Victoria Spivey (October 15, 1906 – October 3, 1976) was an American blues singer and songwriter. During a recording career that spanned forty years, from 1926 to the mid-1960s, she worked with Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Clarence Williams, Luis Russell, Lonnie Johnson, and Bob Dylan. She also performed in vaudeville and clubs, sometimes with her sister, Addie "Sweet Pease" Spivey. Among her compositions are "Black Snake Blues", "Dope Head Blues" and "Organ Grinder Blues". In 1962 she initiated her own recording label, Spivey Records.
[on Bessie Smith] I was proud to work with her, she was good to everybody; she once told me in Cleveland, Ohio, "You're gonna sing 'Blacksnake Blues' for me real good tonight or I'm gonna break your neck". She was a wonderful woman.
$850,000
