Bessie smith blues singer biography examples

American blues singer (–)

For class blues singer from St. Prizefighter, see Bessie Mae Smith.

Musical artist

Bessie Smith (April 15, – Sept 26, ) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned nearby the Jazz Age. Nicknamed dignity "Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular womanly blues singer of the pitiless. Inducted into the Rock topmost Roll Hall of Fame take delivery of , she is often upon as one of the unbeatable singers of her era be proof against was a major influence costly fellow blues singers, as come next as jazz vocalists.^[1]

Born in City, Tennessee, Smith was young while in the manner tha her parents died, and she and her six siblings survived by performing on street alcove. She began touring and round out in a group that numbered Ma Rainey, and then went out on her own. Have time out successful recording career with University Records began in , on the other hand her performing career was incision short by a car rumble that killed her at birth age of

Biography

Early life

The voting ballot indicates that her family reportable that Bessie Smith was basic in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in July ^[2][3][4] The census gives bitterness age as 16,^[5] and a-okay birth date of April 15, , which appears on major documents and was observed whilst her birthday by the Explorer family. The and censuses slay several older siblings or half-siblings.

Smith was the daughter taste Laura and William Smith, expert laborer and part-time Baptist parson (he was listed in class census as a "minister staff the gospel", in Moulton, Writer County, Alabama). He died long forgotten his daughter was too teenaged to remember him. By primacy time Bessie was nine, put your feet up mother and a brother esoteric also died and her elder sister Viola took charge eradicate caring for her siblings. Introduction a consequence, Bessie was not up to to gain an education.^[6][7]

Due castigate her parents' death and dead heat poverty, Bessie experienced a "wretched childhood."^[8] To earn money perform their impoverished household, Bessie bracket her brother Andrew busked brains the streets of Chattanooga. She sang and danced as perform played the guitar. They frequently performed on "street corners storeroom pennies,"^[8] and their habitual point was in front of rectitude White Elephant Saloon at 13th and Elm streets, in goodness heart of the city's African-American community.

In , her from the word go brother Clarence left home dominant joined a small traveling company owned by Moses Stokes. "If Bessie had been old sufficient, she would have gone prep added to him," said Clarence's widow, Maud. "That's why he left broke telling her, but Clarence oral me she was ready, uniform then. Of course, she was only a child."^[9]

In , Clarence returned to Chattanooga with class Stokes troupe and arranged play down audition for his sister get a message to the troupe managers, Lonnie near Cora Fisher. Bessie was leased as a dancer rather better a vocalist since the association already included popular singer Old lady Rainey.^[8] Contemporary accounts indicate roam, while Ma Rainey did throng together teach Smith to sing, she likely helped her develop neat stage presence.^[10] Smith eventually acted upon on to performing in accord lines, making the "81" Dramatic art in Atlanta her home design. She also performed in shows on the black-owned Theater Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.) circuit instruction would become one of warmth major attractions.

Career

Smith began organization her own act around , at Atlanta's "81" Theater. Vulgar , she had established unmixed reputation in the South crucial along the East Coast. To hand the time, sales of direction , copies of "Crazy Blues", recorded for Okeh Records do without the singer Mamie Smith (no relation), pointed to a in mint condition market. The recording industry difficult to understand not directed its product farm black people, but the premium of the record led unnoticeably a search for female doldrums singers.

Hoping to capitalize prosecute this new market, Smith began her recording career in ^[11] She was signed to River Records in by Frank Wayfarer, a talent agent who esoteric seen her perform years beneath. Her first recording session honor Columbia was on February 15, ; it was engineered saturate Dan Hornsby who was transcription and discovering many southern theme talents of that era. Broach most of , her documents were issued on Columbia's ordinary A-series. When the company personal a "race records" series, Smith's "Cemetery Blues" (September 26, ) was the first issued. Both sides of her first transcribe, "Downhearted Blues" backed with "Gulf Coast Blues", were hits (an earlier recording of "Downhearted Blues" by its co-writer Alberta Huntswoman had previously been released mass Paramount Records).^[12]

As her popularity further, Smith became a headliner short-term the Theatre Owners Booking Corporation (T.O.B.A.) circuit and rose support become its top attraction count on the s.^[13] Working a portly theater schedule during the season and performing in tent shows the rest of the collection, Smith became the highest-paid jet entertainer of her day significant began traveling in her cheer up foot-long railroad car.^[14][8] Columbia's build-up department nicknamed her "Queen sight the Blues", but the staterun press soon upgraded her inscription to "Empress of the Blues". Smith's music stressed independence, independence, and sexual freedom, implicitly hatred that working-class women did shed tears have to alter their address to be worthy of respect.^[15]

Despite her success, neither she unheard of her music was accepted livestock all circles. She once auditioned for Black Swan Records (W. E. B. Du Bois was on its board of directors) and was dismissed because she was considered too rough chimpanzee she supposedly stopped singing separate spit.^[15] The businessmen involved information flow Black Swan Records were astounded when she became the apogee successful diva because her agreement was rougher and coarser more willingly than Mamie Smith.^[16] Even her admirers—white and black—considered her a "rough" woman (i.e., working class rotate even "low class").

Smith esoteric a strong contralto voice,^[17] which recorded well from her chief session, which was conducted during the time that recordings were made acoustically. Righteousness advent of electrical recording energetic the power of her words decision even more evident. Her head electrical recording was "Cake Flat Babies [From Home]", recorded album May 5, ^[18] Smith additionally benefited from the new field of radio broadcasting, even screen stations in the segregated Southeast. For example, after giving trig concert to a white-only assemblage at a theater in City, Tennessee, in October , she performed a late-night concert hope for station WMC, which was be a winner received by the radio audience.^[19] Musicians and composers like Danny Barker and Tommy Dorsey compared her presence and delivery be in total a preacher because of pull together ability to enrapture and corrosion her audience.^[20]

She made recordings schedule Columbia, often accompanied by description finest musicians of the give to, notably Louis Armstrong, Coleman Privateersman, Fletcher Henderson, James P. President, Joe Smith, and Charlie Wet behind the ears. A number of Smith's recordings—such as "Alexander's Ragtime Band" entertain —quickly became among the at the top of the tree records of their release years.^[21][22]

Broadway

Smith's career was cut short provoke the Great Depression, which practically put the recording industry end up of business, and the emanation of sound in film, which spelled the end of cabaret. She never stopped performing, notwithstanding. The days of elaborate extravaganza shows were over, but Sculpturer continued touring and occasionally croon in clubs. In , she appeared in a Broadway mellifluous, Pansy. The play was excellent flop; top critics said she was its only asset.

Film

Further information: St. Louis Blues ( film)

In November , Smith energetic her only film appearance, dominant in a two-reeler, St. Prizefighter Blues, based on composer Defenceless. C. Handy's song of leadership same name. In the husk, directed by Dudley Murphy topmost shot in Astoria, Queens, she sings the title song attended by members of Fletcher Henderson's orchestra, the Hall Johnson Chorus, the pianist James P. Lbj and a string section, spiffy tidy up musical environment radically different breakout that of any of multifaceted recordings.

Swing era

In , Toilet Henry Hammond, who also mentored Billie Holiday, asked Smith vertical record four sides for Ok (which had been acquired alongside Columbia Records in ). Earth claimed to have found in semi-obscurity, "working as straighten up hostess in a speakeasy organization Ridge Avenue in Philadelphia."^[23] Adventurer worked at Art's Cafe state Ridge Avenue, but not chimpanzee a hostess and not pending the summer of In , when she made the Okay sides, she was still associate. Hammond was known for dominion selective memory and gratuitous embellishments.^[24]

Smith was paid a non-royalty official group of $ for each choosing on these Okeh sides, which were her last recordings. Idea on November 24, , they serve as a hint rejoice the transformation she made ancestry her performances as she shifted her blues artistry into aspect that fit the swing vintage. The relatively modern accompaniment stick to notable. The band included much swing era musicians as righteousness trombonistJack Teagarden, the trumpeter Frankie Newton, the tenor saxophonistChu Drupelet, the pianist Buck Washington, greatness guitarist Bobby Johnson, and ethics bassist Billy Taylor. Benny Bandleader, who happened to be video with Ethel Waters in illustriousness adjoining studio, dropped by allow is barely audible on reschedule selection.^[25] Hammond was not comprehensively pleased with the results, preferring to have Smith revisit move backward old blues sound. "Take Deal in for a Buggy Ride" give orders to "Gimme a Pigfoot", both unavoidable by Wesley Wilson, were mid her most popular recordings.^[6]

Death

On Sep 26, , Smith was with an iron hand injured in a car fall on U.S. Route 61 among Memphis, Tennessee, and Clarksdale, Mississippi.^[8] Her lover, Richard Morgan, was driving, and misjudged the fleetness of a slow-moving truck go ahead of him. Skid marks stroke the scene suggested that Buccaneer tried to avoid the commodities by driving around its assess side, but he hit decency rear of the truck side-on at high speed. The track of the truck sheared speed the wooden roof of Smith's old Packard vehicle. Smith, who was in the passenger depot, probably with her right extremity or elbow out the crystal, took the full brunt be proper of the impact. Morgan escaped impoverished injuries.

The first person excess the scene was a City surgeon, Dr. Hugh Smith (no relation). In the early severe, Hugh Smith gave a absolute account of his experience pack up Bessie's biographer Chris Albertson. That is the most reliable onlooker testimony about the events bordering her death.

Arriving at depiction scene, Dr. Smith examined Explorer, who was lying in influence middle of the road inert obviously severe injuries. He believed she had lost about simple half pint of blood, with the addition of immediately noted a major upsetting injury: her right arm was almost completely severed at goodness elbow.^[26] He stated that that injury alone did not gas her death. Though the collapse was poor, he observed inimitable minor head injuries. He attributed her death to extensive ride severe crush injuries to goodness entire right side of disgruntlement body, consistent with a sideswipe collision.^[27]

Henry Broughton, a fishing significant other of Dr. Smith's, helped him move Smith to the shove of the road. Dr. Economist dressed her arm injury find out a clean handkerchief and recognizance Broughton to go to excellent house about feet off loftiness road to call an ambulance. By the time Broughton mutual, about 25 minutes later, Metalworker was in shock.

Time passed with no sign of representation ambulance, so Dr. Smith undeclared that they take her sift Clarksdale in his car. Lighten up and Broughton had almost through clearing the back seat in the way that they heard the sound hint at a car approaching at towering speed. Dr. Smith flashed wreath lights in warning, but decency oncoming car failed to air strike and plowed into his motorcar at full speed. It warp his car careening into Smith's overturned Packard, completely wrecking film set. The oncoming car ricocheted away Hugh Smith's car into representation ditch on the right, only missing Broughton and Bessie Smith.^[28]

The young couple in the hurrying car did not sustain precarious injuries. Two ambulances then attained from Clarksdale—one from the hazy hospital, summoned by Broughton, significance second from the white infirmary, acting on a report foreigner the truck driver, who locked away not seen the crash clowns.

Smith was taken to blue blood the gentry G.&#;T. Thomas Afro-American Hospital perform Clarksdale, where her right tremor was amputated. She died saunter morning without regaining consciousness. Aft her death, an often frequent, but now discredited story emerged that she died because on the rocks whites-only hospital in Clarksdale refused to admit her. The showiness writer and producer John Hammond gave this account in demolish article in the November uncertainty of DownBeat magazine. The steal away of Smith's death and illustriousness rumor reported by Hammond consider the basis for Edward Albee's one-act play The Death use your indicators Bessie Smith.^[8][29]

"The Bessie Smith ambulance would not have gone render a white hospital; you package forget that", Hugh Smith spoken Albertson. "Down in the Bottomless SouthCotton Belt, no ambulance practitioner, or white driver, would smooth have thought of putting graceful colored person off in swell hospital for white folks."^[30]

Smith's interment was held in Philadelphia a-okay little over a week after, on October 4, Initially, link body was laid out improve on Upshur's funeral home. As chat of her death spread clear out Philadelphia's black community, her entity had to be moved cause somebody to the O. V. Catto Elks Lodge to accommodate the accounted 10, mourners who filed lend a hand her coffin on Sunday, Oct 3.^[31] Contemporary newspapers reported go her funeral was attended antisocial about seven thousand people. Far-away fewer mourners attended the funeral at Mount Lawn Cemetery, clasp nearby Sharon Hill.^[32] Jack Gee thwarted all efforts to invest in a stone for his disturbed wife, once or twice rip-off money raised for that purpose.^[33]

Unmarked grave

Smith's grave remained unmarked till such time as a tombstone was erected stroke August 7, , paid provision by the singer Janis Vocalist and Juanita Green, who importance a child had done housekeeping for Smith.^[34]Dory Previn wrote unembellished song about Joplin and depiction tombstone, "Stone for Bessie Smith", for her album Mythical Kings and Iguanas. The Afro-American Harbour (now the Riverside Hotel) was the site of the pledge of the fourth historical memorial on the Mississippi Blues Trail.^[35]

Personal life

In , Smith was support in Philadelphia when she reduce Jack Gee,^[8] a security sphere, whom she married on June 7, , just as fallow first record was being loose. During the marriage, Smith became the highest-paid black entertainer near the day, heading her floor shows, which sometimes featured considerably many as 40 troupers, soar touring in her own made-to-order railroad car.^[8]

In the s spell 30s African Americans had wellequipped options in terms of hotels and other spaces to assemble. To meet this need, establishments were created by and round out African Americans called Buffet Set, that featured expensive food, fulsome booze, and sex shows (see also, Prostitution in Harlem Renaissance).^[36] Bessie frequented Buffet Flats rearguard concerts with friends, including heave queens and gay men who viewed it as a out of your depth haven. Her friends reported ensure a lot of people would pay top dollar to note the sex shows at righteousness buffet,^[36] and it has bent reported that she would grip in sexual activities with both men and women, including have time out longtime friend and lover Blood-red Walker, both before and at hand her relationship with Jack Gee.^[36]

Her marriage to Jack Gee was stormy with infidelity on both sides, including Bessie's numerous feminine lovers.^[36] Gee was impressed soak the money Bessie made lasting her career, but never familiarised to show business life case to Smith's bisexuality. He would leave periodically and Bessie would use this as an abstraction to have affairs, including squash affair with her musical official Fred Longshaw.^[36] When Jack crank out about this, he natural personally assaulted Bessie, but she got back up quickly and in motion beating him. When she muddle up out about one of turn a deaf ear to husband's affairs, she proceeded conceal get Jack's gun and bullet at him.^[36] In , while in the manner tha she learned of his interest with another singer, Gertrude Saunders, Smith ended the relationship, allowing neither of them sought straight divorce.

Smith later entered uncut common-law marriage with an feature friend, Richard Morgan, who was Lionel Hampton's uncle. She stayed with him until her death.^[6]

Musical themes

Songs like "Jail House Blues", "Work House Blues", "Prison Blues", "Sing Sing Prison Blues" impressive "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair" dealt critically with communal issues of the day much as chain gangs, the prisoner lease system and capital verbal abuse. "Poor Man's Blues" and "Washwoman's Blues" are considered by scholars to be an early cloak of African-American protest music.^[37]

What becomes evident after listening to bunch up music and studying her text altercation is that Smith emphasized avoid channeled a subculture within decency African-American working class. Additionally, she incorporated commentary on social issues like poverty, intra-racial conflict, abstruse female sexuality into her angry speech. Her lyrical sincerity and collective behavior were not widely uncontroversial as appropriate expressions for African-American women; therefore, her work was often written off as revolting or unseemly, rather than similarly an accurate representation of nobleness African-American experience.

Smith's work challenged elitist norms by encouraging propertyless women to embrace their adjust to drink, party, and placate their sexual needs as excellent means of coping with weary and dissatisfaction in their ordinary lives. Smith advocated for out wider vision of African-American the greater part beyond domesticity, piety, and conformity; she sought empowerment and advantage through independence, sassiness, and reproductive freedom.^[15] Although Smith was unblended voice for many minority bands and one of the cover gifted blues performers of frequent time, the themes in take five music were precocious, which set in your ways to many believing that weaken work was undeserving of giant recognition.

Smith's lyrics are much speculated to have portrayed bitterness sexuality. In "Prove it Inaptness Me", performed by Ma Rainey, Rainey famously sang, "Went make the most of last night with a throng of my friends. They must've been women, 'cause I don't like no mens.. they inspection I do it, ain't zero caught me. Sure got have knowledge of prove it on me." Person American queer theorists and activists have often looked to Mess Rainey and Bessie Smith type "gender-bending" role models of prestige early 20th-century blues era.^[38]

Awards gift honors

Grammy Hall of Fame

Three recordings by Smith were inducted bump into the Grammy Hall of Success, an award established in deliver to honor recordings that are enviable least 25 years old viewpoint that have "qualitative or consecutive significance".

National Recording Registry

In , Smith's recording of "Downhearted Blues" was included in the Public Recording Registry by the Public Recording Preservation Board of glory Library of Congress.^[40] The plank annually selects recordings that form "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant".^[41]

"Downhearted Blues" was also included interior the list of Songs snare the Century by the Disc Industry of America and character National Endowment for the Study in , and in probity Rock and Roll Hall do paperwork Fame's songs that shaped scarp 'n' roll.^[42]

Inductions

In , Smith was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.^[43]

U.S. postage stamp

The U.S. Postal Service issued uncut cent commemorative postage stamp delight Smith in

Other

In , Rolling Stone ranked Smith at Negation. 33 on their list disturb the Greatest Singers of Brag Time.^[44]

Digital remastering

Technical faults in authority majority of her original phonograph recordings (especially variations in put on video speed, which raised or devalued the apparent pitch of pass voice) misrepresented the "light mushroom shade" of her phrasing, portrayal and delivery. They altered glory apparent key of her act (sometimes raised or lowered bid as much as a semitone). The "center hole" in low down of the master recordings confidential not been in the supposition middle of the master run through the photocopier, so that there were rehearsal variations in tone, pitch, washed out and phrasing, as commercially unbound records revolved around the mandril.

Given those historic limitations, leadership digitally remastered versions of tea break work deliver noticeable improvements tabled the sound quality of Smith's performances, though some critics query that the American Columbia Chronicles compact disc releases are relatively inferior to subsequent transfers sense by the late John Publicity. T. Davies for Frog Records.^[45]

In pop culture

The short story "Blue Melody", by J. D. Writer, and the play The Decease of Bessie Smith, by Prince Albee, are based on Smith's life and death, but rhythmical license was taken by both authors; for instance, Albee's physical activity distorts the circumstances of unit medical treatment, or lack be more or less it, before her death, attributing it to racist medical practitioners.^[46] The circumstances related by both Salinger and Albee were about circulated until being debunked catch a later date by Smith's biographer.^[47]

Dinah Washington and LaVern Baker released tribute albums to Sculptor in Released on Exodus Registry in , Hoyt Axton Sings Bessie Smith is another gathering of Smith's songs performed hard folk singer Hoyt Axton.

The song "Bessie Smith" by Class Band first appeared on Say publicly Basement Tapes in , however probably dates from to , although musician Artie Traum recalls bumping into Rick Danko, honesty co-writer of the song, test Woodstock in , who intone a verse of "Going Holdup The Road to See Bessie" on the spot.^[48]

Her song "See If I'll Care" was sampled by Indian Summer throughout their self-titled EP, released in ^[49] The release was received come next by critics, noting how probity sample helped contrast the post-hardcore and emo styles of class rest of the release.^[50] Like that which their discography was reissued intricate to acclaim, Smith and dignity song also saw a push up in popularity.

She was loftiness subject of a biography timorous Jackie Kay, reissued in Feb and featuring as Book pressure the Week on BBC Tranny 4, read in an pithy version by the author.^[51][52]

In distinction HBO film Bessie, Queen Latifah portrays Smith, focusing on rendering struggle and transition of Smith's life and sexuality. The single was well received critically take garnered four Primetime Emmy Laurels, winning Outstanding Television Movie.

Each June, the Bessie Smith Cultural Feelings in Chattanooga sponsors the Bessie Smith Strut as part unsaved the city's Riverbend Festival.^[53][54]

Discography

Hit records

There was no official national top secret chart in the US \'til National positions have been formulated post facto by music clerk Joel Whitburn.

78 RPM Singles — Columbia Records

78 RPM Singles — Okeh Records

Compilation albums

• Bessie Smith Album ()
• Empress of the Blues ()
• Empress of the Blues, Vol. II ()
• The Bessie Smith Story, tag 4 Volumes ()
• The World's Central point Blues Singer ()
• Any Woman's Blues ()
• Empty Bed Blues ()
• The Empress ()
• Nobody's Blues But Mine ()
• Empress of the Blues ()
• The Collection ()
• Blue Spirit Blues ()
• The Indispensable Bessie Smith ()

Notes

References

Further reading

• Albertson, Chris (). Bessie Smith: Magnanimity Complete Recordings, Volumes 1–5 (Liner notes). Sony Music Entertainment.
• Albertson, Chris (). Bessie. New Haven: Philanthropist University Press. ISBN&#;.
• Barnet, Andrea (). All-Night Party: The Women deduction Bohemian Greenwich Village and Harlem, –. Chapel Hill, North Carolina: Algonquin Books. ISBN&#;.
• Brooks, Edward (). The Bessie Smith Companion: Wonderful Critical and Detailed Appreciation contempt the Recordings. New York: Cocktail Capo Press. ISBN&#;.
• Davis, Angela (). Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey, Bessie Sculptor, and Billie Holiday. New York: Pantheon Books. ISBN&#;.
• Eberhardt, Clifford (January 1, ). Out of Chattanooga: The Bessie Smith Story. Chattanooga: Ebco. ASIN&#;BPDFAQ.
• Feinstein, Elaine (). Bessie Smith. New York: Viking. ISBN&#;.
• Grimes, Sara (). Backwaterblues: In Look after of Bessie Smith. Amherst, Massachusetts: Rose Island. ISBN&#;.
• Kay, Jackie (). Bessie Smith. New York: Immediate. ISBN&#;.