The Black Patti Troubadours' most prominent female ragtime specialist was Mattie Phillips... still in her teens when she joined the show in 1897. One critic immediately noticed, "she sings her 'coon' melodies in such a painstaking manner that she never fails to bring forth a hearty recall". In the spring of 1898 a reporter enthused that "her fancy steps in the first act, when she sings 'Mr. Johnson, Turn Me Loose,' set the audience wild, and her idea of the poetry of motion in the cake walk is wonderful to behold".