Born in Houston, Texas, United States,[1] her father, George Washington Thomas, was a musician, songwriter, and music publisher.
[2] Around 1916, she relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana, to live with her aunt, the blues singer Sippie Wallace.
[2] She began performing, often with Sippie Wallace, at local parties and in Storyville, the city's red-light district.
She moved to Chicago, Illinois, in about 1924 and worked in local clubs and theatres there until the early 1930s.
Her accompanists on the Okeh recordings included her teenaged uncle Hersal Thomas,[1] whose piano is heard on "Fish Tail Dance", and Louis Armstrong.