death_date background alt birth_date genre origin associated_acts death_place image_size instrument image name occupation caption years_active birth_place alias label article_title birth_name
17 october 1984 solo_singer alberta hunter in 1979 1 april 1895 jazz blues memphis , tennessee u.s. bessie smith ethel waters billie holiday roosevelt island , new york u.s. 230px vocals alberta hunter.jpg alberta hunter singer songwriter hunter in 1979 1914 -- 1984 memphis , tennessee u.s. may alix josephine beatty black bluesville swan paramount gennett okeh victor columbia decca bluebird alberta hunter
 alberta hunter
alberta hunter

alberta hunter -lrb- april 1 , 1895 -- october 17 , 1984 -rrb- was an internationally known american blues singer and songwriter who had a successful career from early 1920s to the late 1950s , was a contemporary of ethel waters and bessie smith , and then decided to stop from performing to work as a nurse .
in 1977 , after 20 years working as a nurse and having to retire , hunter made a successful comeback and resumed her popular singing career in her 80s until the time of her death .
