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Smith, Bessie
(redirected from Bessie Smith)

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Smith, Bessie (Elizabeth) (1894–1937)

US jazz and blues singer. Known as the ‘Empress of the Blues’, she established herself in the 1920s after she was discovered by Columbia Records. She made over 150 recordings accompanied by such greats as Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman.

Her popularity waned during the Depression, and she died from injuries sustained in a car crash. Reportedly, had she been white her life could have been saved, as she would have received medical care more quickly (she was refused admission to a whites-only hospital).

US playwright Edward Albee treated the subject of her death in his play The Death of Bessie Smith (1960).



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The 32-year-old singer has been compared favorably to Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday because of surface similarities in her voice.
SOUND CHECK by Daily News (Los Angeles, CA)
She goes far beyond Bessie Smith to introduce major figures in the field such as Victoria Spivey, Sippie Wallace, Edith Wilson and Alberta Hunter as well as performers who are less well remembered such as Trixie Smith, Clara Smith, Lucille Hegamin, Lizzie Miles, Chippie Hill and Ida Cox.
Harlem wisdom in a wild woman's blues: the cool intellect of Ida Cox by Wilson, Karen / Afro-Americans in New York Life and History
Originally built as the Alhambra Theater in 1905, it began as a vaudeville venue, eventually showing movies and opening an upstairs ballroom hosting legendary performers such as Bessie Smith and Billie Holiday.
Meridian arranges $8m for Alhambra Ballroom by Real Estate Weekly
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