What are 3 interesting facts about Bessie Smith?

Bessie Smith married Jack Gee on June 7, 1923. He was a security guard. Her first record was being released at the time. Bessie Smith became the highest paid African-American performer of the time while she was married to Jack Gee.

How did Bessie Smith influence the blues?

With her subsequent recordings, Smith was one of the artists who propelled the fledgling “race records” market of music targeted to black audiences that had launched a few years earlier in 1920 with Mamie Smith’s hit “Crazy Blues.” Through the rest of the 1920s, Bessie Smith became one of the earliest stars of recorded …

Was Bessie Smith in the blues?

Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an 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 and 1950s.

Why was Bessie Smith called the Empress of the Blues?

Louis Blues.” By the end of the 1920s, Smith was the highest-paid Black performer of her day, and had earned herself the title “Empress of the Blues.”

What is Bessie Smith most famous for?

Bessie Smith Biography. Bessie Smith was a famous blues and jazz singer from America who is known for her songs like ‘Downhearted Blues’ and ‘The St. Louis Blues’.

Did Bessie Smith have a family?

Bessie Smith started her singing career on the street corner with her brother Andrew . They sang in hope of collecting pocket change to support the family. An older brother, Charles had joined a travailing theater company and upon his return to Chattanooga Bessie was given a job as a dancer with the Moses Stokes Theatre Company in 1912.

What is Bessie Smith’s nickname?

Bessie Smith. Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an American blues singer. Nicknamed the Empress of the Blues, she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. Nov 22 2019

What was Bessie Smith first song?

Written by pianist Lovie Austin and Alberta Hunter , “Downhearted Blues” (and its B-side, “Gulf Coast Blues”) was the first recording by Bessie Smith. The song’s final line — “I’ve got the world in a jug, the stopper’s in my hand” — is one of the most iconic lyrics of the classic blues tradition.