After the commercial success of some of the first female "classic blues" singers such as Mamie Smith, Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith in the early 1920s, the Okeh record company made field trips to the southern states to discover unrecorded musicians.
[1] The record company's advertisement stated: "Right where the blues songs were born is where Ed.
"[2] It is not known whether Andrews originated from Atlanta, or was an itinerant musician passing through the city.
His style has been likened to that of Peg Leg Howell, a Georgia musician who first recorded in 1926.
He was thought to have been "approaching middle age" when he recorded,[3] but other aspects of his life are unknown.