1894-1937
Blues Singer

Empress of the Blues.

Born in poverty in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bessie Smith became the greatest of blues singers. Supposedly discovered when she was eleven by blues singer Ma Rainey, Smith toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and tent shows in the South. During her lifetime the blues was regarded as a form of black expression; she performed for mostly black audiences and recorded for what were classified as race records that were not stocked in record shops catering to whites. Unlike Louis Armstrong, who reached all audiences, Smith was unknown or unavailable to most white Americans during her career. She was a black artist working with traditional black material for a black public; nevertheless, Smith gave special performances for white audiences in some large cities.

Recordings.

Smith reached her own audience through 160 records. She made her first identified recordings in 1923, "Gulf Coast Blues...