Biography
Genevieve Jordan ranks among the figures repeatedly encountered amid the shadowy archives of the earliest classic female blues sessions, though the names Gladys Jordan and Genevieve Gordon surface alongside hers with equal frequency. These designations all point to a single performer whose career began amid such pervasive mislabeling that she seemed destined for permanent obscurity. Trade announcements from roughly 1923 that announced her signing listed her instead as Gladys Jordan; the same notices erroneously rendered Ludie Wells as Tudie Wells.
Pianist, arranger, and bandleader Fletcher Henderson frequently supplied accompaniment for blues vocalists during those years. His biographer Walter C. Allen later referenced the error-filled publicity material while cataloguing the caliber of Jordan’s label-mates: “Josie Miles is well known to collectors, I presume ‘Ludie Wells’ is the same person as Tudie Wells on Pathe; and Ruth Coleman made two sides for Pathe...but I've never heard of Gladys Jordan.” Although a gospel performer eventually adopted the name Gladys Jordan, the artist originally promoted under the press releases was Genevieve Jordan.
The scant recorded legacy—three titles, only one of which saw release—gained partial illumination in 1997 when Document included her rendition of “Baby’s Got the Blues” on a compilation devoted to classic female blues singers; both Josie Miles and Ludie Wells had also cut the number. Several years afterward the track reappeared on The Edison Collection: Jazz and Blues on Edison, Vol. 1, this time misattributed to Genevieve Gordon.
Listeners may ultimately decide whether the voice registers as sweet or sour. Edison personnel, however, reached their verdict at the time, declaring the takes of “Gulf Coast Blues” and “Can't Understand a Word” marred by “poor voice,” although the second judgment may have targeted diction rather than timbre. Neither side was ever issued. “Baby’s Got the Blues,” co-written in part by early jazz figure Sam Wooding, was captured as a 1922 test and likewise remained unreleased.
Pianist, arranger, and bandleader Fletcher Henderson frequently supplied accompaniment for blues vocalists during those years. His biographer Walter C. Allen later referenced the error-filled publicity material while cataloguing the caliber of Jordan’s label-mates: “Josie Miles is well known to collectors, I presume ‘Ludie Wells’ is the same person as Tudie Wells on Pathe; and Ruth Coleman made two sides for Pathe...but I've never heard of Gladys Jordan.” Although a gospel performer eventually adopted the name Gladys Jordan, the artist originally promoted under the press releases was Genevieve Jordan.
The scant recorded legacy—three titles, only one of which saw release—gained partial illumination in 1997 when Document included her rendition of “Baby’s Got the Blues” on a compilation devoted to classic female blues singers; both Josie Miles and Ludie Wells had also cut the number. Several years afterward the track reappeared on The Edison Collection: Jazz and Blues on Edison, Vol. 1, this time misattributed to Genevieve Gordon.
Listeners may ultimately decide whether the voice registers as sweet or sour. Edison personnel, however, reached their verdict at the time, declaring the takes of “Gulf Coast Blues” and “Can't Understand a Word” marred by “poor voice,” although the second judgment may have targeted diction rather than timbre. Neither side was ever issued. “Baby’s Got the Blues,” co-written in part by early jazz figure Sam Wooding, was captured as a 1922 test and likewise remained unreleased.