Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, she is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and was a major influence on fellow blues singers, as well as jazz vocalists. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Smith was young when her parents died, and she and her six siblings survived by performing on street corners. She began touring and performed in a group that included Ma Rainey, and then went out on her own. Her successful recording career with Columbia Records began in 1923, but her performing career was cut short by a car crash that killed her at the age of 43. |
Birth and Death Data: Born April 15, 1894 (Chattanooga), Died September 26, 1937 (Clarksdale)
Date Range of DAHR Recordings: 1923 - 1933
Roles Represented in DAHR: vocalist, composer, lyricist, leader, songwriter
= Recordings are available for online listening.
= Recordings were issued from this master. No recordings issued from other masters.
Recordings (Results 1-25 of 191 records)
Company | Matrix No. | Size | First Recording Date | Title | Primary Performer | Description | Role | Audio |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Columbia | 80862 | 10-in. | 2/15/1923 | 'Tain't nobody's biz-ness if I do | Bessie Smith ; Clarence Williams | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 80863 | 10-in. | 2/15/1923 | Down hearted blues | Bessie Smith ; Clarence Williams | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 80864 | 10-in. | 2/16/1923 | Gulf Coast blues | Bessie Smith ; Clarence Williams | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 80865 | 10-in. | 2/16/1923 | Keeps on a-rainin' | Bessie Smith ; Clarence Williams | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 80949 | 10-in. | 4/11/1923 | Aggravatin' papa | Down Home Trio ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with instrumental trio | leader, vocalist | |
Columbia | 80950 | 10-in. | 4/11/1923 | Beale Street mamma | Down Home Trio ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with instrumental trio | leader, vocalist | |
Columbia | 80952 | 10-in. | 4/11/1923 | Baby won't you please come home blues | Bessie Smith ; Clarence Williams | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 80953 | 10-in. | 4/11/1923 | Oh daddy blues | Bessie Smith ; Clarence Williams | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano (takes 1-3); with clarinet, banjo, and piano (takes 4 and 5) | vocalist | |
Columbia | 80995 | 10-in. | 4/28/1923 | Mama's got the blues | Fletcher Henderson ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 80996 | 10-in. | 4/28/1923 | Outside of that | Fletcher Henderson ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81074 | 10-in. | 6/14/1923 | Sittin' on the curbstone blues | Fletcher Henderson ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81075 | 10-in. | 6/14/1923 | Bleeding hearted blues | Fletcher Henderson ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81078 | 10-in. | 6/14/1923 | Lady-luck blues | Fletcher Henderson ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81079 | 10-in. | 6/14/1923 | Yodeling blues | Fletcher Henderson ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81080 | 10-in. | 6/15/1923 | Midnight blues | Fletcher Henderson ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81091 | 10-in. | 6/21/1923 | Play 'em for mama, sing 'em for me blues | Fletcher Henderson ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81092 | 10-in. | 6/21/1923 | If you don't I know who will | Fletcher Henderson ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81095 | 10-in. | 6/22/1923 | Nobody in town can bake a sweet jelly roll like mine | Fletcher Henderson ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81225 | 10-in. | 9/21/1923 | Dot 'em down blues | Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81226 | 10-in. | 9/21/1923 | Jailhouse blues | Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | songwriter, vocalist | |
Columbia | 81231 | 10-in. | 9/24/1923 | St. Louis gal | Irving Johns ; Jimmy Jones ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo, with 2 pianos | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81232 | 10-in. | 9/24/1923 | Sam Jones' blues | Irving Johns ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo ("blues singer"), with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81237 | 10-in. | 9/26/1923 | Graveyard dream blues | Jimmy Jones ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81238 | 10-in. | 9/26/1923 | Blue Bessie (the bluest gal in Tennessee) | Jimmy Jones ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo, with piano | vocalist | |
Columbia | 81241 | 10-in. | 9/26/1923 | Cemetery blues | Jimmy Jones ; Bessie Smith | Female vocal solo, with piano | vocalist |
Citation
Discography of American Historical Recordings, s.v. "Smith, Bessie," accessed October 31, 2024, https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104231.
Smith, Bessie. (2024). In Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved October 31, 2024, from https://adpprod1.library.ucsb.edu/names/104231.
"Smith, Bessie." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2024. Web. 31 October 2024.
DAHR Persistent Identifier
External Sources
Wikipedia: Bessie Smith
Discogs: Bessie Smith
Allmusic: Bessie Smith
Apple Music: Bessie Smith
Grove: Bessie Smith
RILM: Bessie Smith
IMDb: Bessie Smith
Britannica: Bessie Smith
Linked Open Data Sources
LCNAR: Smith, Bessie, 1894-1937 - http://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n83071529
Wikidata: Bessie Smith - http://www.wikidata.org/entity/Q93349
VIAF: http://viaf.org/viaf/24788472
MusicBrainz: Bessie Smith - https://musicbrainz.org/artist/ffa28768-ecda-42c6-ac49-6ce5c7d33043
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