Hannah Sylvester (c. 1900 – October 15, 1973) was an African American blues singer who performed in the classic female blues style that was popular during the 1920s. She was billed as "Harlem's Mae West".
Sylvester was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, and sang and danced from the age of 3. She is thought to have moved to New York City in c. 1920. In the early 1920s she appeared at the Paradise Cafe in Atlantic City, New Jersey. In 1923 she recorded eleven sides with Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra. Thereafter she toured the theater circuit in vaudeville shows throughout the 1920s. In the early 1930s she appeared in numerous revues in New York City, and in 1931 performed with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra at the Howard Theater, Washington, D.C., for broadcast on WSJV radio. She toured with the Snooky Russell Orchestra in 1940.
By the early 1950s Sylvester worked primarily outside music; she tended bar at the Celebrity Club in New York City, but occasionally sang there with the Buddy Tate Band. She appeared in X-Glamour Girls Revue in New York City in 1962. In that year she recorded for Victoria Spivey's Spivey Records. She died in New York City on October 15, 1973.
“To laugh often and much; to win the respect of intelligent people and the affection of children; to earn the appreciation of honest critics and endure the betrayal of false friends; to appreciate beauty; to find the best in others; to leave the world a bit better, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch or a redeemed social condition; to know even one life has breathed easier because you have lived. This is to have succeeded.” - Ralph Waldo Emerson
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