Julia Gerity record sides appeared as early as 1919, that being the musical request "Why Don't You Drive My Blues Away". In the early '30s she was advertised as a "queen of the blues," and held down a regular headlining spot at Chicago's Vanity Fair venue. Some discographers, such as Tom Lord, credits her with seven jazz recording sessions in 1931 and 1932. For the audience of the new millennium, Gerity is remembered basically for one song, "Sittin' on a Rubbish Can" (1931) and its association with the Great Depression -which is also the song presented here. Interest in the often intensely biting music from this period, sometimes in relation to modern social circumstances which seem similar, has continued to keep Gerity's name on playlists. At least the Depression times were good enough for her to front her own band, promoted as both Julia Gerity and Her Boys and the slightly more exciting Julia Gerity and Her Play Boys. Another of her recordings with this outfit was a version of "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" for the Victor label.
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