Bessie Smith By Anna Horsman and Zack Laning

Bessie Smith  Bessie Smith was a violent woman. She was a very crazy woman and did some wild things. She was one of the top singers for classic blues. By the early 1920’s she was one of the most popular blues singers in classical blues.

Bessie young and old Bessie dancing Bessie with a crazy hat

 Education :little or none  Family background: born into poverty  Genres: blues,jazz  Occupation : singer  Instruments :vocals  Years active:  Labels: Columbia  Born: April 15, 1894  Died: September 26,1937[aged 43]  Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA  Education :little or none  Family background: born into poverty  Genres: blues,jazz  Occupation : singer  Instruments :vocals  Years active:  Labels: Columbia  Born: April 15, 1894  Died: September 26,1937[aged 43]  Clarksdale, Mississippi, USA

Smith’s career was cut short by a combination of the Great Depression and the advent of “talkies” which spelled the end for vaudeville. She never stopped performing,however. Smith continued touring and occasionally singing in clubs. In 1929, she appeared in a Broadway flop called “Pansy”, a musical in which, the top critics agreed, she was the only asset.

Death On September 26, 1937, Smith was severely injured in a car accident while traveling along U.S. Route 61 between Memphis, Tennessee and Clarksdale, Mississippi with her lover (and Lionel Hampton’s uncle), Richard Morgan, at the wheel. She was taken to Clarksdale's Afro-American Hospital where her right arm was amputated. She did not regain consciousness, dying that morning. Smith's funeral was held in Philadelphia on October 4, It was attended by about seven thousand people, according to contemporary newspaper reports. Far fewer mourners attended the burial at Mount Lawn Cemetery, in nearby Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania. Gee thwarted all efforts to purchase a stone, once or twice even pocketing money raised for that purpose. The grave remained unmarked until August 7, 1970, when a new tombstone was placed, paid for by singer Janis Joplin and Juanita Green, who, as a child, had done housework for Smith.

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