b. c.1900, possibly in Kansas City, Missouri, USA. Beaman was one of the first generation of female blues singers to record. Details of her life are sparse, although it is known that her maiden name was Lottie Kimbrough before her marriage to William Beaman in the early 20s. She was billed as ‘The Kansas City Butterball’, having worked in its bars and taverns as a teenager. Between 1924 and 1929, she recorded in Kansas, Chicago and Richmond, Indiana, sometimes in the company of her brother Sylvester Kimbrough or whistler and singer Winston Holmes. Although not possessing one of the greatest voices, she was known and appreciated as a ‘moaner’ for the quality of despair that she could bring to her blues. Her work was also issued under the names Jennie Brooks, Lottie Brown, Clara Cary, Lottie Everson, Martha Johnson, Lena Kimbrough, Lottie Kimbrough and Mae Moran.