Genres Country music Years active 1929 Died 1954 | Instruments Guitar Labels Victor Records Genre Country music | |
Also known as Billie Maxwell, the Cow Girl Singer Record label Victor Talking Machine Company Similar Girls of the Golden West, Carl T Sprague, Ralph Peer, Patsy Montana, Emile Berliner | ||
Billie Maxwell (1906–1954) was the first woman recorded in country music, and the first recorded musician from Arizona. She played guitar with The White Mountain Orchestra, and recorded three vocal discs with Victor Records.
Contents
Life
She was born in 1906 to Curtis Maxwell, a locally known fiddler. She grew up in Nutrioso, near Springerville, Arizona. The family worked primarily as ranchers. Her father started a folk group called The White Mountain Orchestra while Billie was a child, and they would perform around the area, often playing at dances. She joined the band as a guitarist in her teens.
She was married in 1929 to A. Chester Warner, a school teacher. She continued playing with the band. Around that time, Ralph Peer was having auditions held around the southwestern U.S. to find new artists for Victor Records. The White Mountain Orchestra was selected from a local audition in June 1929 to travel to El Paso, Texas, to record for him. The band went to El Paso on 2 July 1929 and recorded four songs, including Escudilla Waltz. While Peer was listening to the session, he asked Billie to sing. She recorded five songs singing solo, with guitar and violin. The first song was recorded on July 2, the remainder on July 11. The discs were published with Maxwell identified as Billie Maxwell, the Cow Girl Singer. Her songs spoke honestly of the struggles of poorer women. She continued to perform with the White Mountain Orchestra until the birth of her first child. She had two children, and died at age 48 from cancer.
Discography
Maxwell released three discs with two songs each, in 78rpm format.
Disc One:
It was issued 22 November 1929 and sold 3125 copies.
Disc Two:
It sold 2641 copies.
Disc Three:
It sold 1300 copies.
The Cowboy's Wife was re-released on the Banjo Pickin' Girls album published by Rounder. Billy Venero was re-released on When I Was A Cowboy, Vol. 2: Early American Songs of the West, Classic Recordings from the 1920s and 30s by Yazoo Records. Her original discs are collector's items, worth more than $400 in 2011. Her work was featured in the Musical Instrument Museum's 100 Years of Arizona Music exhibit.