She reportedly began performing before World War I "around the cafes of South Chicago where she would sit at tables and croon to guests" for small sums.

Another reviewer was less impressed with the same show, stating that Palmer "did the vulgar shimmy in a tightly fitting cerise dress trimmed merely with a cord at the waistline.

"[4] Palmer was widely credited as the inventor of shimmy, although other white dancers, including Gilda Gray and Mae West, also claimed to have originated the act.

The dance inspired several popular songs, including Shimmee Town (performed in the Ziegfeld Follies of 1919), Shim-Me-King’s Blues (recorded by Mamie Smith in 1921), I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate, and Shim-Me-Sha-Wabble (1923).

The band was called Bee Palmer's New Orleans Rhythm Kings and included such notables as Emmett Hardy, Leon Roppolo, and Santo Pecora in addition to pianist/songwriter Al Siegel.

"[11] In 1921, Palmer's then-husband, Al Siegel, filed a lawsuit against boxing champion Jack Dempsey for "alienation of his wife's affection."

Palmer denied any indiscretion, saying "Al Siegel is a cheap piano player whom I picked out of the gutter and married."