However, by the time Bessie was nine years old both of her parents were dead.Bessie and her brother Andrew were already singing on the streets of Chattanooga for spare change. She was performing with her older brother Andrew. At the age of nine, Bessie Smith was singing on the streets of Chattanooga, Tennessee. What was the date of Bessie Smith's death? “ But before she started, most black music did not make it into the mainstream. Singers come and go all the time, but few leave as great a mark as Bessie Smith did. The singer Bessie Smith, the Empress of the Blues, ... Smith got her start singing and dancing in the streets of Chattanooga, Tennessee. I guess I took the warning. While with the Tolliver’s Circus and Musical Extravaganza troupe, she exerted a direct influence on young Bessie Smith. Like in the movie, Jack added a bit of self-promotion to the side of Bessie's private railroad car by having it emblazoned with the words, "Jack Gee presents Bessie Smith and Her Harlem Frolics of 1927." Then, Chicago's Defender newspaper crowned her the "Empress of the Blues Singers", beating out figures such as Ida Cox, Alberta Hunter, Ma Rainey, and Ethel Waters for the title. They, right around the early '20s, discovered that there was actually a market out there for authentic black music from actual black voices, and Bessie stepped in as one of the biggest-hit sellers in that genre.” -Wright (NPR) Dr. Scott: Bessie Smith was the youngest of 10 children born to William and Laura Smith. She was married to Jack Gee. She was an independent African-American woman who was born into a large and poor family. Music historians may know more precisely, but I love the music of Bessie Smith as a really great, early example of this kind of defiant spirit. Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 - September 26, 1937) was an early American blues singer born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Blues singer Bessie Smith was the highest-paid black entertainer in America during the 1920s. Billie Holiday made me want to listen to Bessie Smith. It talked about loss, love, a man stayed out all night long. I like to think that this started with Bessie Smith. Lived and Sang the Blues. On September 26, 1937, Bessie was on her way to a performance in Memphis, TN, when her driver lost control of the car. Bessie Smith was the first singer to popularize early jazz song. Mostly it's recreations from looking at other folks' interviews. In 1920, Bessie married Earl Love, who died unexpectedly in 1922. An older brother, Charles had joined a travailing theater company and upon his return to Chattanooga Bessie was given a job as a dancer with the Moses Stokes Theatre Company in 1912. Blues singer. The Sultana of Swing; Lady Day; The Queen of All Torch Singers; Sweet Mama Stringbean; 33. Washington, one of the leading lights of vocal music during the 1950s, and Baker, the … And an 8, 9 — or even a 10- or 12-year-old singing those kind of lyrics would've taken some customers aback. Bessie did well singing the blues long after the blues had been put to bed. And they had been migrants after the Civil War, coming from northern Alabama into Chattanooga. Inspired by Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, Bessie found that her deep, soulful voice was ideally suited to the new blues music. Bessie recorded and performed with many famous artists including Clarence Williams, Louis Armstrong, and Fletcher Henderson's Band. But she sang on the radio and on television and, starting in 1950, performed to overflow audiences in annual concerts at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Where did Bessie Smith die? She joined a traveling vaudeville show as a dancer, but it was soon apparent that her singing talent outshone her dance ability. I like to think that this started with Bessie Smith. Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – Sept. 26, 1937) was one of the most popular and best-selling performers and recording artists of the 1920s. They called her the “ Empress of the Blues. At a Glance …. Bessie Smith sang city blues, a song style of the early 20th century United States that was written by male songwriters and performed exclusively by female singers from the professional vaudeville stage, accompanied only by a pianist or by a small jazz band. Singers come and go all the time, but few leave as great a mark as Bessie Smith did. Dr. Scott: Ninth Street was a mix of African American and white owned shops, stores, restaurants, hotels. Bessie did well singing the blues long after the blues had been put to bed. Related Black History Biographies: Amanda Berry Smith 1837-1915 Amanda Berry Smith devoted her life to the ministry of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church. Unfortunately, she lost her father, a Baptist minister, her mother and two of her brothers to death by the time she was 12. She recorded 160 songs between 1923 and her death in 1937. Smith's career included long-term runs at major venues, playing to packed houses throughout the twenties in Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Atlanta, Nashville, and Memphis. Smith was born April 15, 1894, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Known as the ‘Empress of Blues’, Bessie Smith was one of the strongest blues vocalists in 1920s and 1930s. Sources. She recorded and played gigs with a host of the most important blues and jazz artists of the day, including Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman. It's unclear exactly when or in which minstrel troupe, but sometime between 1913 and 1916, in either The Rabbit Foot Minstrels or Moses Stokes, Rainey became acquainted with Bessie Smith. To fend for the family, Bessie and her brother started performing on the street. It was women who were singing those blues and the lyrics were mainly about the 101 ways a man could let you down. So, she ends up raised by her older sister Viola. Bessie Smith returned to the spotlight. Selected discography. The company toured in Baltimore, Atlantic City, and Philadelphia, where Bessie Smith eventually settled. Gertrude, or Ma Rainey, is known as the "Mother of the Blues"; she was undoubtedly an influence on Bessie Smith's beginnings. It was full of really secular music. Among the acts that performed there during its heyday was blues sensation, Bessie Smith. At a Glance …. By around 1913, she was touring in her own act. Bessie Smith returned to the spotlight. Bessie started singing and dancing on the street with her brother which helped her poor family financially. Known as the ‘Empress of Blues’, Bessie Smith was one of the strongest blues vocalists in 1920s and 1930s. Bessie did find time to attend West Main Street Elementary School in Chattanooga as far as the 8th or 9th grade. Stage performances as part of her career came first at around 1913. In 1912, Smith had her first professional gig. Music historians may know more precisely, but I love the music of Bessie Smith as a really great, early example of this kind of defiant spirit. By all accounts, Smith was a feisty and pugnacious woman, with a strong streak of independence. Dr. Scott: I can. M a Rainey, known as the “Mother of the Blues,” isn’t nearly as famous as the blues artists who built on her foundation, from Bessie Smith to Billie Holiday. By 1924, Smith was already known as the "Queen of the Blues" thanks to her clear, expressive voice. Bessie Smith began to sing at a young age and in 1923 signed a contract with Columbia Records. Dr. Scott: She auditioned for something called the Moses Stokes Review when she's a teenager, when she's 17 and 19. Bessie Smith was singing for women. ” Born into poverty in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bessie Smith began singing for money on street corners and eventually rose to become the largest-selling recording artist of her day. Music was used as an avenue to express sexual independence and queer identities, and Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith, by singing about sexuality and desire, protested against the social expectations of women and domesticity. Preachin' the Blues:' Bessie Smith's Secular Religion and Alice Walker's The Color Purple, The Blues Tribute Poem and the Legacies of Gertrude “Ma” Rainey and Bessie Smith, Black Women in Song: Some Socio~Cultural Images, Bessie Smith: 'Down Hearted Blues' and 'Gulf Coast Blues' Revisited, Empress of the Blues: The Complete Recordings. 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