Biography
During the 1930s Matilda Powell, who recorded as Mississippi Matilda, wed multi-instrumentalist Eugene Powell, known professionally as Sonny Boy Nelson. Accompanied by Willie Harris, Robert Hill, and Mississippi Sheiks members, the pair headed to New Orleans in 1936 to cut material for Bluebird Records. Four sides resulted from those dates, among them her signature song “Hard Working Woman.” After separating from Powell in 1952 she relocated to Chicago with their six children. Those same four 1936 recordings constitute her sole documented legacy.