Georgia White

Who was Georgia White?

Georgia White was an African American blues singer, most prolific in the 1930s and 1940s.

Little is known of her early life. By the late 1920s she was singing in clubs in Chicago, and she made her first recording, "When You're Smiling, the Whole World Smiles With You," with Jimmie Noone's orchestra in 1930. She returned to the studio in 1935, and over the next six years recorded over 100 tracks for Decca Records, usually accompanied by the pianist Richard M. Jones and also, in the late 1930s, by guitarist Lonnie Johnson.

She also recorded under the name Georgia Lawson. Tracks included "I'll Keep Sitting on It," "Take Me for a Buggy Ride," "Mama Knows What Papa Wants When Papa's Feeling Blue," and "Hot Nuts." Her best-known song was "You Done Lost Your Good Thing Now."

White formed an all-women band in the 1940s, and also performed with Bumble Bee Slim. She joined Big Bill Broonzy's Laughing Trio in 1949 as pianist. "She was very easy to get along with," said Broonzy. "Real friendly." She was a club singer in the 1950s, finally performing in 1959 in Chicago.

One of her songs, "Alley Boogie", was used as the theme music for the British romantic comedy drama series, Love Soup.