Alberta Hunter was born in Memphis and grew up in Chicago. She was a pioneering African-American popular singer whose path crossed the streams of jazz, blues and pop music. Hunter recorded in six decades of the twentieth century, and enjoyed a career in music that outlasted most human lives. Her initial records for Black Swan, made in May 1921, were the first blues vocals recorded by the company. During the '20s, Hunter also established herself as a songwriter of some significance; her song

Hunter dropped out of show business for two decades starting in 1956 in favor of working as a licensed practical nurse at a hospital in the New York City area. When she retired from nursing in 1977, she was 81 and ready to go back on the road. By this time her voice was gritty, down and dirty, and her fans loved her for it. She made four albums for Columbia between 1977 and her death in 1984.

Alberta Hunter was one of the earliest African-American singers, along with Sippie Wallace, to make the transition from the lowly brothels and sporting houses into the international spotlight. That she defies easy categorization attests to the astonishing fact that she was on the scene a little before the genres themselves were defined.

from: http://www.allmusic.com/artist/alberta-hunter-p377/biography