VIDEO OF THE WEEK-BESSIE SMITH

Bessie Smith made her first recording this week in February, 1923. Her “Downhearted Blues” sold 800,000 copies and started her on the road to fame as the “empress of the blues.” She was injured in a tragic accident on Highway 61 outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi and later died at what is now known as the Riverside Hotel.

Bessie Smith made a rare appearance in the film “St. Louis Blues” from which this clip is taken.

The J. Paul Leonard Library has materials on Bessie Smith if you’d like to learn more about her. Below are some suggestions:

Words and songs of Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday, and Nina Simone : sound motion, blues spirit, and African memory / Melanie E. Bratcher.

Bessie Smith [sound recording]. Vol. 1.

Bessie Smith, empress of the blues / compilation and biography by Chris Albertson ; notes on Bessie Smith’s singing style by Gunther Schuller

Bessie Smith / Elaine Feinstein.