Bessie Smith
1894–1937
The “Empress of the Blues” — the most popular and highest-paid Black performer of the 1920s, whose big, unamplified voice defined classic (vaudeville) blues on record.
rose through Black vaudeville and the tent-show circuit to become the leading blues singer of the 1920s. She began recording for Columbia in 1923; “Down Hearted Blues” sold in huge numbers and earned her the billing “Empress of the Blues” — the most popular and highest-paid Black performer of the decade. Her phrasing and sheer unamplified vocal power set the standard for classic (vaudeville) blues. The 1925 sessions, including “St. Louis Blues” with on cornet, are landmarks of the era. Her career waned with the Depression and the shift toward swing, and she died after a car accident in Mississippi in 1937.