Hegamin, Lucille, 1894-1970

Lucille Hegamin (1894-1970), African American blues singer. She was born Lucille Nelson in Macon, Georgia on November 29, 1894. After singing with local church choirs and touring at the age of 15 with the Leonard Harper Stock Company, she moved to Chicago, Illinois. Known as the "Georgia Peach," Hegamin performed in local cabarets, performing with Florence Mills, Ada "Bricktop" Smith, Cora Green, Tony Jackson, and Jelly Roll Morton. She married pianist Bill Hegamin in 1914 and they moved to Los Angeles before settling in 1919 in New York City. A frequent performer the Harlem nightclubs, Hegamin recorded her first record on the Arto label, and later made recordings for Black Swann, Lincoln, Paramount, Columbia, and Cameo. She retired from singing in 1934 to become a registered nurse. She came out of retirement briefly in 1962 to record on the Spivey label. Hegamin died in March 1970.