Merline Johnson

During the late '30s, one Chicago-based blues woman cut more records than either Memphis Minnie or Georgia White, and even edged in on Blue Lu Barker with a smart cover of her most famous hit, "Don't You Make Me High." The aunt of R&B vocalist LaVern Baker, Merline Johnson was usually billed as the Yas Yas Girl, a bawdy nickname that utilized a favorite early blues euphemism for your butt. Little is known of this singer's origins, her life during a brief but productive heyday, or her eventual fate. Legend has it she first saw the light of day somewhere in the state of Missis...