Bessie Smith sings the title song composed by W. C. Handy in her 1929 film “St. Louis Blues.” Blues singer and legend Bessie Smith was born April 15,1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Smith and her brother Andrew sang and danced on the streets of that city to raise money for their impo...
I bought Bessie Smith and Odetta records, and one night, I was at this party and I did an imitation of Odetta. I’d never sung before, and I came out with this huge voice.” Joplin and Green’s gesture with the headstone moved the artist Dory Previn to write the song “Stone For ...
Bessie Smith, American singer, one of the greatest blues vocalists. Known as the ‘Empress of the Blues,’ she was a bold, supremely confident artist who sang with breathtaking emotional intensity on such songs as ‘Down Hearted Blues,’‘Empty Bed Blue