Biography
Edith North Johnson performed under the alias Hattie North. Married to the record producer Jesse Johnson, she never pursued singing or piano playing as a profession yet committed eighteen strong blues tracks to disc across 1928 and 1929. One of those dates took place in Grafton, Wisconsin, for Paramount Records alongside Charley Patton, although his presence on the resulting sides remains uncertain. She lived her entire life in St. Louis, operating a taxi company throughout World War II and later running a well-known diner. In 1961 Sam Charters captured her alongside Henry Brown for the Folkways anthology The Blues in St. Louis. She also issued material as Maybelle Allen. Born in St. Louis on January 2, 1903, Johnson died in the same city on February 28, 1988.