Wilson was born in
Charlotte, North Carolina. About 1918–1920 she sang with her brother Danny Wilson as a vaudeville act on the
Theater Owners Booking Association circuit in the South. Danny, a pianist who had been trained at a conservatory in
Charleston, South Carolina, encouraged Lena and Edith to sing not just blues but also other song forms. Wilson's major recordings were made between 1922 and 1924 and in 1930. She variously worked with the
Nubian Five,
Perry Bradford's Jazz Phools,
Conaway's Rag Pickers,
Fletcher Henderson,
Johnny Dunn's Jazz Hounds, Danny Wilson and
Edith Wilson. Additionally, she recorded under her own name with the Jazz Hounds, an ensemble featuring
Gus Aiken on trumpet,
Garvin Bushell on clarinet,
Herb Fleming on trombone,
John Mitchell on banjo, and
Porter Grainger and
Cliff Jackson on piano. Among her recordings are "Memphis, Tennessee", "
Tain't Nobody's Biz-ness if I Do", "Chiropractor Blues", and "Love Ain't Blind No More". Wilson sang in many
Harlem musical revues throughout the 1920s. She married the violinist Shrimp Jones in the 1930s. ==Notes==