Soon she was among the highest-paid Black performers of her time with hits like "Downhearted Blues." That is the date that is on all later documents, and was the one that Smith used. She was born Bessie Smith on April 15, 1894, in Chattanooga, Tennessee, to Laura Owens and William Smith. Around 1906 her mother and two of her brothers died and Smith and her remaining siblings were raised by their aunt. The song would later become the basis of a short film by the same name. Bessie Smith became the highest paid African-American performer of the time while she was married to Jack Gee. Columbia Records nicknamed Bessie Smith Queen of the Blues but the press began calling her the Empress of the Blues. They frickin’ went to space. She was one of seven children. In the census in 1910, her sister, Viola Smith said that Bessie's birthday was April 15, 1894. The 1870 and 1880 censuses report three older half-siblings, but later interviews with Smith's family and contemporaries contain no mention of them against her siblings. In 1920s and 1930s, she became the most popular blues singer in United States. Bessie's oldest brother Clarence joined a traveling troupe in 1904 and left without telling Bessie, because she would have wanted to join him but she was too young. Off-stage, Bessie Smith was a volatile personality with a zest for life. Bessie Smith was born into poverty in Chattanooga, Tennessee, one of seven children of William and Laura Smith. When Mamie Smith (no relation to Bessie Smith) recorded the first vocal blues in 1920 and sold 100,000 copies in the first month, record executives discovered a new market and the "race record" was born. Mamie Smith was the first African-American female performer to make a phonograph record, paving the way for all the classic blues women of the 1920s and beyond. Jazz and blues vocalist Bessie Smith's powerful, soulful voice won her countless fans and earned her the title "Empress of the Blues." In 1929, she and Gee permanently separated, and by the end of 1931 Smith had stopped working with Columbia altogether. Her parents were William Smith and Laura Owens. She was a highly accomplished blues singer of the "Classic Blues" tradition, a woman who began singing on the streets of Chattanooga, Tennessee at the age of 10, and rose to become the highest paid Black entertainer in America. Since the year 2000. Bessie Smith was born on 15th April 1894, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. https://www.biography.com/musician/bessie-smith. Article Title. Her biggest hit is the single "Because the Night.". Bessie Smith's first record was titled Cemetery Blues was released on September 26, 1923. Bessie Smith, who was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 as an “early influencer,” died at the age of 43 on September 26, 1937. In 1912 Smith began performing as a dancer in the Moses Stokes minstrel show, and soon thereafter in the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, of which blues vocalist Ma Rainey was a member. This is put together as 3 phrases or sections, each being 4 bars long. Patti Smith is a highly influential figure in the New York City punk rock scene, starting with her 1975 album 'Horses.' She was 43 years old at the time of her death. Bessie Smith died in September 1937 in a car accident while driving between Memphis, Tennessee, and Clarksdale, Mississippi. However, at the height of her success, Smith’s career began to flounder, due in part to the financial ravages of the Great Depression and a change in cultural mores. by Miles Kahn . Bessie Smith, in full Elizabeth Smith, (born April 15, 1894?, Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.—died September 26, 1937, Clarksdale, Mississippi), American singer, one of the greatest blues vocalists. Smith had been killed a … Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – Sept. 26, 1937) was one of the most popular and best-selling performers and recording artists of the 1920s. Joplin was furious when she found out that Smith was buried in an unmarked grave in Pennsylvania following her … Authored By James Harrison Today would have been-by most accounts-Bessie Smith’s 119th birthday. ", Smith also collaborated with the legendary jazz artist Louis Armstrong on several tunes, including "Cold in Hand Blues" and "I Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle," and "St. Louis Blues." If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! Latifah received critical acclaim for her portrayal of blues singer Bessie Smith in the HBO film Bessie (2015), which she co-produced, winning the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Television Movie. Billie Holiday was one of the most influential jazz singers of all time. Among them was a track titled "Downhearted Blues," which was wildly popular and sold an estimated 800,000 copies, propelling Smith into the blues spotlight. That is the date that is on all later documents, and … Musicians that accompanied Bessie Smith include Charlie Green, Joe Smith, Coleman Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson, and Louis Armstrong. She died of her wounds in a Clarkdale, Mississippi hospital. On September 26, 1937, Smith was en route to a show in Memphis, Tennessee with her companion of many years, Richard Morgan, when he sideswiped a truck and lost control of their car. There were 13 children in the family and she was the 10th child. Her father was George Coleman, while her mother was Susan Coleman. Legendary blues singer Bessie Smith is buried near Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on October 4, 1937.Some 7,000 mourners attended her funeral. Blues music had a major influence over … Her parents died while she was young, and her older sister Viola took over as the parent. Her mother and one brother died when she was nine years old. A film loosely based on the book aired in 2015, with Queen Latifah (who also executive produced the project) portraying Smith and Mo'Nique playing Ma Rainey. Bessie Smith began to sing at a young age and in 1923 signed a contract with Columbia Records. She has long been considered one of hip-hop’s pioneer feminists. She was buried in Mount Lawn Cemetery in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania. By the end of the 1920s, Smith was the highest-paid Black performer of her day, and had earned herself the title "Empress of the Blues.". Bessie Smith began singing for money on street corners and eventually rose to become the largest-selling recording artist of her day. The first section or phrase of 4 bars only uses the ton… John Smith was a British soldier who was a founder of the American colony of Jamestown in the early 1600s. 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