Arizona Dranes
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Biography
Juanita "Arizona" Dranes, born on May 4, 1889 in Sherman, Texas, was a blind gospel singer and pianist. She attended the Texas Institute for Deaf, Dumb and Blind Colored Youth from 1896 to 1910, where she learned piano. In the early 1920s, Dranes joined the Church of God in Christ (COGIC) and became a favored singer-pianist, incorporating syncopated, ragtime styles into her gospel accompaniment. Dranes introduced piano accompaniment to holiness music and began recording with Okeh Records in 1926, releasing notable singles such as "John Said He Saw a Number" (1926) and "My Soul is a Witness for the Lord" (1926). She continued touring through the 1940s, moving to Los Angeles in 1948 where she passed away on July 27, 1963.
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