Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith, also known as the "Empress of the Blues", was the most popular female blues singer during the 1920's and 1930's. She was one of the greatest singers of her era, and influenced many blues singers and jazz vocalists. Smith was born on April 15th, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one of seven children. Her father died soon after her birth, and her mother and brother died by the time Smith was nine years old. To earn money she and her brother, Andrew performed on the streets of Chattanooga. She sang and danced while he played the guitar.

In 1904, her oldest brother left home and joined a small traveling troupe owned by, Moses Stokes. She was too young at the time to go with him, however in 1912, he returned to Chattanooga with the Stokes troupe, and arranged an audition for Smith. She was hired as a dancer rather than a vocalist, since the company already had a popular singer, Ma Rainey. Smith eventually went on to perform in chorus lines, and shows on the black owned Theater Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.) circuit, becoming it's major attraction. Smith began forming her own act around 1913, at Atlanta's "81" Theater, establishing a reputation in the South, and along the East Coast by 1920.

In 1923, Bessie was signed to Columbia Records by Frank Walker, a talent agent who saw her perform years earlier. According to Wikipedia, in February 1923, Columbia Records issued her first recordings, including "Down Hearted Blues", which was beyond a success, selling more than two million copies. She became the highest paid African American entertainer in the country. She made 160 recordings for Columbia, and many quickly became best selling records. Although Smith's career was cut short due to the Great Depression, she never stopped performing, continuing to tour, and occasionally singing at clubs. She appeared in a Broadway musical, Pansy in 1929. She also made her only film appearance, in November 1929 "St. Louis Blues," where she sang the title song and a string section. Four years later, John Henry Hammond asked Smith to record four sides for Okeh, an American record label founded by the Otto Heinemann Phonograph Corporation *which were her last recordings*.

Bessie Smith was critically injured in a car crash on United States Route 61, on September 26, 1936. Some believe that she died because she was rejected from an "all white" hospital, while others believe that she died because she didn't receive immediate medical attention. As word of her death spread like wildfire, Smith's body had to be moved to Elks Lodge. Contemporary newspapers reported that her funeral was attended by seven thousand people. Bessie Smith's grave remained unmarked until, August 7th, 1970; when Janis Joplin, who as a child had done housework for Smith, paid for a tombstone.