She was a member of Reverend J. M. Gates's congregation and later received notice on the compilation album Harry Smith's Anthology of American Folk Music, Vol.
Born in Atlanta, Georgia, Hudmon formed a vocal trio with her brothers Ralph and Luther at an early age, and sang in Reverend J. M. Gates's congregation at Mount Calvary Baptist Church.
Just six months after his wife's death, Gholston married 18 year-old Hudmon, who assumed the role of surrogate mother to the Reverend's two children.
Church members objected to the circumstances of the union, making the family public outcasts, and resulting in the Reverend resorting to alcoholism.
Joined by Deacon Leon Davis and Sisters Jordan and Norman, individuals who recorded with Gates between 1927 and 1930, Hudmon completed, among other compositions, her best-known song: a rendition of Reverend Charles Albert Tindley's hymn "Stand by Me".