Helen Gross

Helen R. Mitchell (; May 24, 1896 – January 3, 1989) was an American classic female blues singer, active as a recording artist in the mid-1920s. Songs she recorded include "I Wanna Jazz Some More", "Bloody Razor Blues", and "Strange Man".

All of her recorded work was from sessions in her birthplace, New York City, between May 1924 and March 1925. She recorded 27 songs, which were originally released by Ajax Records. Steve Leggett, writing for AllMusic, noted that her recordings include "a preponderance of often baffling noise effects, which at times gives her songs the feel of a carnival sideshow."

Early life Helen Gross was born 24 May 1896 in New York City. Gross' parents, Annie Chase and George Gross were born in Maryland. All of her recorded work, 27 songs, was from sessions in her birthplace, New York City, between May 1924 and March 1925.

Gross was not a conventional blues singer. She approached her work as a vaudeville performer. Her arrangements reinforced this style, giving an unusual approach to standard blues material. The results were sketchy, but the AllMusic critic Steve Leggett noted that, on "Haunted House Blues", "Gross sounds as if she's wandered into a carnival funhouse.... The same technique of using goofy Halloween sound effects makes the similar-sounding "Ghost Walking Blues" work wonderfully, however, with just the right balance between odd and eerie."

Her 1924 rendition of "I Wanna Jazz Some More" became notable because of songwriter Tom Delaney's rhyming line of "Miss Susan Green from New Orleans." Joe Davis worked in an A&R capacity, placing artists and songs with Ajax, including Gross and some of Delaney's work.

Death Gross died January 3, 1989, aged 92, in The Bronx.