EVA TAYLOR
Irene Gibbons was born in St. Louis, but by the time she recorded her first Blues songs for the Black Swan label in New York in 1922, she had already had a long career. She toured with vaudeville troupes in the USA, Europe and the South Pacific beginning as a 3-year-old child. When she got back, she had adopted the stage name Eva Taylor, and her obvious talent as a performer brought her to the attention of Black Swan Records’ owner Harry Pace who was looking for a ‘Blues Diva’ to exploit the new market for ‘race music‘. They billed her as ‘The Dixie Nightingale’ and she was one of their best selling acts, but she was lured to Okeh Records in late 1923, where she released the first 12-inch Blues record.

Eva Taylor Discography
This is Eva in her prime, covering some great material with help from sidemen like Sidney Bechet, Jabbo Smith and her husband Clarence Williams.