5
on the streets with her guitar playing brother, Andrew, to
earn money.
When Bessie was 17 years old, her brother, Clarence,
got her an audition to the Moses Stokes’ Traveling Show,
where he had been working as a comedian and a dancer
for about 8 years. Bessie was hired as a dancer and began
her professional entertainment career.
Soon after, Bessie toured with blues star Ma Rainey in
Fat Chappelle’s Rabbit Foot Minstrels tent where Ma
showed Bessie the ropes of becoming a successful blues
entertainer. Ma was about 8-12 years older than Bessie
(depending on the source used for the year of Ma’s birth).
The two women began singing together, wrote a few
songs together and developed a strong bond that lasted
throughout Bessie’s career.
Bessie moved to Atlanta and was a regular performer at
a theater called “81” where she produced her own shows
and took them on the road. She was also a regular singer
at the Standard and Dunbar Theaters in Philadelphia and
later at the Paradise Gardens, a resort in Atlantic City, NJ.
Recording Jitters to Blues Star
female African American to record a blues song, called
“Crazy Blues.” With the success of this record, record
producers rushed to record other African-American blues
singers and promote these “race records” to the Black
community.
At this time, Bessie was very popular and was eager to re-
cord. However, several record companies she auditioned
for turned her down, including OKeh Records and Harry
Pace’s Black Swan Records. OKeh Records told her they
wanted a smoother pop singer sound and felt Bessie’s
voice was too rough and powerful.
Fortunately for us, Bessie was signed with Columbia
-
sion, Bessie was very nervous, as most recording artists
can understand. She arrived with her pianist, Clarence
Williams, on February 15, 1923. She was asked to sing in
a huge horn, similar to a giant version of an old Victrola –
with the recording engineer behind a curtain. There were
no microphones and the recording was totally acoustic,
Bessie Smith was the biggest blues star of the 1920’s
and 1930’s. She was so popular that she was known as
“The Empress of the Blues”. Her singing was a major
Bessie was the highest paid black entertainer of her
time, commanding over $2,000 a week. (In 2017, this
would be equivalent to $28,000 a week.) Her fans
related to her songs about the hardships between men
and women, something Bessie knew well from her
own relationships – including her marriage. Her voice
was warm and precise, and so strong that it could be
heard clearly through an entire theater without a mi-
crophone. Bessie had incredible control of intonation
and knew how to use her voice to evoke deep emotion
from her audience.
6 feet tall at about 200 pounds. On stage, she wore
colorful dresses made of satin, fringed shawls, and
jeweled hats with feathers, beads or pearls to match her
clothes. Personally, Bessie was assertive and enjoyed
a good time, which many times included alcohol. She
recorded nearly 160 songs and wrote more than 25 in
her lifetime, including songs with the greatest musi-
cians like Louis Armstrong.
Bessie is one of the few early blues stars that was
“St. Louis Blues” from 1929 is available on YouTube,
including a sketch intro before Bessie sings.
Trials of Her Early Days
Bessie was born in a rundown, one-room cabin in
Chattanooga, Tennessee on April 15, 1894. Her father,
William Smith, was a part-time Baptist preacher who
died shortly after she was born. Both her mother,
Laura, and one of her brothers died by the time that
Bessie was 9 years old, leaving her and her three
sisters and two brothers orphans.
Bessie, the youngest child, and her siblings learned to
be resourceful in order to survive. Her oldest sister,
Viola, ran a small laundry business to help support
the family. Young Bessie took to singing and dancing
Bessie Smith – Empress of the Blues
with