Dates

• Existence: May 30, 1928 - July 24, 1988

Biography

Priscilla Bowman, an African American singer, was born May 30, 1928, in Kansas City, Kansas; the daughter of Pentecostal minister Solomon Mills and Ethel M. Pope to the name Priscilla Irene Mills. She made her singing debut at age seven in front of inmates at the state penitentiary in Lansing, Kansas. As a teenager she was encouraged by local pianist Roy Searcy as she began singing in area nightclubs. Later she was introduced to Kansas City jazz pianist Jay McShann and began performing regularly with his band.



In 1955, Bowman made her first recordings with McShann for Vee Jay Records, which resulted in the #1 RandB hit “Hands Off” – the recording most closely associated with her. She toured after the release of the record, including engagements at Mel’s Hideaway on the south side of Chicago and the Apollo Theater in Harlem, New York. With marquee performances and a hit record to promote, the incessant grind of the road took a toll on Bowman. On the advice of entertainer Moms Mabley, who shared the same tour bill, Bowman returned to Kansas City. In a 1987 article for The Squire, Bowman reflected on how the decision impacted her early career: “I wish I’d stayed [on the road], but if I’d stayed, I would have died…By stopping and staying home, they [the public] just forgot about me. And I’d forgotten about singing.”



Bowman continued to record through the end of the 1950s. Highlights include “I’ve Got News For You”, the follow-up to her #1 hit (1956); “Everything’s Alright,” a Billboard Magazine pick (1957), and collaboration with doo-wop group The Spaniels (1958-59). By the early 1960s, Bowman had put her singing career on hold to get married and have her two daughters Marcia and Gayle.



Bowman returned to singing in the late 1970s and early 1980s, performing at area nightspots and festivals. Original Rock And Roll Mama, the first full-length album collecting many of her 1950s recordings, was released in 1986. Despite surgery to remove a cancerous lung that same year, she continued to perform into 1987. She was honored posthumously with a Kansas City Jazz Heritage Award (1988) and an Elder Statesmen of Kansas City Jazz Award (2003).



Priscilla Bowman died July 24, 1988.



See also:

Jay McShann Collection

John B. Tumino Collection

Bernard “Step Buddy” Anderson Collection

James F. Condell Collection

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