Madame Ernestine Biography

Ah, the mysterious Madame Ernestine. There was once a spy queen by this name, although she was never quite the legend that Mata Hari was. It is almost more interesting finding out who she isn’t than who she is, although, since not much information has ever surfaced about the creator of two rare 1949 gospel tracks, it is impossible to determine just how interesting a reality has been lost to musical history. There are some fans of vintage black gospel recordings that insist that Madame Ernestine of “I’ll Never Turn Back” and “When the Blood Runs Warm” is actually just another recording name for Ernestine Washington, a gospel diva on the level of Mahalia Jackson who is commonly known as Sister Ernestine Washington or just plain Sister Washington. This would mean that this pair of late-’40s tracks would be relocated to a more spacious discographical home, as the sister Washington cut tracks with the famous gospel vocal group the Dixie Hummingbirds and New Orleans jazz trumpeter Bunk Johnson while bearing witness in the recording studio. Supporters of this theory have some credible evidence to back them up. Sister Ernestine Washington seems to have been called Madame Ernestine from time to time; in fact, it won’t take very long for anyone researching the former name to come upon some reference to Ernestine Washington as Madame Ernestine. And since both — using the term in a schizoid manner if they are indeed the same person — recorded in the ’40s, the possibility is quite real that this Madame Ernestine identity theory might hold up. It would be even more convincing if the recordings in question sounded like Ernestine Washington — but they don’t. Veteran gospel listeners, on the other hand, might hear things differently. The Document label, which has reissued the 1949 Madame Ernestine tracks, as well as an attempt at the entire recorded output of Ernestine Washington, does not seem to think these are the same two singers. They are listed seperately in the label’s religous catalog and no attempt has been made to insert the 1949 recordings into the Ernestine Washington discography. That should be enough to rest the case for most people. Just about anyone would agree that the mysterious Madame Ernestine is not the world-famous opera star Madame Ernestine Schumann-Heink, who cavorted with Enrico Caruso, although she probably wishes she was, judging from the apparent grandeur of that artist’s lifestyle. The gospel singer is also no relation to the character of Madame Ernestine in the play Little Mary Sunshine. Bottom line: she was a great singer. Final question: To paraphrase a gospel ditty recorded several times by Ernestine Washington, “Does Jesus Care?”