Bessie Smith Blues, jazz singer Date of Birth: 15.04.1894 Country: USA

Bessie Smith: Biography of a Blues Singer

Bessie Smith was an influential American singer and a prominent figure in the world of blues music. She began her career singing for street audiences during her childhood and later joined a traveling show troupe as a dancer. It was during this time that she worked with Ma Rainey, a senior colleague who encouraged Smith to perform blues songs. Despite Rainey's mentorship, it was evident from the early stages of her career that Smith's powerful vocal abilities would surpass those of her mentor. By 1920, Smith had become the lead artist in the troupe and was clearly on her way to becoming the greatest blues singer of her time.

Despite changes in musical trends in cities like New York and Chicago, Smith found success wherever she performed, earning her the title of the Empress of the Blues. Her true empire, however, was in the southern United States, where she performed in theaters associated with the Theatre Owners' Booking association. Every performance was a sell-out. While Smith was not the first blues singer to record on records, her early recordings sold in huge quantities, saving many record companies from bankruptcy. Her recordings, accompanied by Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith, solidified Smith's position as the leading blues performer of her time. However, subsequent changes in musical tastes began to affect her career.

By 1928, her recording career was effectively over, partly due to her problems with alcohol abuse and turbulent relationships with men. Smith gradually faded from the spotlight, although she made a single appearance on the silver screen in the 1929 film "St. Louis Blues" alongside James P. Johnson and musicians from the recently disbanded Fletcher Henderson orchestra.

Nevertheless, Smith continued to perform and enjoyed stable, albeit less prominent, success. In 1933, John Hammond organized her final recording session, where she was accompanied by Jack Teagarden and Coleman Hawkins, among others. The following year, Smith embarked on a highly successful concert tour, and in 1935, she performed at the Apollo Theatre in New York to great acclaim. During this time, she formed a relationship with Richard Morgan, a show business enthusiast and bootlegger, who brought stability to her life. With a renewed interest in the origins of American music and plans for a new film featuring Smith, it seemed like a good time for her career to flourish once again. However, fate had other plans, and on September 26, 1937, Smith tragically died in a car accident while traveling to Mississippi with Morgan.

Smith's recordings spanned various genres, from vaudeville numbers to slow blues. Her vaudeville performances somewhat reflected her own sometimes scandalous lifestyle, while her blues songs consistently showcased deep emotion. Both were delivered with her powerful contralto voice and majestic style. All of her recordings are worthy of attention, but the ones she made with Louis Armstrong and Joe Smith are especially important for understanding the blues genre and Bessie's immense significance in its history. Even in the presence of these esteemed musicians, the listener's attention is always drawn to Bessie herself.

Bessie was always personally involved in the recording process, often rejecting the services of drummers and dictating her preferred slow tempo for the songs. This occasionally resulted in a noticeable slowdown from the original tempo set by her accompanists. On her final recording session, she compromised and collaborated with musicians from the emerging swing era, but she still worked in a manner that suited her own needs.

Bessie Smith's influence is immeasurable. Many of her contemporaries imitated her, and subsequent blues vocalists and even some jazz musicians have stylistic connections to the Empress of the Blues. Years after her death, her life became the subject of plays and books, some of which perpetuated the legend that her death was a result of racial inequality and promoted views that were not characteristic of her. Fortunately, one book, "Bessie" by Chris Albertson, provides a meticulously researched and well-written account of the life, times, and artistry of one of the greatest performers in the history of American music.