ABOUT BILLIE PIERCE
Jazz artist and singer who became a well-known performer in the New Orleans jazz scene from the 1950s until the early 1970s.
She became a member of several bands in the late 1920s, including Alphonse Picou's band, Emile Barnes' band, and George Lewis' band.
She met her husband, trumpeter De De Pierce, while she was performing at the Blue Jay Club in the 1930s.
She was born into a family where her six sisters all played piano as did her mother and father.
She accompanied singer Bessie Smith early on in her career when Smith was playing in a Pensacola, Florida, theater.
