Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith was one of the greatest of the classic blues singers and the most commercially successful African American entertainer of the 1920s, earning the title 'Empress of the Blues.' Born into poverty in Chattanooga, she was mentored by Ma Rainey in traveling tent shows before signing with Columbia Records in 1923. Her first recording, 'Down Hearted Blues,' sold 780,000 copies and launched a recording career that produced over 160 sides, many featuring accompanists like Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, and James P. Johnson. Her voice (massive, precise, and emotionally devastating) set the standard for blues vocal performance. At her peak she was the highest-paid African American performer in the country, headlining her own touring revues. The Depression and changing musical tastes diminished her commercial appeal, and she died in a car accident near Clarksdale, Mississippi, in 1937 at age 43. Her influence extends through Billie Holiday, Mahalia Jackson, Janis Joplin, and virtually every subsequent female blues and jazz vocalist.