Bessie Smith, Empress of the Blues
One of the giants of America’s Jazz Age.
Photo of Bessie Smith by Carl Van Vechten, restored by Adam Cuerden — This image is available from the United States Library of Congress’s Prints and Photographs division under the digital ID ppmsca.09571. Public Domain
The Jazz Age
Jazz music and dance styles became highly popular across America during the 1920s and 1930s, a period which is now known as the Jazz Age.?America is the birthplace of jazz, and the Jazz Age was a fantastic period that gave rise to many famous singers and musicians performing in that genre.
Empress of the Blues
One of those singers was the extremely popular Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 — September 26, 1937), whose nickname was ‘the Empress of the Blues’ (she was also called ‘the Queen of the Blues’).
Music historians regard her as not only a major influence on other blues singers and jazz vocalists of her time, but as one of the greatest singers of the Jazz Era, or any era for that matter. Without a doubt, Bessie Smith was the most popular female singer of the 1920s and 1930s.
St.?Louis Blues
Bessie Smith overcame extreme poverty in her family and eventually became a huge recording star.?When the Great Depression happened in 1929, she branched out that year, appearing on Broadway in?Pansy, as well in the film?St.?Louis Blues,?in which she sang the title song that was written by the famous W.C.?Handy.
“I’ve been poor and I’ve been rich, and rich is better.?“ — Bessie Smith
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Billie Smith Performs
You can watch her performance in the film?St. Louis Blues?here .
And below is a video montage from 1925 of her singing?St. Louis Blues, while accompanied by the incomparable Louis Armstrong. The video also shows some great old photos of my hometown St. Louis in the early 20th century.
A Tragic End
Bessie Smith’s successful career continued until 1937 when tragedy struck.?She was a passenger in an automobile that crashed and killed her at the age of 43.
But, fortunately, her beautiful singing lives on through various media that are easily accessible nowadays.
“It’s a long old road, but I know I’m gonna find the end.” — Bessie Smith
References
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Thanks for reading. Copyright Terry Mansfield. All rights reserved.
You can read more of my articles on Vocal .
IT Project Manager at City of Virginia Beach
4 年As a native of the St. Louis area, it's great seeing this sort of article. St. Louis has such a rich history of music and the arts. I still miss visiting a lot of the cultural areas there!