She sometimes recorded under the pseudonyms Sadie Green, Caroline Lee, and possibly Helen Richards.

She should not be confused (although often is in biographies and discographies) with the Bessie Brown who recorded vaudeville and blues-styled duets with George W. Williams, over a similar timespan.

[1] On her recordings she sang in a deepened tone, without any notable African-American dialect.

[3][4] On her recordings Brown was backed by some of the best Harlem-based musicians of the time, including Thomas Morris and Rex Stewart (cornet); Charlie Irvis and Charlie Green (trombone); Coleman Hawkins and Buster Bailey (saxophone); Buddy Christian and Clarence Holiday (banjo); and Porter Grainger, Clarence Williams and Fletcher Henderson (piano).

The album also includes four October 1929 recordings by the unrelated comedian Eliza "Liza" Brown.