Down Hearted Blues
In 1923, Columbia Records was teetering on the edge of bankruptcy when talent scout Frank Walker brought a fierce, uncompromising singer named Bessie Smith into their New York studio. Accompanied only by Clarence Williams on piano, Smith recorded 'Down Hearted Blues,' a song written by two pioneering Black women, Alberta Hunter and Lovie Austin. The record exploded, selling nearly 800,000 copies in six months. It not only pulled Columbia out of receivership, but it officially launched the 'Classic Female Blues' craze, cementing Smith's title as the widely regarded 'Empress of the Blues.'
The floating-verse lineage for this recording (who else recorded it, where the melody or lyric traveled, and how it was adapted) is still being mapped. This section will trace the song's DNA across the archive.
Contributions welcome at OlMrRead@ccblues.com.