Bessie smith childhood biography

Bessie Smith - Alcoholics, Life Achievements and Childhood

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Bessie Smith's Personal Details

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

InformationDetail
BirthdayApril 15,
Died onSeptember 26,
NationalityAmerican
FamousAfrican American Singers, African Americans, Alcoholics, Bisexual, Black Female Singers, Black Musicians, Black Singers, Lesbians, Singers, Jazz Singers
City/StateTennessee
SpousesJack Gee, Richard K. Morgan
SiblingsAndrew Smith, Clarence Smith, Lulu Smith, Tinnie Smith, Viola Smith
Cause of death
Birth PlaceChattanooga
Height
GenderFemale
FatherWilliam Smith
MotherLaura Smith
Sun SignAries
Born inChattanooga
Famous asSinger
Died at Age43

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Bessie Smith

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Who Was Bessie Smith?

Bessie Smith began to sing at a young age and in signed a contract with Columbia Records. Soon she was among the highest-paid Black performers of her time with hits like "Downhearted Blues." By the end of the s, however, her popularity had lessened, though she continued to perform and made new recordings at the start of the Swing Era. Her comeback and life were cut short when she died on September 26, , from injuries sustained in an automobile accident outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi.

Early Life

Smith was born on April 15, , in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was one of seven children. Her father, a Baptist minister, died soon after her birth, leaving her mother to raise her and her siblings. Around her mother and two of her brothers died and Smith and her remaining siblings were raised by their aunt. It was around this time that Smith began to perform as a street singer, accompanied on the guitar by one of her younger brothers. In Smith began performing as a dancer in the Moses Stokes minstrel show, and soon thereafter in the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, of which blues vocalist Ma Rainey was a member. Rainey took Smith under her

Bessie Smith

Blues, jazz singer
Date of Birth:
Country: USA

Bessie Smith: Biography of a Blues Singer

Bessie Smith was an influential American singer and a prominent figure in the world of blues music. She began her career singing for street audiences during her childhood and later joined a traveling show troupe as a dancer. It was during this time that she worked with Ma Rainey, a senior colleague who encouraged Smith to perform blues songs. Despite Rainey's mentorship, it was evident from the early stages of her career that Smith's powerful vocal abilities would surpass those of her mentor. By , Smith had become the lead artist in the troupe and was clearly on her way to becoming the greatest blues singer of her time.

Despite changes in musical trends in cities like New York and Chicago, Smith found success wherever she performed, earning her the title of the Empress of the Blues. Her true empire, however, was in the southern United States, where she performed in theaters associated with the Theatre Owners' Booking association. Every performance was a sell-out. While Smith was not the first blues singer to record on records, her early recordings sold in h

Bessie Smith (ca. –) was a blues and jazz singer from the Harlem Renaissance who is remembered at as the Empress of the Blues.

Elizabeth “Bessie” Smith was the youngest child of seven, born to Laura and William Smith in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her father was a Baptist minister and day laborer and her mother a laundress. In , William Smith died in a work accident and his wife and son Bud passed away in The six remaining Smith children, including Bessie, were orphaned and left to be raised by an aunt. Living in poverty, Smith began singing as a street performer on Ninth Street, Chattanooga’s center of music and dance, with her guitar-playing brother Andrew. The first published reference of a performance by Smith—when she was only 14 years old—was in the May 8, , issue of the Indianapolis newspaper The Freedman. According to the review of her performance at Atlanta's 81 Theater, Smith captivated her audience through her contralto voice.

Smith refined her vocal style on the Black vaudeville stage. Her brother Clarence was a comedian and dancer in the Moses Stokes Traveling Show. Bessie was hired onto the circuit but shortly after left to join the Mother of the Blues, Ma Rainey,


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