Bessie smith biography 1920s fashion

American blues singer (–)

For the blues singer from St. Louis, see Bessie Mae Smith.

Musical artist

Bessie Smith (April 15, – September 26, ) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age.

Nicknamed the "Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the s.

Bessie smith biography 1920s fashion

Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in , she is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and was a major influence on fellow blues singers, as well as jazz vocalists.^[1]

Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Smith was young when her parents died, and she and her six siblings survived by performing on street corners.

She began touring and performed in a group that included Ma Rainey, and then went out on her own. Her successful recording career with Columbia Records began in , but her performing career was cut short by a car crash that killed her at the age of

Biography

Early life

The census indicates that her family rep