Biography
Despite her commanding presence as a blues singer, Bertha Lee left behind only a handful of recordings. Her family’s move to Lula, Mississippi during her childhood eventually brought her into contact with Charley Patton. The two began their relationship in 1930, and it endured until his death four years afterward. Over that span she supplied backing vocals on twelve of his blues and gospel sides, all captured during sessions held in early 1934. One of those dates also yielded three performances under her own name: the Memphis Minnie composition “Yellow Bee,” the unissued “Dog Train Blues,” and “Mind Reader Blues.”