Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith was not merely the queen of blues, she was the "Empress of Blues". Smith was one of the most talented singers to come out of the vaudeville era of the early 20th century. Born in Tennessee around 1894, Smith was orphaned at an early age and turned to street performing with her siblings to earn money. She began dancing and then singing with traveling minstrel groups, including Ma Rainey's vaudeville shows. By the time she was 20, Bessie Smith was an established blues star on the TOBA circuit (Theater Owners Booking Association). In 1923 she made her first recording with Columbia Records' "race records" division, singing "Down Hearted Blues" and "Gulf Coast Blues". At six feet tall, Smith was an imposing figure and her strong and sometimes combative personality backed up her intense and powerful voice. Smith was accompanied by jazz greats such as Joe Smith, James P. Johnson, and Louis Armstrong. By 1920, Smith had her own show in Atlantic City and was one of the highest paid performers of her day. She owned her own railroad car which transported her on many of her tours. However, the end of the 1920s signaled a decline in Smith's career, brought about by her alcoholism, the Depression, and the emergence of swing music and talkies. Her song "Nobody Knows When You're Down and Out" achingly conveys her plight. In 1933, Smith began to make a come-back, appearing at the Apollo Theater and recording jazz targeted to an emerging European audience. Through the mid 1930s, Smith continued performing in live shows and clubs throughout the North and South. Sadly, her comeback was cut short by a car accident in 1937. Bessie Smith died on the way to the hospital in Clarksdale, Mississippi.
