Dorothy Ellis

Dorothy Ellis (September 24, 1935 – September 1, 2018) was an American blues singer and songwriter, who was inducted into the Oklahoma Jazz Hall of Fame in 2011, having been an inductee of the Oklahoma Blues Hall of Fame in 2004. She was known as Miss Blues and was often billed under that moniker. Ellis performed across eight decades, releasing two singles in her teenage years, including the dirty blues number, "Drill Daddy Drill", and a number of albums later in life.

Life and career She was born Dorthy (sic) Fay Choncie in Direct, Lamar County, Texas, United States. Her parents were Ray Choncie and Carrie Anderson. Dorthy was born on a Texas sharecropping cotton plantation, where her mother worked and where she started toiling at the age of six. She copied her mother who enjoyed singing, particularly the Lead Belly song, "Good Morning Blues". Just months later, Ellis herself got paid for singing that song one Easter Sunday at a nearby juke joint. However, when Ellis was at the age of 11, her mother collapsed in the fields and died from heat stroke. Ellis went to live with a grandmother in Wellington, Texas, before uprooting to a homeless family shelter in Paris, Texas. Around that time she married John Ellis, with whom she played in The Rockin' Aces. and wrote two self-published books, For Blacks Only (1979) and Hoe Cakes and Collard Greens. In 1997, Ellis recorded her debut album, Reminiscence of the Blues, which was issued by Crying Tone Records.

Ellis wrote or co-wrote eight of the ten tracks on her final album, Blues with an Attitude (2012). In 2014, she was in hospital struggling with the effects of pneumonia, which led to her being resuscitated on three occasions. The drama was compounded when, upon returning home after months of treatment, Ellis discovered her house had been subject to a burglary with her losing jewelry, coins and photographs from her lengthy life and career. It was also featured on another compilation, Eat to the Beat: The Dirtiest of the Dirty Blues (2006, Bear Family Records), among many other such compilations.

Discography Singles Year A-side B-side Record label Accreditation 1952 "Slowly Going Out of Your Mind" "He's Gone" Federal Records Dorothy Ellis 1952 "Drill Daddy Drill" "Must Go Out and Play" Federal Records Dorothy Ellis

Albums Year Title Record label Accreditation 1997 Reminiscence of the Blues Crying Tone Records Miss Blues 2001 Sittin' in with Blinddog Smokin Hapi Skratch Records Miss Blues & Blinddog Smokin' 2008 Bad Prospects SkinnerAudio Miss Blues 2012 Blues with an Attitude SkinnerAudio Miss Blues