As reported in the Texas Observer issue of January 19, 2018, Mary Carson was an American opera singer born in the late 1800s in Millican, Texas.
Both of her parents were musicians who sent her to New England Conservatory, New York where she was classically trained as a soprano.
After her education, Carson travelled to Europe performing in operas with famous composers such as Richard Strauss. Some of her roles included Gilda in Rigoletto, Juliet in Romeo and Norina in Don Pasquale.
She went to Milan and Florence, toured widely and sang probably about 30 operas in Italian, German, French and English. She released her debut recording in 1912 of O Dry Those Tears (1901) words & music by Teresa del Riego, and published by Chappell & Co., New York, USA. In 1917 she became the first artist to sue her record label, Thomas Edison's Blue Ambero because the label refused to pay her when she was not booked, yet was forbidden to work for any other employer. She won her suit and was granted $250,000 in damages.
After the lawsuit, Carson taught music in Houston, where she lived, until her death in 1951.