Media Romare Bearden + Empress of the Blues
Can you hear that red-hot trumpet? How about the full, rich tones in the vocals of Bessie Smith? Romare Bearden makes music with his art. Learn how to “hear” a painting.
Bessie Smith Jazz Singer
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Born
April 15, 1894
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Died
September 26, 1937
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Country
United States of America
Bessie Smith was known as the “Empress of the Blues” for the majesty and power with which she belted out tunes. Her unforgettably amazing voice established her as the classical blues singer.
Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, where she was coached by blues singer Ma Rainey, Smith was touring the South by the time she was in her teens.
In 1923, she headed for the recording studios of New York City. Her first release, “Down-Hearted Blues,” sold more than 750,000 copies in one month. In coming years, she would record with all the top jazz musicians, including Fletcher Henderson, James P. Johnson, and Louis Armstrong.
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The Music of
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For the most part, only some African American audiences were privileged to catch her earliest live performances. Smith sang at speakeasies, rent parties, and “buffet flats” (private apartments that African Americans rented for the night in the era of hotel segregation). She also appeared at the Lafayette Theatre, the Lincoln Theatre, and a summer tent show dubbed the “Harlem Frolics.”
Standing over six feet tall and weighing more than 200 pounds, Smith had an imposing stage presence. Her powerful physique was matched by the strength and sweep of her voice and her personal manner. Smith’s fierce business acumen, toughness, and heavy drinking set her in stark contrast to the petite, demure white singers of the day.
Bessie Smith’s evocative voice and style ultimately captivated Black and white audiences alike. Her electrifying stage presence served her well in film and theater, too: Smith starred in the movie St. Louis Blues in 1929 and substituted for Billie Holiday in the musical show Stars Over Broadway in 1935.
St. Louis Blues, RKO Productions, Inc., 1929. Featuring Bessie Smith, Fletcher Henderson, and James P. Johnson. Produced at Long Island’s Gramercy Studio in late June of 1929, this all-Black musical short is the story of a no-account husband who cheats on his long-suffering wife, played by Bessie Smith in her only film appearance. Look for James P. Johnson as the pianist as the Fletcher Henderson Band plays.
 I n t e r s e c t i o n s |
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Smith sang with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra. |
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She recorded a number of tunes with pianist James P. Johnson. |
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Langston Hughes praised her in his essay “The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain.” |
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Smith performed at the Lafayette Theatre. |
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She was photographed by Carl Van Vechten, whose social mixers she regularly attended. |
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Video Bio
Video Bio
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