Ivy Smith

Ivy Smith was an African American vaudeville performer and recording artist in the United States. She used the pseudonyms Ruby Rankin and Sally Sad. She recorded "Sad and Blue" / "Third Alley Blues", "Cincinnati Southern Blues" / "Barrel House Mojo", and "Ninety Nine Years Blues / Too Mean to Cry Blues (1927) (Iva Smith) at Paramount Records in 1927.

She performed as a vaudeville act and records with Cow Cow Davenport. They recorded on Vocalion Records.

Smith performed with Cow Cow Davenport as the Chicago Steppers and they recorded together. Their recordings include "Sad and Blue" and "My Own Man Blues". A compilation of their works was released in 1993 and reissued in 2002.

Leroy Pickett also accompanied her.

Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1928 - 1930

Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, speaker, composer

Notes: Sometimes listed as Iva Smith.

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

Recordings

Company Matrix No. Size First Recording Date Title Primary Performer Description Role Audio
Brunswick C2048 10-in. 7/12/1928 Shadow blues Cow Cow Davenport ; Iva Smith Female-male vocal duet, with piano vocalist, composer  
Brunswick C2049 10-in. 7/12/1928 He don’t mean me no harm Cow Cow Davenport ; Iva Smith Female-male vocal duet, with piano vocalist  
Brunswick C2064 10-in. 7/16/1928 State Street jive Cow Cow Davenport Piano solo, with talk speaker  
Brunswick C2191 10-in. 8/9/1928 Shadow blues Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with clarinet and piano vocalist, composer  
Brunswick C2379 10-in. 10/2/1928 Alabama strut Cow Cow Davenport Piano, with dance calls speaker  
Gennett 14982 10-in. 4/1/1929 Shadow blues Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 14984 10-in. 4/1/1929 No good man blues Cow Cow Davenport ; Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 14987 10-in. 4/1/1929 Gin house blues Cow Cow Davenport ; Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 14990 10-in. 4/1/1929 Mistreated mamma blues Ivy Smith and Cow Cow Davenport Female-male vocal duet, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 15495 10-in. 8/27/1929 Doin' that thing Ivy Smith and her Buddies Mixed vocal trio, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 15496 10-in. 8/27/1929 Somebody's got to knock a jug Ivy Smith and her Buddies Mixed vocal trio, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 15498 10-in. 8/27/1929 Everybody likes that thing Cow Cow Davenport ; Ivy Smith ; Sam Tarpley Female-male vocal duet, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 15499 10-in. 8/27/1929 Southern high waters blues Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 15500 10-in. 8/27/1929 Cheating only blues Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 15501 10-in. 8/27/1929 Wringing and twistin' papa Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 15502 10-in. 8/27/1929 Got jelly on my mind Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 15505 10-in. 8/27/1929 He don't mean no harm Charlie Davenport ; Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 15506 10-in. 8/27/1929 You got another thought coming to you Charlie Davenport ; Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 16725 10-in. 6/6/1930 Gypsy woman blues Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist  
Gennett 16726 10-in. 6/6/1930 Milkman blues Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with guitar vocalist  
Gennett 16728 10-in. 6/6/1930 Now she gives it away Cow Cow Davenport ; Ivy Smith Female-male vocal duet, with piano vocalist  
Gennett 16736 10-in. 6/7/1930 She knows how to sell that stuff Ivy Smith Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist  
Gennett 16738 10-in. 6/7/1930 Alabammy mistreated Cow Cow Davenport ; Ivy Smith Female-male vocal duet, with guitar and piano vocalist  
Gennett 16742 10-in. 6/7/1930 That's the kind of girl I'm looking for Iva Smith and her Buddies Female vocal solo, with guitar and piano vocalist  

Citation

Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Smith, Ivy," accessed April 19, 2024, https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101313.

Smith, Ivy. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved April 19, 2024, from https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101313.

"Smith, Ivy." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 19 April 2024.

DAHR Persistent Identifier

URI: https://adp.library.ucsb.edu/names/101313

External Sources

Wikipedia: Ivy Smith

Discogs: Ivy Smith

Allmusic: Ivy Smith

Apple Music: Ivy Smith

Linked Open Data Sources

LCNAR: Smith, Ivy (Vocalist) - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n2008063370

Wikidata: Ivy Smith - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q102986703

VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/42122061

MusicBrainz: Ivy Smith - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/4dddcbd9-8757-4f52-b1b2-7dc1587e7e0e

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

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