Born in Macon, Ga., in 1894, Lucille Hegamin began her professional career at the age of 15 by singing in the style of Classic Female Blues singers Alberta Hunter and Bessie Smith. She toured and recorded until she left the business in the 1930s, only to emerge from retirement in light of the blues revival of the '60s by cutting a number of sides before her death in 1970. Her smooth, sophisticated voice surrounds bluesy clarinet and trumpet solos on her recordings.