Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith

Source: Legacy Recordings

Born on 15 April 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bessie Smith ("Empress of the Blues") recorded her first shellac, 'Down Hearted Blues', for Columbia on 15 February 1923 in NYC. 'Gulf Coast Blues' and 'Keeps On A-Rainin'' followed the next day.

Of the four famous early female blues singers named Smith, none related, Bessie was the most successful with Clara and Mamie serious rivals, Trixie not so much. Bessie was to become the highest paid black musician in the business. She had begun her career busking on the streets of Chattanooga with her brother, Andrew, who played guitar. In 1912 her oldest brother, Clarence, got her a job with a traveling dance troupe, which already had its own singer in Ma Rainey. The next year found Smith working at the "81" Theater in Atlanta, as well as on the TOBA (Theater Owners Booking Association) circuit. She was living in Philadelphia by the time she made her first unissued recording for Okeh circa January of 1923, followed by Columbia.

'Down Hearted Blues'   Bessie Smith w Clarence Williams (piano)

Recorded 15 Feb 1923 in NYC   Columbia A3844

Composition: Alberta Hunter / Lovie Austin   1922

'Baby Won't You Please Come Home'   Bessie Smith w Clarence Williams (piano)

Recorded 11 April 1923 in NYC   Columbia A3888

Composition: Charles Warfield / Clarence Williams   1919

'T'ain't Nobody's Business If I Do'   Bessie Smith w Clarence Williams (piano)

Recorded 26 April 1923 in NYC   Columbia A3898

Composition: Porter Grainger / Everett Robbins   1922

Playing theaters during winter months, touring in summer, Smith gathered some of the biggest names in jazz into her fold. October of 1923, for example, found her with Coleman Hawkins and Fletcher Henderson to record 'Any Woman's Blues'. December that year saw 'Chicago Bound Blues' and 'Mistreatin' Daddy' with Don Redman and Henderson. She started 1925 in NYC on January 14 with Louis Armstrong, recording such as 'St. Louis Blues' and 'Reckless Blues'. In 1927 Smith documented such as 'Black Water Blues' with pianist, James Johnson.

'Reckless Blues'   Bessie Smith

Recorded 14 Jan 1925 in NYC   Columbia 14056-D

Cornet: Louis Armstrong   Trombone: Charlie Green   Organ: Fred Longshaw

Composition: Fred Longshaw / Jack Gee

'Yellow Dog Blues'   Bessie Smith & Her Blue Boys

Recorded 6 May 1925 in NYC   Columbia 14075-D

Cornet: Joe Smith   Trombone: Charlie Green   Clarinet: Buster Bailey

Tenor sax: Coleman Hawkins   Piano: Fletcher Henderson

Banjo: Charlie Dixon   Tuba: Bob Escudero

Composition: W.C. Handy   1922   From 'Yellow Dog Rag' of 1915

'Careless Love Blues'   Bessie Smith

Recorded 26 May 1925 in NYC   Columbia 14083-D

Cornet: Louis Armstrong   Trombone: Charlie Green   Piano: Fred Longshaw

Composition: Traditional   Arrangement: Handy / Koenig / Williams

'After You've Gone'   Bessie Smith & Her Band

Recorded 2 March 1927 in NYC   Columbia 14197-D

Cornet: Joe Smith   Trombone: Jimmy Harrison   Clarinet: Buster Bailey

Tenor sax: Coleman Hawkins   Piano: Fletcher Henderson   Banjo: Charlie Dixo

Composition: Turner Layton / Henry Creamer   1918

'I'm Wild About That Thing'   Bessie Smith

Recorded 8 May 1929 in NYC   Columbia 14427-D

Piano: Clarence Williams   Guitar: Eddie Lang

Composition: Spencer Williams

Smith made three Broadway dates at the Belmont Theatre on May 14-16 of 1929 ('Pansy'), the same year as her only film appearance, a short two-reeler of perhaps 16 minutes titled 'St. Louis Blues'. Her last recordings occurred in November 1933 with Okeh Records, for which she was paid $37.50 per title (no royalties). Among those were 'Take Me for a Buggy Ride' and 'I'm Down in the Dumps'.

'St. Louis Blues'   Bessie Smith   From the film 'St. Louis Blues'

Filmed & recorded late June 1929 in NYC

Trumpet: Thomas Morris / Joe Smith   Trombone: Charlie Green

Clarinet / saxophones: ?   Piano: James P. Johnson   Banjo: Bernard Addison

Tuba: Harry Hull   Drums: Kaiser Marshall

Composition: W.C. Handy   1914

'Blue Spirit Blues'   Bessie Smith w James P. Johnson (piano)

Recorded 11 Oct 1929 in NYC   Columbia 14527-D

Composition: Spencer Williams

'I Need a Little Sugar In My Bowl'   Bessie Smith w Clarence Williams (paino)

Recorded 20 Nov 1931 in NYC   Columbia 14634-D

Composition: Clarence Williams / Tim Brymn

'Give Me a Pigfoot'   Bessie Smith w Buck and His Band

From final recording date of 24 Nov 1933 in NYC

OKeh 6893 / Okeh 8949 / Columbia 37574

Trumpet: Frankie Newton   Trombone: Jack Teagarden   Clarinet: Benny Goodman

 Tenor sax: Chu Berry    Piano: Buck Washington

Guitar: Bobby Johnson   String bass: Billy Taylor Sr.

Composition: Coot Grant / Wesley Wilson

Smith died young at age 43 on 26 September 1937 upon a highway accident in a car driven by her common-law husband, Richard Morgan, near Clarksdale, Mississippi [gravesite]. He had rear-ended a truck in the dark. Perhaps 10,000 mourners attended her funeral although she went without a headstone until blues singer, Janis Joplin, bought her one in 1970.