Biography
Born around 1910 in Houston, Texas, Bernice Edwards earned a place within the renowned Thomas Family of Houston, as Beulah ‘Sippie’ Wallace put it when she called Edwards ‘one of the family’; Edwards shared an age with the clan’s standout talent, child prodigy Hersal Thomas. Hociel Thomas taught her both piano and blues singing. Edwards remained in Houston after the family headed north and kept frequent company with Black Boy Shine (Harold Holiday). The 1928 Paramount recordings captured those influences through her introspective ‘moanin’ blues and her piano style. At her third and final session, held for ARC in 1935, she was again alongside Holiday, and a single record appeared under the joint names of Edwards, Holiday, and Howling Smith. After she later married and joined the church, almost nothing further is documented.