Bessie Smith: Empress Of The Blues

Known as the “Empress Of Blues”, Bessie Smith was said to have revolutionized the vocal end of Blues Music. She showed a lot of pride as an independent African-American woman. Her style in performance and lyrics often reflected her lifestyle. Bessie Smith was one of the first female jazz artists, and she paved the way for many musicians who followed.

The Blues also became a hit in the 1920s after Mamie Smith recorded “Crazy Blues” and it grew into a huge part of the Jazz Industry. African Americans were given credit for the creation of the Blues industry of music as well. Bessie Smith was known as the “most famous of the 1920s Blues singers.”

Ella Fitzgerald had a difficult childhood in the 1920’s with her family’s financial struggles. While many

Like her mentor, Bessie Smith was a popular Classical blues singer, but her music was far more widespread than Rainey's. While Rainey's music was appealed to the South, Smith's music was prized in both the North and South, thus earning her the title of “Empress of the Blues.” She was a violent, ill-tempered woman who sang with a deep, raspy voice and, though her recording career was brief, it was extremely prolific.

February of every year is known as National Black History Month. There are many African American people who made a great impact on all African-Americans today. In honor of this month, though, I have chosen to write about Marian Anderson. Marian Anderson was a singer who had made a great impact on many of the black singers in the past. She was one of the first female African-American to perform with the New York Metropolitan Opera in 1955. Some of Marian’s last words to the public were “I have a great belief in the future of my people and my country.”

She was born in 1937 in Jacksonville, Florida, to Billy Daniels a jazz musician. Growing up she was always surrounded by music. She has said that her dad influenced her taste in music from an early age. He would play soothing blues and jazz tunes during her early life. When she was 17, Daniels decided to get her first radio job at a rhythm and blues station in Jacksonville. While at night she would sing at locals nightclubs. Daniels was popular for her

Around 1903 when my parent's died to survive, my brother, Andrew, and I began to perform a musical act on the streets of Chattanooga. I sang and my brother accompanied me on the guitar, often in front of the White Elephant Saloon. In 1912, when Clarence my older brother returned to Chattanooga, he persuaded the managers of his troupe, Lonnie and Cora Fisher, to give me an audition. Consequently, I was hired as a dancer with the Moses Stokes Company, to perform in a show that included the Mother of the Blues, Ma Rainey. Intriguing rumors surround our meeting—legend has it that Ma Rainey literally kidnapped me, that she and her husband forced me to tour with their show, teaching me in the process how to sing the blues. Some rumors say we had

In the 1920’s, blues was a very popular and dominating genre in the music industry. Generally, the blues was sung by African American women because according to the book entitled, “Blues Legacies and Black Feminism” by Angela Davis, “…The most widely heard individual purveyors of the blues—were women.” (Davis 4) The blues delivers certain emotions such as sadness, loneliness, love, sex, and feelings about the certain circumstances the artist may be going through at the time. Two women who dominate this style of music are Gertrude “Ma” Rainey and Bessie Smith. As stated by “Gay & Lesbian Biography”, “The careers of Rainey and Smith are closely interwoven.” Ma Rainey is a woman who is admired for both her amazing vocals and her ability to entertain. Bessie Smith is a woman who started off as a background dancer for her peer Ma Rainey, but then went on to emulate her by outdoing her success. Both women are very talented musicians who can not only sing and entertain, but they also create an impact as two of the most influential feminists during the 1920’s who helped shape the blues into what it is today.

Bessie Coleman was born in Atlanta, Texas, 1892,few years later she moved to Waxahachie,Texas where she is living on a farm. When she was nine,her dad left to go back to the Indian Territory,and her mom didn’t want to go with him , so he left. All the time she would skip school to help her mom pick cotton. Years later when Coleman graduated from high school, she went to college at Langston University in Oklahoma. After the first semester she was forced to dropped out because she didn’t have enough money to stay in college.

Gertrude “Ma” Rainey is a pivotal figure in the history of American music. She was the first person to ever perform blues and the first internationally known African American female blues singer. Her music acted as inspiration for many distinguished figures during the Harlem Renaissance, and continues to influence contemporary music and art.

In chapter three, Bessie sings a ballad that describes the orphan's life as well. The ballad speaks of orphans' loneliness and sad life. At the end of the ballad, Bessie tells Jane, "Come, Miss Jane, don't cry," and Jane is wondering "how could she divine the morbid suffering to which I was prey?" (54; ch. 3) The last stanza of the ballad shows almost the exact description of Helen Burns's conviction that death will bring the utmost happiness and comforts:

At the mention jazz music, that person will first think of is likely to be a great figure with a clown image, nicknamed Satchmo. The man was Louis Armstrong. He is a husky singer, often with a trumpet in his hand. He played dramatic works of simple structure in Orleans jazz style and with the accompaniment of Dick jazz music. Each of the books on jazz music will mention his name. Louis Armstrong was to jazz music what Bach is to classical music, Presley is to rock music (Berrett 230). This essay will have an introduction of the king of jazz music -- Louis Armstrong and his great influence on jazz history.

     The Blues musical move was prominent during the 1920s and '30s, a time known as the Harlem Renaissance. Blues music characteristically told the story of

There are many famous Cool Jazz players that are highly known by many jazz fans. Some of the highly known people are Lennie Tristano, Dave Pell, and Gerry Mulligan. The other famous cool jazz players are Dave Brubeck and Shorty Rogers. But, the most important person is(as said earlier) Miles Davis.

In the 1960s as the genre became more popular icons such as John Coltrane and Miles Davis became overly remarkable successes.