I base my dating on Melodisc #1014 being advertised on July 20 and #1013 being reviewed on August 10. Both discs also credit the Buddy Banks Ork. and were probably Juke Box masters, obtained due to the break-up of that company (see below). Note that "Ink Splink" was re-done by Andrew Tibbs (as "Drinking Ink Splink") on Aristocrat in March 1948. I don't know if there were any other Melodisc masters, but in November 1946, the Melodisc pressing plant was destroyed in a fire and there don't seem to have been any releases on the label after that.

The July 27 Billboard said that: "Marion Abernathy signed by Harold Oxley office for a 10-week tour, starting out in Houston." Oxley was her manager (seen at the bottom of her publicity photo). While I can't find any ads for her in Texas, the August 24 Billboard had this: "Blues singer Marion Abernathy opens at Avalon Grill, San Antonio, end of month." Also on that bill was Cora Woods.

In August, the Juke Box tunes were re-released on Art Rupe's new Specialty label, with the same number (502). This time, they were credited to "The Blues Woman and Buddy Banks Sextet", Rupe still refusing to name her. The big difference was that now, "Voo-It! Voo-It!" was written "Voo It Voo It".

What happened to Juke Box? The confusing (to me, at any rate) answer was in the August 10, 1946 Billboard under the title "Rupe Sells Out Juke Box-Sterling Piece; Says Obie Is In Deal":

HOLLYWOOD, Aug. 3.- Art Rupe, who tied his juke box record company to a partnership arrangement with Al Middleman over a half year ago in a deal which included Middleman's Sterling Records, has just sold out his entire interest to Middleman. Rupe keeps a batch of masters in the deal which he will turn out under a new label called Specialty. Dissension is said to have come about when Rupe called for a count of firm's take.

Confusing the situation was Rupe's remarks that Eli Oberstein, current recording talent chief for Victor Records, was part of Juke Box-Sterling Records, along with Middleman and himself. Middleman and Oberstein were partners in the ex-Hit Record Company which they sold to radio set interests who renamed the label Majestic Records, and it was generally thought in the trade at that time that the Middleman-Oberstein partnership had ended completely.

Rupe's Specialty label may run into conflict with Specialty series offered by the major waveries. Masters which Rupe will take with him into his new set-up include sides by the Sepia Tones, the Blues Man, the Blues Woman, Buddy Banks and Roy Milton orks. Distribution deal for Specialty is being worked out, with the possibility that Jack Gutshall will handle the line. In transferring the masters to Rupe, the agreement is that the Juke Box Record Company cannot order any more pressings made after June 28, 1946, and after Juke Box disposes of current inventory of numbers, which are said to include a side (R. M. Blues) which has been listed consistently in. The Billboard's Most Played Race Records Chart, Specialty will press sides exclusively.

Juke Box ads continued to appear for a while, but Specialty had an ad, which included "Voo It Voo It", in that same issue.

This was in the September 26, 1946 California Eagle:

Banks and His Buddies, currently appearing at a local night spot, according to reports were the victims of a neat gyp insofar as their recording of the tune "Voo Voo" [sic] is concerned. The song was written by "Frosty", the guitar player, with Marion Abernathy doing the vocalizing. When it was recorded, it was allegedly labeled as by the "Blues Woman" and the band failed to get the usual build-up that follows a popular selling record. Banks stated that he finally had to sue the recording company to get any returns from it despite the fact that the disc sold several thousand copies.

I'm always surprised (and pleased) when a report says that a record sold several thousand copies instead of the wildly-inflated "million" or "half-million" that was all too common.

The results of Billboard's First Annual Music-Record Poll were in their January 4, 1947 issue. In the Year's Top Female Vocalist On Race Records On Nation's Jukes category:

1. Ella Fitzgerald (Stone Cold Dead In The Market) - 63 points
2. Julia Lee (Gotta Gimme Whatcha Got) - 8 points
3. Helen Humes (Be-Baba-Leba) - 7 points
4. The Blues Woman (Voo-It! Voo-It!) - 6 points
5. Ella Mae Morse (Buzz Me) - 4 points

Also in January, Marion was appearing in Nebraska. The February 1 Omaha Guide said: "You can't hardly afford to miss hearing and seeing that 'Blues Woman' - Marion Abernathy, who is appearing nitely at the Amvets' Club, 24th and Miami Sts. She is the composer of 'Voo It, Voo It!' [no she wasn't]." Here's what I go through in researching these articles: the February 21 Omaha Star had this:

MILDRED [sic] ABERNATHY (The Blues Woman) was back in Omaha last week, enjoying a couple days of rest and relaxation. Glad to have you back. She says she likes Omaha. Seems to be feeling expressed by all who have once been here. [Can anyone out there translate that last sentence into English?]

Nothing else about her for several months until she was advertised at Detroit's Frolic Show Bar from August 9, 1947 through September 6. The Detroit Tribune of August 16 had this:

Holding down the top spot in the show at the Frolic Show Bar is Marion Abernathy, labeled "The Blues Woman", who is making her first local appearance in five years [actually four, but who's counting?].

Miss Abernathy, daughter of the former band leader, George (Shuffle) Abernathy, has scored solidly with the Frolic patrons with her unique rendition of such bluesy numbers as "Sunny Road" and "Voo-It Voo-It".

Although her fame and popularity rests on her blues stylings, Miss Abernathy says that her secret ambition is to "sing like Ella Fitzgerald", her inspiration.

Then, she started recording for King Records. Her first session, with the Paul Bascomb Orchestra, were supposedly recorded in New York in August 1947. But why New York (presumably New York City)? She was appearing in Detroit and Indianapolis around that time. In July, Bascomb (tenor sax) was appearing at the Club El Sino, in Detroit, as part of Betti Mays' band. (Betti had been the original female lead with the Harlemaires.)

I guess it's not that important where they were recorded, but the four songs were: "Junior Blues", "You Ain't Got Nothin' For Me" (very jazzy), "Scroogli-Oli-Re-Bos", and "Stormy Mood" (another nice version of the song she'd first recorded with Bob Mosley for Bel-Tone).

On September 14, 1947, she appeared at Sunset Terrace in Indianapolis. It was advertised as the "Battle Of The Blues Unit", starring The Blues Woman vs. The Blues Man (fortunately identified as Marion Abernathy and Big Joe Turner), with music by Jim Wynn & His Hollywood Orchestra. The September 13 Indianapolis Recorder said: "The aggregation comes to town after breaking all attendance records in ballrooms throughout the middle-west." The aggregation must have been good at sneaking in and out of towns, since I can't find a single other ad for them anywhere in the middle-west. In fact, the only other appearance they're documented as making was at the Macon (Georgia) Auditorium, right after she'd finished up at the Frolic Bar (where she'd been for the last month). It was supposed to be on September 8, but due to inclement weather, it was postponed for two nights. Then, back in Chicago, she appeared at Jimmy Cooper's Ritz Lounge in October.

Marion's first King disc, "You Ain't Got Nothin' For Me", backed with "Stormy Mood" was issued in October and reviewed in the October 25 Billboard:

Aided by some neat backing from Paul Bascomb's screech tenor and his combo, Marion Abernathy peddles a pair of her own blues [that is, she wrote both sides]. Ain't Got Nothin' relates the story of a small-town chick who is having trouble with her big-town beau. On the flip-over, the Voo-It chirp goes really sad and low-down to reap a harvest with Stormy Mood. Long, sustained minor chords by the Bascomb band keep the mood the same and make the side a blues standout. Both sides will reap a share of the race nickel harvest.

December 1947 saw King issue the other two songs from the Paul Bascomb session (although his name didn't appear on the label this time): "Junior Blues" (which begins with some hard-to-understand lyrics) and "Scroogli-Oli-Re-Bos". (This is a nonsense be-bop song whose title was misprinted on the label: it was registered with BMI as "Scroogli-Ooli-Re-Boos", which matches what she's actually saying.)

Speaking of Paul Bascomb, the December 20, 1947 Billboard had this: "On the small labels, Manor signed Ida James, one-time thrush with Erskine Hawkins ork, Paul Bascomb's ork, and a blues singer named Manhattan Paul." I suppose no one told them that he was Manhattan Paul Bascomb.

Crunch time for record companies. James C. Petrillo, head of the musicians' union, had called a strike for January 1, 1948. At that time, no union musician would be allowed to record. This meant lots and lots of recording sessions in November and December 1947 in order for the companies to have product to sell in 1948.

Therefore, King set up a couple of sessions for Marion in Cincinnati (where King was situated). The first was on December 23, 1947, along with the Hot Lips Page ork: Oran "Hot Lips" Page (trumpet), Joe Britton (trombone), Tom Archia (tenor sax), Hal Singer (tenor sax) Vincent Bair-Bey (alto sax), Joe Knight (piano), and Bobby Donaldson (drums). In a double session, they recorded eight sides: "My Man Boogie", "Brotherly Love", "Nobody Wants You When You're Down And Out", "Hey Little Boy", "Honey, Honey, Honey", "Little John Blues", "What Is The Matter With Me", and "Undecided".

A couple of days later, probably on December 28 (same location, same musicians), there were four more songs recorded: "Wee Baby" (which contained many standard blues lyrics), "Bessie's Sin", "I Can't Stand It", and "It's A Low Down Dirty Shame".

The February 7, 1948 Billboard reviewed "Junior Blues":

Junior Blues (63): Slow blues chant; vocal hardly distinguishable.

Scroogli-Oli-Re-Bos (68): Nonsense lyric, infectious beat may draw some nickel nibbles.

Also in February, King released "Honey, Honey, Honey", backed with "Undecided". Although "Undecided" is the standard tune written by Charlie Shavers and Sid Robin in 1938, the label has her name as the writer. Fortunately, the Cash Box reviewer (February 21 issue) never seemed to have heard of the song:

Hep platter [Honey, Honey, Honey] rapidly making its name as a forerunner [they probably meant that the song, not necessarily her version, was a "frontrunner"] on phonos thruout the nation shows as effective material for the many race locations looking for a hypo [I guess they meant "boost"]. "Honey, Honey, Honey" offered by thrush Martin [sic] Abernathy shows as an effective piece here, to which music ops [juke box owners] might get next to for use as filler material. ["filler" sounds like an insult, but in that usage, it isn't.] Stuff is offered in stock tempo with a lack of flare in the instrumental department. Vocal spot is the balance that shines. Flip is a switch to some fast hep stuff with the title offering the bill of fare on the side. Wax weaves and rocks, with thrush Marion yowling thruout. [I have to wonder if subscribers also wished these people could just write in English.]

"Honey, Honey, Honey" was first released by the Viviane Greene Trio in October 1947 (and mentioned in a November 4 ad, when she appeared at Harold Blackshear's Supper Club in San Francisco). It would also be done by Martha Davis, the Cats & The Fiddle, the Ah-Moors, and Hadda Brooks, in 1948 (and Ray Charles, the following year, as "Honey, Honey").

Marion was still at Jimmie Cooper's Ritz Lounge in late March 1948, along with Gatemouth Brown and dancer Baby Laurence (former member of the Harlem Highlanders).

In May, King issued the raucous "Bessie's Sin", coupled with "Brotherly Love".


It's been a long time since Marion performed in Los Angeles, but she was back in July 1948. The July 8 California Eagle reported on her appearance at the Last Word (along with the Bits Of Rhythm and Bobbe Caston). One of her numbers was "Hey Little Boy", which she'd recorded for King, but which hadn't yet been released.

Marian Abernathy, who is called the female T-Bone Walker, The Blues Woman, and other names (all of which are nice), is a more polished and refreshed singer than when she last appeared on Central Ave several years ago. Her style of singing the blues in a big, round, deep Tallulah Bankhead'sh voice is on the solid side. At the show caught by this reviewer, she wrapped things up in a neat little package and walked away with honors.

In September, King issued "I Can’t Stand It" (with some vocal inserts by band members), backed by "Little John Blues".


Note that Marion was credited on labels with having written several of her songs: "Stormy Mood", "You Ain't Got Nothin' For Me", "Junior Blues", "Scroogli-Ooli-Re-Boos", "I Can't Stand It", and possibly a few on Melodisc, which usually didn't give writer credit. However, none of them ever seemed to have been submitted to the Copyright Office.

In December 1948, she was at the New Orleans Swing Club in San Francisco, along with Pee Wee Crayton. The December 29 Down Beat said: "Marion Abernathy, Blues singer at the New Orleans Swing Club, is reaping praise from local blues lovers."

King started off 1949 by issuing "Nobody Wants You When You're Down" (which was not the Bessie Smith song "Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out"). It was coupled with "Hey Little Boy" (another shouter) for a January release. Note that, while King released lots of her records, and even advertised them, most weren't sent out for review.

There was one more King session. This one took place, in Los Angeles, on March 26, 1949: "Ee-Tid-Ee-Dee", "Ja-Hoosey Baby", "Love Me Or Please Let Me Be", and the pretty "It's Lonesome Without You". The musicians for the session were: Joe Newman (trumpet), Henry Coker (trombone), Marshall Royal (alto sax, clarinet), Hubert "Bumps" Myers (tenor sax), Maurice Simon (baritone sax), Gerald "Wig" Wiggins (piano), Charlie Drayton (bass), and Chico Hamilton (drums). King rushed out "Ee-Tid-Ee-Dee" and "It's Lonesome Without You" in April.

The July 2, 1949 Pittsburgh Courier had this vague item: "Things are equally as quiet in the San Francisco Bay area with Marian Abernathy, Gladys Palmer, and Wilbur Hobbs as the chief headliner." It would have taken too much ink to say where she was appearing. Other than that, Marion doesn't seem to have performed anywhere at all in 1949.

In October 1949, it was "Love Me Or Please Let Me Be", coupled with "Ja-Hoosey Baby" (which is a drawn-out pronunciation of "juicy").


Her last known performance for the next five years took place on March 31, 1950 at the Washington Social And Educational Club in Seattle. Also on the bill were Anita Eckels, along with Jack McVea and his All Star (there's that term again) Revue Show. There was only one ad, which didn't say how long the show would run for.

Around May 1951 "My Man Boogie" and "Wee Baby" were released on King's Federal subsidiary. In October, King issued "Love Me Or Please Let Me Be", coupled with a re-release of "Undecided". Since the Ames Brothers had a big hit with "Undecided" in the fall of 1951, King's Syd Nathan probably figured he could make some bucks off Marion's version. This time, though, it had the correct writers on the label

This one was actually sent out for review. The November 3, 1951 Billboard said:

Undecided (78): Thrush really beats out a tasty rhythm treatment of the great Charlie Shavers jazz tune. Combo weighs in with a swinging, light-as-air backing.

Love Me Or Please Let Me Be (70): Gal does an intense job on this slow bluesy ballad. Modern trumpet obbligato highlights backing.

I was asked if "The Monkey" by "(Dutchess)" [sic] on Combo #2 was by Marion. Turns out it was by Jake Porter's vocalist at the time, Dorothy Ellis.

Finally, another appearance, but it wasn't where you (or I) would suspect. On July 2, 1955, she opened at Club Morocco in Fairbanks, Alaska. (At this time, Alaska was still a territory and nearly four years away from becoming a state.) Subsequent Club Morocco ads told us that she was from San Francisco, no, wait, it was Chicago. By September, they'd given up trying to figure it out. After that, it was Fairbanks' Club 27.

As long as she was in Alaska, why not get married? On November 4, 1955, she wed Robert Lee Thomas (from Houston) in Fairbanks. She gave her name on the license application as Marion Chestyne Abernathy, the only time she ever seemed to use a middle name. (I first thought they'd spelled "Justine" incorrectly, but that's the way she signed it.) She said she was a singer, 32 years old (actually 35), and born in Thibodaux, Louisiana. I have no explanation for that (and no one named "Marion Abernathy" ever lived in Louisiana, let alone Thibodaux). Both his and her parts of the license application were filled out by the same person, but they both signed. There was a Robert Lee Thomas who came from Houston, but was born in Louisiana, so maybe whoever filled out the application was more confused than I generally am. (And, you have no idea how common a name "Robert Lee Thomas" is.)

I can't find her anywhere, ever, calling herself "Marion Thomas" (but it's a very common name and probably easy to miss). I don't know if the marriage lasted or if there were any children. She was nowhere to be found in all of 1956.

On May 30, 1957, she opened at the Barbary Coast in Fairbanks. The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner of June 1 said: "Get Marian to do 'If It's The Last Thing I Do', a crazy, beautiful tune that is our favorite in her wide repertoire."

The August 22, 1957 California Eagle remembered her: "Marion Abernathy - song stylist deluxe is back on top and is all the current rage in Fairbanks, where she is appearing."

She was still in Fairbanks on February 28, 1958, when she opened at the Idle Hour Bar. By mid-July, she had switched to Club Timerlin, but there were no ads and that was the last ever appearance I could find for her.

After that, she seemingly dropped off the face of the Earth, except for one more mention. The August 29, 1960 issue of Billboard told us that she actually had a new record! On the Tassel label (as they spelled it; I've also seen Tassell), the sides were "Nobody Knows You After You're Down And Out" (possibly the same song she had done for King), backed with "So Long Baby". Billboard, not impressed, gave the disc one star, with no further comment. (They also gave one star to Lillian & Little Ruthie's "Short Fat Izzy". They need a new reviewer!) Just to show you how low Billboard reviewers had sunk by 1960, here's the review, from that issue, of "It's Raining" by the Tifanos (2 stars): "Old style rock and roll ballad reading is done by the group with plenty meshuga vocal gimmicks against thin backing." Ah, for the good old days when reviews were written in barely-intelligible hip language. This is, by the way, the only mention, ever, of Tassel or Tassell Records in 1960. No one seems to know anything about them.

Her father, George "Shuffle" Abernathy, died, in Milwaukee, on November 24, 1960. Did that somehow put an end to her career? It shouldn't have, but I have no idea.

What she did after 1960 is a complete mystery. I can't even find out when she died. You'll sometimes read about a Marion Abernathy (born May 20, 1918) who died in Los Angeles on October 24, 1977; however, that was a man. The Marion Abernathy who died in Chicago on Dec 26, 1964 was also a man.

If Marion died before filing to collect Social Security (let's say before 1985), there probably wouldn't be an online record for her death. However, there was no obituary in any paper referencing a former singer, either as Marion Abernathy or as Marion Thomas. Even if she were divorced from Robert Thomas and remarried, I'd expect something. But, no matter what I tried, history is silent.

To sum up Marion Abernathy: a lot of nice music (although reviewers liked her live performances better than many of her records) and a lot of unanswered questions. What did she do in the long spaces between performances (some of them lasting years)? Did she marry more than once? Did she have any children? And, most important, what happened to her after 1960? Well, at least I've been able to uncover some facts about her life.



JUKE BOX (The Blues Woman)
502 Voo-It! Voo-It! / Cryin' Blues - ca 10/45

MELODISC (George's Dukes & Duchess - Solo [or Vocal]: Marian Abernathy)
1001 Abernathy's Voo-it Voo-it / [Night Mist - Howard McGhee Orchestra] - 2/46
1001A I'm Gonna See My Baby / [Sweet Potato - Howard McGhee Orchestra] - 2/46
1002 You Can't Take That Away From Me / [Blues A La King - Howard McGhee Orchestra] - 2/46
1002A Frantic Blues / [Hoggin' - Howard McGhee Orchestra] - 2/46
1003 Abernathy's Boogie / [The Hour Of Parting - (George's Dukes & Duchess)] - 2/46
1004 Slowing Down The Blues / [Cherokee (George's Dukes & Duchess)] - 2/46

BEL-TONE (Bob Mosely [sic; should be Mosley] & His All Stars)
751 Baggin' The Boogie / [Voot Rhythm - Bob Mosely & His All Stars] - ca 2/46
752 Stormy Mood / [Bee Boogie Boo - Bob Mosely & His All Stars] - ca 2/46
763 Stormy Mood / Baggin' The Boogie - ca 5/46 (I can't swear this record exists)

MELODISC (Buddy Banks Ork - Vocal: Marion Abernathy)
1016 Ink Splink / Lonely Blues - ca 7/46
1017 Goin' For The Okey-Doke / Roses Of Picardy - ca 7/46

SPECIALTY (The Blues Woman and Buddy Banks Sextet; reissue of Juke Box)
502 Voo It Voo It / Cryin' Blues - 8/46

KING (Marion Abernathy)
4179 You Ain't Got Nothin' For Me / Stormy Mood - 10/47
            (above with Paul Bascomb & His Ork)
4188 Junior Blues / Scroogli-Oli-Re-Bos - 12/47
4205 Honey, Honey, Honey / Undecided - 2/48
4219 Bessie's Sin / Brotherly Love - ca 5/48
4253 I Can’t Stand It / Little John Blues - ca 9/48
4273 Nobody Wants You When You're Down / Hey Little Boy - 1/49
4294 Ee-Tid-Ee-Dee / It's Lonesome Without You - ca 4/49
4319 Love Me Or Please Let Me Be / Ja-Hoosey Baby - ca 10/49

   UNREL KING
      What Is The Matter With Me
      It's A Low Down Dirty Shame

FEDERAL (Marion Abernathy; King subsidiary; 1947 King masters)
12028 My Man Boogie / Wee Baby - ca 5/51

KING (Marion Abernathy)
4490 Love Me Or Please Let Me Be / Undecided - 10/51

TASSELL (Marion Abernathy)
8111 Nobody Knows You After You're Down And Out / So Long Baby - 8/60