Lovie Austin
Composer
Influential bandleader, session musician, and arranger during the classic blues period of the 1920s. She collaborated with Alberta Hunter on the classic song 'Down Hearted Blues.'
She played piano in vaudeville and performed with variety acts. She became known for her fashion sense and her Stutz Bearcat.
She co-wrote the classic 'Down Hearted Blues' with Alberta Hunter, which was a hit for singer Bessie Smith in 1923.
She was born in Chattanooga with the birth name Cora Calhoun. Around 1923, she decided to settle in Chicago, where she would play out the rest of her life and career.
She was often compared favorably to Lil Armstrong, and the two were considered the greatest female jazz blues piano players of their time.