The researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc state that she was born '' ' Loretta Bryant ' '' in Illinois in 1882 . Other sources suggest that she was born in Indianapolis , Indiana , at an unknown date . In the early 1920s , she toured the Theater Owners Bookers Association circuit . Her recording career started in 1924 with Okeh and ended just three years later , when she recorded some tracks for Victor . The music journalist Scott Yanow noted that her earliest recordings were her strongest : " by the time she recorded ' Do n't You Leave Me Here ' in 1927 , much of the power was gone " . Her recordings include two songs , " The Mississippi Blues " and " Lonesome Refugee " , about the Great Mississippi Flood of 1927 . She recorded a total of 35 songs
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Great Mississippi Flood of 1927
Laura Smith (blues singer)