- Born
- 15 April 1894, Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
- First work
- 1923: Downhearted Blues
- Peak
- 1923 to 1929 (estimated)
- Last work
- 1933: Gimme a Pigfoot
- Died
- 26 September 1937, Clarksdale, United States; aged 43; accident
Bessie Smith
Music: singer, actress, dancer, United States
Bessie Smith was the pre-eminent classic blues vocalist of the 1920s, universally crowned the Empress of the Blues. Starting out in Southern tent shows alongside Ma Rainey, she developed an enormous vocal projection and a majestic, commanding style. Her 1923 debut for Columbia Records became an unexpected nationwide triumph, transforming her into one of the highest-paid African American entertainers of her generation. Her recordings captured the joys, sorrow, and resilience of working-class life with unmatched phrasing and dramatic gravity. Though the Great Depression slowed commercial demand, she remained a consummate stage artist until her life was cut short following an automobile crash in Mississippi in 1937.
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Signature works
- Downhearted Blues song1923
- Careless Love Blues song1925
- Backwater Blues song1927
- St. Louis Blues film1929
- Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out song1929
- Gimme a Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer) song1933
Honours
- Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, 1989
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee, 1989
- National Film Registry induction for St. Louis Blues, 2006
Groups: Columbia Records.