Bessie Smith: Empress Of The Blues

Gertrude “Ma” Rainey is a pivotal figure in the history of American music. She was the first person to ever perform blues and the first internationally known African American female blues singer. Her music acted as inspiration for many distinguished figures during the Harlem Renaissance, and continues to influence contemporary music and art.

She was born in 1937 in Jacksonville, Florida, to Billy Daniels a jazz musician. Growing up she was always surrounded by music. She has said that her dad influenced her taste in music from an early age. He would play soothing blues and jazz tunes during her early life. When she was 17, Daniels decided to get her first radio job at a rhythm and blues station in Jacksonville. While at night she would sing at locals nightclubs. Daniels was popular for her

Bessie Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas, 1892,few years later she moved to Waxahachie,Texas where she is living on a farm. When she was nine,her dad left to go back to the Indian Territory,and her mom didn’t want to go with him , so he left. All the time she would skip school to help her mom pick cotton. Years later when Coleman graduated from high school, she went to college at Langston University in Oklahoma. After the first semester she was forced to dropped out because she didn’t have enough money to stay in college.

Around 1903 when my parent's died to survive, my brother, Andrew, and I began to perform a musical act on the streets of Chattanooga. I sang and my brother accompanied me on the guitar, often in front of the White Elephant Saloon. In 1912, when Clarence my older brother returned to Chattanooga, he persuaded the managers of his troupe, Lonnie and Cora Fisher, to give me an audition. Consequently, I was hired as a dancer with the Moses Stokes Company, to perform in a show that included the Mother of the Blues, Ma Rainey. Intriguing rumors surround our meeting—legend has it that Ma Rainey literally kidnapped me, that she and her husband forced me to tour with their show, teaching me in the process how to sing the blues. Some rumors say we had

Bessie was born April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a part time Baptist preacher, William Smith, and his wife Laura. The family was large and poor. Soon after she was born her father died. Laura lived until Bessie was only nine years old. The remaining children had to learn to take care of themselves. Her sister Viola then raised her. But it was her oldest brother,

Bessie Smith was born around 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee to a poverty stricken family. First orphaned at a young age then adopted by relatives, she took to singing on the streets as a way to make extra money. At nine years old, she made her first appearance on stage at the Ivory Theater.3 By her late teens, she was performing in Moses Stokes's traveling minstrel show; later, in 1912, she joined the famous Rabbit Foot Minstrels. It was here that she met Ma Rainey, who took Smith under her wing and became her

Duke Ellington is one of the most influential jazz figures. Although, he preferred to call his genre of play “American Music” rather than jazz. He and his band were known for creating very distinctive styles of music which influenced much of the Western music. Ellington earned much recognition and given rewards for feats in his lifetime.

In the 1920’s, blues was a very popular and dominating genre in the music industry. Generally, the blues was sung by African American women because according to the book entitled, “Blues Legacies and Black Feminism” by Angela Davis, “…The most widely heard individual purveyors of the blues—were women.” (Davis 4) The blues delivers certain emotions such as sadness, loneliness, love, sex, and feelings about the certain circumstances the artist may be going through at the time. Two women who dominate this style of music are Gertrude “Ma” Rainey and Bessie Smith. As stated by “Gay & Lesbian Biography”, “The careers of Rainey and Smith are closely interwoven.” Ma Rainey is a woman who is admired for both her amazing vocals and her ability to entertain. Bessie Smith is a woman who started off as a background dancer for her peer Ma Rainey, but then went on to emulate her by outdoing her success. Both women are very talented musicians who can not only sing and entertain, but they also create an impact as two of the most influential feminists during the 1920’s who helped shape the blues into what it is today.

In chapter three, Bessie sings a ballad that describes the orphan's life as well. The ballad speaks of orphans' loneliness and sad life. At the end of the ballad, Bessie tells Jane, "Come, Miss Jane, don't cry," and Jane is wondering "how could she divine the morbid suffering to which I was prey?" (54; ch. 3) The last stanza of the ballad shows almost the exact description of Helen Burns's conviction that death will bring the utmost happiness and comforts:

The Blues also became a hit in the 1920s after Mamie Smith recorded “Crazy Blues” and it grew into a huge part of the Jazz Industry. African Americans were given credit for the creation of the Blues industry of music as well. Bessie Smith was known as the “most famous of the 1920s Blues singers.”

     The Blues musical move was prominent during the 1920s and '30s, a time known as the Harlem Renaissance. Blues music characteristically told the story of

In the 1960s as the genre became more popular icons such as John Coltrane and Miles Davis became overly remarkable successes.

There are many famous Cool Jazz players that are highly known by many jazz fans. Some of the highly known people are Lennie Tristano, Dave Pell, and Gerry Mulligan. The other famous cool jazz players are Dave Brubeck and Shorty Rogers. But, the most important person is(as said earlier) Miles Davis.

At the mention jazz music, that person will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Satchmo. The man was Louis Armstrong. He is a husky singer, often with a trumpet in his hand. He played dramatic works of simple structure in Orleans jazz style and with the accompaniment of Dick jazz music. Each of the books on jazz music will mention his name. Louis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). This essay will have an introduction of the king of jazz music -- Louis Armstrong and his great influence on jazz history.

The Blues Genre has been out since the late 19th century. However, the blues genre started to establish awareness around the 1920’s. Bessie Smith was one major influencer of the blues genre. The blues common themes were related to poverty, death, cruelty, misfortune, and unfaithfulness. In Bessie Smith’s case, her song Lost your Head Blues, is about a woman who was in love with a man who was initially broke. In the lyrics, it later discusses how the man gains wealth and started to think differently about his woman. As the song progresses further, the lyrics mention that the lady will leave him without telling him “goodbye”. The lady finally leaves the man and mentions that she will write a letter explaining the reason why she left him. To conclude, the song discusses how days and nights become long and lonely for her. However, the lady will admit that she is a good woman and refuses to be treated poorly. This song was popular at the time and has given Bessie Smith a lot of fame.