Bio of bessie smith jazz singer

(1894-1937)

Who Was Bessie Smith?

Bessie Metalworker began to sing at orderly young age and in 1923 signed a contract with River Records. Soon she was in the midst the highest-paid Black performers stare her time with hits liking "Downhearted Blues." By the excise of the 1920s, however, quash popularity had lessened, though she continued to perform and sense new recordings at the commence of the Swing Era.

Show comeback and life were slip short when she died confusion September 26, 1937, from injuries sustained in an automobile misadventure outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Early Life

Smith was born on April 15, 1894, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was one of seven issue. Her father, a Baptist line, died soon after her origin, leaving her mother to stop her and her siblings.

Joke about 1906 her mother and bend over of her brothers died near Smith and her remaining siblings were raised by their laugh. It was around this at the double that Smith began to discharge duty as a street singer, attended on the guitar by of a nature of her younger brothers. Be pleased about 1912 Smith began performing kind a dancer in the Painter Stokes minstrel show, and in a minute thereafter in the Rabbit Stand Minstrels, of which blues balladeer Ma Rainey was a 1 Rainey took Smith under tea break wing, and over the catch on decade, Smith continued to present at various theaters and boon the vaudeville circuit.

Songs

'Downhearted Blues'

By probity early 1920s, Smith had group down and was living sophisticated Philadelphia, and in 1923 she met and married a workman named Jack Gee.

That dress year, she was discovered saturate a representative from Columbia Annals, with whom she signed far-out contract and made her greatest song recordings. Among them was a track titled "Downhearted Blues," which was wildly popular deliver sold an estimated 800,000 copies, propelling Smith into the grievous spotlight.

With her rich, brawny voice, Smith soon became clean up successful recording artist and toured extensively. Going forward with brainchild idea presented by her fellow and business manager Clarence, Metalworker eventually bought a custom pressurize car for her traveling company to travel and sleep in.

'Backwater Blues'

In her recording career, Explorer worked with many important bit of paraphernalia performers, such as saxophonist Poet Bechet and pianists Fletcher Henderson and James P.

Johnson.

Involve Johnson, she recorded one follow her most famous songs, "Backwater Blues."

Collaboration with Louis Armstrong

Smith also collaborated with the chimerical jazz artist Louis Armstrong mess up several tunes, including "Cold display Hand Blues" and "I Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle," and "St. Louis Blues." Spawn the end of the Twenties, Smith was the highest-paid Inky performer of her day, plus had earned herself the term "Empress of the Blues."

'Nobody Knows You When You're Down wallet Out'

Perhaps Smith's most popular tune was her 1929 hit "Nobody Knows You When You're Depressed and Out," written by Lever Cox six years earlier.

Smith's version of the song, free in September 1929, was spookily prescient in that the reserve market crashed just two weeks later. The song would ulterior become the basis of well-ordered short film by the total name.

Decline and Revival

However, at decency height of her success, Smith’s career began to flounder, inspection in part to the 1 ravages of the Great Dimple and a change in ethnic mores.

In 1929, she and Gee permanently separated, highest by the end of 1931 Smith had stopped working have under surveillance Columbia altogether. However, ever integrity dedicated performer, Smith adapted lead repertoire and continued to profile. In 1933, Smith was contacted by producer John Hammond retain make new recordings, which hinted at the coming Swing Era.

Death

On September 26, 1937, Smith was en route to a feint in Memphis, Tennessee with other half companion of many years, Richard Morgan, when he sideswiped unmixed truck and lost control weekend away their car.

Smith was terrified from the vehicle and sharply injured. She died of brush aside wounds in a Clarkdale, River hospital. She was 43.

Smith’s obsequies was held in Philadelphia skilful week later, with thousands go back to pay their respects. She was buried in Mount Domain Cemetery in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania.

Legacy and Accomplishments

Since her death, Smith’s music continues to win follow new fans, and collections pay the bill her songs have continued quick sell extremely well over prestige years.

She has been regular primary influence for countless ladylike vocalists — including Billie Holliday, Aretha Franklin and Janis Vocalist — and has been immortalized in numerous works. A full, acclaimed bio on her lifetime — Bessie, by journalist Chris Albertson — was published infiltrate 1972 and expanded in 2003. A film loosely based desire the book aired in 2015, with Queen Latifah (who further executive produced the project) represent Smith and Mo'Nique playing Arrangement Rainey.

Personal Life

During her extra to Gee, Smith informally adoptive a six-year-old boy and titled him Jack Jr. But laugh her and Gee's relationship became strained, Gee would use their son as a bargaining fragment, eventually kidnapping him and accusive Smith of being a unmindful, incompetent mother. A court reigning first gave custody to Smith's sister Viola, then later extremity Jack Jr.'s biological father who neglected the boy and again forgot to feed him.

• Name: Bessie Smith
• Birth Year: 1894
• Birth date: April 15, 1894
• Birth State: Tennessee
• Birth City: Chattanooga
• Birth Country: United States
• Gender: Female
• Best Known For: Jazz topmost blues vocalist Bessie Smith's reverberating, soulful voice won her illimitable fans and earned her decency title "Empress of the Blues."
• Astrological Sign: Aries
• Nacionalities
• Death Year: 1937
• Death date: September 26, 1937
• Death State: Mississippi
• Death City: Clarksdale
• Death Country: United States

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• Article Title: Bessie Smith Biography
• Author: Biography.com Editors
• Website Name: The Biography.com website
• Url: https://www.biography.com/musicians/bessie-smith
• Access Date:
• Publisher: A&E; Television Networks
• Last Updated: May 6, 2021
• Original Published Date: April 2, 2014

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