Bea Booze born 23 May 1920

Bea Booze (March 23, 1912 – November 11, 1986), often credited as Wee Bea Booze, was an American R&B and jazz singer most popular in the 1940s. She was one of the few female blues guitarists of that time. 

She was born Beatrice Booze in Baltimore, the daughter of Phillip and Lydia Booze. She made her name as a singer in Harlem clubs in New York. She was signed by Decca in 1942, on Lionel Hampton's recommendation; the company apparently was looking for a blues singer to compete with Lil Green on Victor. 

Her opportunities to record were limited, because of the ban that hit on August 1 of that year, but she did have time to lay down a memorable performance of "See See Rider" with Sammy Price on piano. It reached number 1 on the US Billboard R&B chart, after which she was billed as the "See See Rider Blues Girl". Many experts consider this version to be the definitive version of the song. In addition to singing, she played guitar in performance and on many of her recordings. 

                                    

After the war, she recorded for Decca again on January 3, 1946 as a jazz vocalist with the Andy Kirk band, which featured the trumpeter Fats Navarro, and also with a jazz quartet that included the saxophonist George Kelly and the organist Larry Johnson. Otherwise, she cut four sides for Apollo in May 1950. It was another 12 years before she entered the recording studio to cut two sides with Sammy Price for the Stardust label.in 1962. 

Retired from the scene for many years, Bea Booze later moved from Baltimore to Scottsville, New York where she died on November11, 1986. 

Post Script - The ongoing confusion with Muriel Nichols.

For reasons that remain undocumented, the producer J. Mayo Williams, knew Bea Booze from his days at Decca, and obviously would have liked to get her to record for him, but apparently she was unavailable or uninterested (there is much doubt that Decca had signed her to a multiyear contract). So he had Muriel Nichols (born in Philadelphia in 1908 who despite her heavier voice could do a very good impression of Bea Booze) to do a knockoff of Booze's "See See Rider" which was released on the Harlem Records label in 1945. Where the Decca's near-funereal tempo harked back to the 1920s, Williams brought in a Swing combo (with a somewhat lumbering tenor saxophonist, a steel guitar soloist, piano, bass, and drums) for accompaniment at a somewhat brighter pace. If Muriel Nichols made anything else at the session, it is thought to have been lost. Though Nichols was a different singer, this led to the false belief, reported in many sources, that Bea Booze's real name was Muriel Nichols.

(Edited from Wikipedia & Robert Campbell notes @ campber.people.clemson.edu/ebony.html)