Revella Hughes grew up in a musical family in Huntington, playing piano and violin as a child. In the 1920s, she moved to New York and became part of the booming cultural scene for African Americans called the Harlem Renaissance. She was the first Black soloist to perform at the Peoples’ Concerts in Central Park, appeared in several shows on what came to be known as "Black Broadway," and worked with famous musicians such as Fats Waller, Duke Ellington, and Cab Calloway.

Hughes was part of the Four Bon-Bons, a singing group that performed on the radio and even appeared on early experimental TV in the 1930s. In 1932, she returned to Huntington to care for her mother and began teaching music in Huntington’s segregated Black schools, helping to form bands and orchestras. Her efforts led to Douglass High School winning a statewide music competition three years in a row.

In 1942, Hughes returned to performing and toured with the USO during World War II, entertaining soldiers in North Africa and Turkey. She later became known as the "Sophisticated Lady of the Organ" for her skills on the relatively new Hammond organ. She retired from live performing in 1955 but returned to the stage at the 1980 New York Women’s Jazz Festival. One of her final appearances was at the West Virginia Black Cultural Festival at the state Culture Center in Charleston in 1984.