Memphis Minnie (born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, June 3, 1897 – A… Read Full Bio ↴Memphis Minnie (born Lizzie Douglas in Algiers, Louisiana, June 3, 1897 – August 6, 1973) was an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter from the late 1920s to the 1950s, one of the most influential country blues musicians to have ever recorded.

Lizzie Douglas was born on June 3, 1897 in Algiers, Louisiana. She was the eldest from her 13 other siblings. Her parents Abe and Gertrude Douglas nicknamed her the Kid during her early childhood. At the age of 7 she and her family moved to Walls, Mississippi, which was just south of Memphis. The following year after she moved, she received her first guitar for Christmas. She began to practice and learn how to play both the banjo and the guitar and it was seen that she had a great talent as a musician. When she first began performing she did not use her first name Lizzie, but played under the name Kid Douglas. When she was 13 years old she ran away from her home to live on Beale Street in Memphis, Tennessee. She would play on street corners for most of her teenage years and would eventually go home when she ran out of money. She began to get noticed singing and playing guitar on the street corners. This brought an opportunity for her to tour, travel, and play with the Ringling Brothers Circus. Eventually she came back to Beale Street and got consumed in the blues scene. At the time, women, whiskey, and cocaine were high in demand with the people and places she would be around. She made her money by playing guitar, singing, and prostitution, which was not uncommon at the time. Most of the female performers were prostitutes because of financial desperation. It was said “She received $12 for her services-an outrageous fee for the time.” (Memphis Minnie Biography,1). She was known as a woman that was very strong and that could take care of herself.
She had been married three times in her life; first with Will Weldon sometime in the 1920s, then Joe McCoy (1929–1934), and finally to Earnest Lawlars (a.k.a. Little Son Joe), in 1939. She and McCoy would perform together during their marriage. During this time, a talent scout from Columbia Records discovered her. When she and McCoy went to record in New York, she decided to change her name to Memphis Minnie. During the next few years she and McCoy released many singles and duets. She released the song “Bumble Bee” in 1930, which ended up being one of her favorite songs, and led her to a recording contract with the label Vocalion. Under this label, they continued to produce recording for two years, one of them being “I’m Talking About You”, which was one of her more popular songs. They soon decided to leave Vocalion and move to Chicago. She and McCoy introduced country blues to the urban environment and became very well known.
Memphis Minnie continued to have success throughout the years recording under many different labels like Decca Records and Chess Records. Some believe her fame was the reason for her divorce with McCoy due to jealousy and resentment towards her. She remarried after to Earnest Lawlars (a.k.a. Little Son Joe) and began recording material with him. She became very well known in the blues industry and ended up being one of the most famous blues performers of all time, competing with both men and women.
She continued to record throughout the 50’s, but her health began to become a problem for her. She retired from her musical career and ended up going back to Memphis. “Periodically, she would appear on Memphis radio stations to encourage young blues musicians. As the Garons wrote in Women With Guitar, 'She never laid her guitar down, until she could literally no longer pick it up.'” She suffered a stroke in 1960, which caused her to be bound by wheelchair. The following year her husband, Earnest “Little Son Joe” Lawlars died. She had another stroke a short while after and eventually ended up in the Jell Nursing Home. She could no longer survive on her social security income so magazines wrote about her and readers sent her money for assistance. On August 6, 1973 she died of a stroke. She was buried in an unmarked grave at the New Hope Cemetery in Memphis. A headstone paid for by Bonnie Raitt was erected by the Mt. Zion Memorial Fund on October 13, 1996 with 35 family members in attendance including her sister, numerous nieces (including Laverne Baker) and nephews. Her headstone is marked:
Lizzie "Kid" Douglas Lawlers
aka Memphis Minnie
The inscription on the back of her gravestone reads:
"The hundreds of sides Minnie recorded are the perfect material to teach us about the blues. For the blues are at once general, and particular, speaking for millions, but in a highly singular, individual voice. Listening to Minnie's songs we hear her fantasies, her dreams, her desires, but we will hear them as if they were our own."
After her death some of her old work began to surface and some of her songs were featured on blues compilations. She was one of the first 20 blues artists that were inducted in the Blues Hall of Fame.

Kissing in the Dark
Memphis Minnie Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Call the doctor, call him quick
I done got something 'bout to make me sick
I been kissin' in the dark
Yeah, kissin' in the dark
Kissin' in the dark, honey, that's my birthmark

Well, I had a girlfriend from Alabam'
She done put her pennies all in a jam

Kissin' in the dark
Yes, kissin' in the dark
Kissin' in the dark, honey, that's her birthmark

She had a date with a scrap, she met a hip cat
And nobody knows where she end up at
She been kissin' in the dark
Yes, kissin' in the dark
She been kissin' in the dark, honey, that's her birthmark

Be a good pal, just swappin' up a dime
You thinkin' about a man, throw it after mine
Kissin' in the dark
Kissin' in the dark
Kissin' in the dark, honey, that's my birthmark

Yeah, let's get it now
Solo

Well, you'd better wake up, and try to get wise
Get yourself hip to that old crazy jive
Kissin' in the dark
Kissin' in the dark
Kissin' in the dark, honey, that's my birthmark

I done told you

Overall Meaning

, I done said it twice
Kissin' in the dark ain't nothin' nice
Kissin' in the dark
Yeah, kissin' in the dark
Kissin' in the dark, honey, that's my birthmark

"Kissing In the Dark" by Memphis Minnie is a song about the singer's experience with kissing in the dark. The song is filled with vivid metaphors that paint a picture of Minnie's seemingly harmless amusement with kissing that soon turns into something much more sinister. She describes kissing in the dark as her birthmark, indicating that it's a natural part of who she is, and that she's been doing it for a long time. However, she soon realizes that this activity has consequences, and she calls out for help, saying that the kissing has made her sick.

Minnie describes her friend from Alabama who also indulges in kissing in the dark, and how she has been taken away by a guy she met while doing it. She also notes that kissing in the dark is not pleasant, and warns her listeners to be wary of this activity. The song has a cautionary tone and Minnie uses the experience to warn against succumbing to temptation and to try and "get wise" to the "old crazy jive." Overall, "Kissing in the Dark" warns of the dangers of indulging in harmful behaviors and the importance of being aware of one's actions.

Line by Line Meaning

Call the doctor, call him quick
I need a doctor urgently because something is making me sick

I done got something 'bout to make me sick
I have gotten myself into trouble and it's making me feel sick

I been kissin' in the dark Yeah, kissin' in the dark Kissin' in the dark, honey, that's my birthmark
I love kissing in the dark, it's something that comes natural to me, it's like an integral part of me

Well, I had a girlfriend from Alabam' She done put her pennies all in a jam Kissin' in the dark Yes, kissin' in the dark Kissin' in the dark, honey, that's her birthmark
My girlfriend from Alabama is a passionate kisser, she even seems to get herself into trouble because of it, it's a defining trait of hers

She had a date with a scrap, she met a hip cat And nobody knows where she end up at She been kissin' in the dark Yes, kissin' in the dark She been kissin' in the dark, honey, that's her birthmark
She went out with a guy and now no one knows where she is, I'm sure of one thing- she's kissing him in the dark, it's what she does naturally

Be a good pal, just swappin' up a dime You thinkin' about a man, throw it after mine Kissin' in the dark Kissin' in the dark Kissin' in the dark, honey, that's my birthmark
If you want to kiss a guy, give me a coin, and I'll let you kiss mine, but don't forget, I'm the one who excels at kissing in the dark

Well, you'd better wake up, and try to get wise Get yourself hip to that old crazy jive Kissin' in the dark Kissin' in the dark Kissin' in the dark, honey, that's my birthmark
You better wise up to that old way of life, it's a crazy, hip thing that comes naturally to me like kissing in the dark

I done told you
I already warned you about the power of my natural instincts

Writer(s): ERNEST LAWLERS

Contributed by Bailey F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.

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