Quick Facts
Biography
Cleo Gibson was a classic female blues singer active in the 1920s. Her full name was Cleosephus Gibson. She recorded two tracks for Okeh Records, “I’ve Got Ford Movements In My Hips” and “Nothing But Blues.”Much surrounding her life is a mystery, but her recordings are a notable example of American blues music.
Career
Gibson was originally one of a pair of vaudeville performers known as Gibson and Gibson.She reportedly had a great vocal resemblance to another blues singer, Bessie Smith, which may have been part of the reason she was given a recording date.
She recorded two tracks for Okeh Records in Atlanta in March of 1929, “I’ve Got Ford Movements In My Hips” and “Nothing But Blues.”“I’ve Got Ford Movements In My Hips” is significant as an early example of using a car as a metaphor for a woman. The lyrics are sexual in nature, comparing the movement of an engine to the movements of sexual intercourse with lyrics that include “I got Ford engine movement in my hips, 10,000 miles guaranteed” and “My poor little car, everybody wants to ride, jump in, you will see.”
Recordings
Recorded in Atlanta, GA by a field unit for Okeh Records
Thursday, 14 March 1929
- “I’ve Got Ford Movements In My Hips”
- “Nothing But Blues”
Trumpet: Henry Mason, Piano: J. Neal Montgomery, Guitar: unknown, probably John Smith