Victoria Spivey

Victoria Regina Spivey (October 15, 1906 – October 3, 1976), sometimes known as Queen Victoria, was an American blues singer and songwriter. During a recording career that spanned 40 years, from 1926 to the mid-1960s, she worked with Louis Armstrong, King Oliver, Clarence Williams, Luis Russell, Lonnie Johnson, and Bob Dylan. She also performed in vaudeville and clubs, sometimes with her sister Addie "Sweet Peas" (or "Sweet Pease") Spivey (August 22, 1910 – 1943), also known as the Za Zu Girl. Among her compositions are "Black Snake Blues" (1926), "Dope Head Blues" (1927), and "Organ Grinder Blues" (1928).

Birth and Death Data: Born Houston, Died October 3, 1976 (New York City)

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1916 - 1937

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, composer, lyricist, songwriter, piano, director

= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.

Recordings (Results 51-75 of 102 records)

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
OKeh 74266 10-in. 8/13/1926 Got the blues so bad Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with violin and piano vocalist  
OKeh 74275 10-in. 8/16/1926 Blue Valley blues Erby's Fidgety Five ; Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with instrumental quintet vocalist  
OKeh W80728 10-in. 4/14/1927 Black snake blues Clarence Williams’ Blue Five Jazz/dance band songwriter  
OKeh W80766 10-in. 4/27/1927 Steady grind Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W80767 10-in. 4/27/1927 Idle hour blues Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W80768 10-in. 4/27/1927 Arkansas road blues Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W80769 10-in. 4/27/1927 The alligator pond went dry Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W80770 10-in. 4/27/1927 No. 12, let me roam Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W80771 10-in. 4/27/1927 T - B blues Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W80882 10-in. 5/14/1927 Sport model mama Bertha Chippie Hill ; Richard M. Jones’ Jazz Wizards Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance band composer, lyricist  
OKeh W81583 10-in. 10/28/1927 Garter-snake blues Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W81584 10-in. 10/28/1927 Christmas mornin' blues Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist  
OKeh W81585 10-in. 10/28/1927 Dope head blues Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W81586 10-in. 10/28/1927 Red lantern blues Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W81589 10-in. 10/31/1927 Blood thirsty blues Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W81590 10-in. 10/31/1927 Nightmare blues Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W81596 10-in. 11/1/1927 Murder in the first degree Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
OKeh W81597 10-in. 11/1/1927 Jelly, look what you done done Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist  
OKeh W81598 10-in. 11/1/1927 Your worries ain't like mine Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist  
OKeh W81599 10-in. 11/1/1927 A good man is hard to find Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist  
OKeh W401114 10-in. 9/12/1928 My handy man Clarence Williams’ Blue Five ; Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance quintet vocalist  
OKeh W401115 10-in. 9/12/1928 Organ grinder blues Clarence Williams’ Blue Five ; Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with jazz/dance quintet vocalist  
OKeh W401222 10-in. 10/13/1928 New black snake blues Lonnie Johnson ; Victoria Spivey Female-male vocal duet, with guitar and piano composer, vocalist, lyricist, instrumentalist, piano  
OKeh W401223 10-in. 10/13/1928 New black snake blues Lonnie Johnson ; Victoria Spivey Female-male vocal duet, with guitar and piano composer, vocalist, lyricist, instrumentalist, piano  
OKeh W401242 10-in. 10/17/1928 No, papa, no Victoria Spivey Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist, composer, lyricist  
(Results 51-75 of 102 records)

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Spivey, Victoria," accessed December 11, 2025, http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105213.

Spivey, Victoria. (2025). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved December 11, 2025, from http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105213.

"Spivey, Victoria." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2025. Web. 11 December 2025.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: http://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/105213

External Sources

Wikipedia: Victoria Spivey

Discogs: Victoria Spivey

Allmusic: Victoria Spivey

Grove: Victoria Spivey

IMDb: Victoria Spivey

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Spivey, Victoria - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n85376797

Wikidata: Victoria Spivey - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q543443

VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/94114578

MusicBrainz: Victoria Spivey - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/0b9f1797-12ca-4db4-8e0d-d9dc2b90a3da

Fast: http://id.worldcat.org/fast/183620 - http://id.worldcat.org/fast/183620

Wikipedia content provided under the terms of the Creative Commons BY-SA license

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