June 8, 1907 – September 29, 1974

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Pianist and singer Wilhelmina “Billie Pierce” Goodson was born on June 8, 1907, in Marianna, Florida.

One of seven piano-playing sisters, her parents were also pianists, and her youngest sibling was Ida Goodson.

During the early 1920s, she reportedly accompanied Bessie Smith at a theater in Pensacola before relocating to New Orleans, where she played in bands led by Alphonse Picou and George Lewis.

While performing at the Blue Jay Club in the 1930s, Billie met and married trumpeter De De Pierce.

From the 1930s to the 1950s, the couple co-led the house band at Luthjen’s Dance Hall in New Orleans.

Billie Pierce played in the Preservation Hall Jazz Band and remained a fixture of the New Orleans jazz scene from the 1950s until her death one year after her husband, in September 1974.

This recording was made at Luthjens in New Orleans in 1954.

Personnel:

Billie Pierce piano & vocals
Dee Dee Pierce, trumpet
Harrison Brazlee, trombone
Albert Jiles, drums

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