British-born popular mezzo-soprano and comedienne (born June 1873, Oldham, Lancashire, United Kingdom – died May 22, 1922, Rocky Mount, NC, United States)

One of the leading female singers during the acoustic recording era, Jones prolifically recorded from 1893 to 1922. Born in Lancashire, England, she moved with her family to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1879, at the age of six. Later they lived in Newark, New Jersey, not far from Edison’s recording studio in West Orange, New Jersey, where she made her first recordings in 1893. In 1904, she began recording for Columbia and Victor as well.

Jones was an unusually versatile singer who performed everything from sentimental ballads to popular hits of the day. One of her specialities were comic songs in which she imitated German, Irish, and African American women just as well as big city salesgirls, country damsels, grandmothers, or New York newsboys.