2013-02-22

Center for Public History, University of Houston; University of Houston Libraries, University of Houston

This is an oral history interview with Hazel Jewel Brown conducted as part of the Houston History Project. In this interview Brown discusses what it was like growing up in the Third Ward, going to Jack Yates High School, and becoming a successful singer. She began singing at the age of 9 and was told that she was no longer an amateur at the age of 14. Jewel sang in Houston at the local venues until she moved to California to work for her brother-in-law and sing at the club where he worked. She knew all of the prominent Houston musicians of the era and performed with many of them. Later she moved to Dallas where she worked for Hack Rudy and received an opportunity to sing back-up with Louis Armstrong later in his career. Eventually she moved back to Houston to care for her parents and their house. She tells of a time when the Third Ward was a more unified community and she talks about the ways that the Third Ward has changed since she was a young girl. Still performing, Brown discusses how her career trajectory has changed.

interviews

African Americans; Civil rights; Blues musicians; Singers; Brown, Jewel

Houston, Texas

Oral Histories from the Houston History Project

University of Houston Libraries Special Collections

English

Collection
University of Houston Libraries Special Collections
Houston History Archives
Oral Histories from the Houston History Project

Preservation Location: ark:/84475/pm238929164