26 Facts About Memphis Minnie

Lizzie Douglas, better known as Memphis Minnie, was a blues guitarist, vocalist, and songwriter whose recording career lasted for over three decades.

Memphis Minnie learned to play the banjo by the age of 10 and the guitar by the age of 11, when she started playing at parties.

Memphis Minnie played on street corners for most of her teenage years, occasionally returning to her family's farm when she ran out of money.

Memphis Minnie began performing with Kansas Joe McCoy, her second husband, in 1929.

Paul and Beth Garon, in their biography Woman with Guitar: Memphis Minnie's Blues, suggested that Broonzy's account may have combined various contests at different dates, as these songs of Minnie's date from the 1940s rather than the 1930s.

Back on her own after her divorce from McCoy, Memphis Minnie began to experiment with different styles and sounds.

Memphis Minnie recorded four sides for Bluebird Records in July 1935, returned to the Vocalion label in August, and then recorded another session for Bluebird in October, this time accompanied by Casey Bill Weldon, her first husband.

Memphis Minnie toured extensively in the 1930s, mainly in the South.

In 1938, Memphis Minnie returned to recording for the Vocalion label, this time accompanied by Charlie McCoy, Kansas Joe McCoy's brother, on mandolin.

Memphis Minnie often played at "Blue Monday" parties at Ruby Lee Gatewood's, on Lake Street.

Later in the 1940s, Memphis Minnie lived in Indianapolis and Detroit.

Memphis Minnie continued to record into the 1950s, but her health began to decline.

Lawlars died the following year, and Memphis Minnie had another stroke a short while after.

Memphis Minnie spent her last years in the Jell Nursing Home, in Memphis, where she died of a stroke in 1973.

Memphis Minnie is buried at the New Hope Baptist Church Cemetery, in Walls, Mississippi.

The hundreds of sides Memphis Minnie recorded are the perfect material to teach us about the blues.

Memphis Minnie was known as a polished professional and an independent woman who knew how to take care of herself.

Memphis Minnie presented herself to the public as being feminine and ladylike, wearing expensive dresses and jewelry, but she was aggressive when she needed to be and was not shy when it came to fighting.

Memphis Minnie was married three times, although no marriage certificates have been found.

Memphis Minnie was reported to have lived with a man known as "Squirrel" in the mid- to late 1930s.

Memphis Minnie was baptized shortly before she died, probably to please her sister Daisy Johnson.

Memphis Minnie has been described as "the most popular female country blues singer of all time".

Memphis Minnie was an influence on later singers, such as Big Mama Thornton, Jo Ann Kelly and Erin Harpe.

Memphis Minnie was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame in 1980.

Memphis Minnie's family is currently suing record companies and some artists for royalties and for using her music without permission.

In 2007, Memphis Minnie was honored with a marker on the Mississippi Blues Trail in Walls, Mississippi.