| Mozelle Alderson | |
| Birth Name: | Mozelle Fagans |
| Alias: | Possibly Kansas City Kitty, Hannah May, Thelma Holmes, Mae Belle Lee, Jane Lucas |
| Birth Date: | 20 November 1904 |
| Birth Place: | Bedford, Ohio, United States |
| Death Place: | Chicago, Illinois, United States |
| Instrument: | Vocals |
| Genre: | Classic female blues |
| Occupation: | Singer |
| Years Active: | 1920s–1930s |
| Label: | Black Patti, Brunswick, ARC, Vocalion, Paramount |
Mozelle Alderson (November 20, 1904 – February 15, 1994)[1] was an American classic female blues singer. She recorded a small number of tracks for Black Patti Records in 1927 and for Brunswick Records In 1930. Her most regular pianist was Judson Brown. She was a one-time vocalist for the Famous Hokum Boys in 1930[2] and toured and recorded as a backing vocalist for other blues artists. Alderson used a number of aliases, possibly including Kansas City Kitty, Hannah May, Thelma Holmes, Mae Belle Lee, and Jane Lucas.[3] [4]
Little is known of her life outside of her recording career.
She was born Mozelle Fagans in Bedford, Ohio, in 1904. She married and moved to Chicago, Illinois.[1]
Alderson recorded three singles released by Black Patti Records in 1927, on which she was accompanied on the six tracks by the pianist Blind James Beck: "Mobile Central Blues", "Tall Man Blues", "Mozelle Blues", "State Street Special", "Sobbin' the Blues" and "Room Rent Blues".[5] She recorded "Tight Whoopee" backed with "Tight in Chicago", released by Brunswick Records in 1930.[6] [7] The pianist Judson Brown accompanied her on the Brunswick recordings. She also recorded for the ARC and Vocalion labels.[1]
Harum Scarums, a trio comprising Big Bill Broonzy, Georgia Tom and Alderson, recorded the two-part "Alabama Scratch" in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records (Paramount 13054) in January 1931, and it was reported that it sounded "as if it was a real party."[8]
The self-titled compilation album of the Famous Hokum Boys, issued in 2015 by JSP Records, includes the following in its credits: Mozelle Alderson, Scrapper Blackwell, Big Bill Broonzy, Georgia Tom, Frank Brasswell, Kansas City Kitty, Hannah May, and Arthur Petties.[9]
Alderson was widowed by 1941. She married John Slocum in Chicago in 1943.[1]
She died in Chicago in 1994, aged 89.[1]
Her recordings are available on several compilation albums.[10]