Bessie Smith Essay -- Biography Biographies

Bessie SmithKnown as the Empress Of colour, Bessie Smith was said to have revolutionized the vocal end of Blues Music. She showed a lot of pride as an independent African-American woman. Her style in performance and lyrics often reflected her lifestyle. Bessie Smith was one of the first female jazz artists, and she paved the way for many musicians who followed. Bessie was innate(p) April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a part time Baptist preacher, William Smith, and his wife Laura. The family was large and poor. Soon after she was born her father died. Laura lived until Bessie was only nine years old. The remaining children had to unwrap to take care of themselves. Her sister Viola then raised her. But it was her oldest brother, Clarence, who had the most impact on her. Clarence always encouraged Bessie to learn to sing and dance. subsequently Clarence had joined the Moses Stokes Minstrel Show, Bessie got auditions. Bessies career began when she was discovered by none other than Ma Rainey when Mas revue, the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, was passing through Chattanooga around 1912 and she had the occasion to go through young Bessie sing. Ma took Bessie on the road with the show and communicated, consciously or not, the subtleties and intricacies of an ancient and still emerging art form. (Snow). Bessie started by working small-time travel tent shows. With the help of Clarence she began her professional career in 1912, and soon became a featured singer. Smith was an established star with the black audiences throughout the south by the time she moved to Philadelphia in 1921. However, two more years would pass before she would begin her recording career. Soon after moving to Philadelphia, Smith supposedly auditioned for Okeh and other... ... Pennsylvania. For many African-Americans, Smith was more than just a blues singer, thanks to an aggressive personality and often-excessive lifestyle. It seemed as if she was describing black culture in the twenties throu gh her songs. Smith recorded at least 160 songs for Columbia Records from 1923 to 1933. Many of these songs are blues classics. Bessie Smith was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1980 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. Bessie Smith had a huge voice capable of strength and softness, which she left behind on all her recordings. BibliographyDavis, Angela Y. Blues Legacies and Black Feminism. New York Pantheon Books, 1999 Friedwald, Will. Jazz Singing. New York Da Capo Press, 1996 Sanders, Madelyn. Bessie Smith. Smith, Bessie. Encarta Encyclopedia. 2001 Ed. Snow, Joel. Bessie Smith. September 17, 1995