Known as the Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Her date of birth is uncertain and is said to be 1894-6, 1898, and 1900. Bessie's career began when Bessie was discovered by Ma Rainey when Ma Rainey’s revue, the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, passed through Chattanooga around 1912 and she heard Bessie sing. Ma Rainey took Bessie on the road with her. Ma Rainey was Bessie's mentor and Bessie stayed with Ma Rainey’s show until 1915. Bessie then joined the T.O.B.A. vaudeville circuit and gradually built up her fan-base in the south and along the east coast. She was one of the most popular Blues singers in vaudeville during the early 1920s. In 1923, she made her recording debut on Columbia Records. She recorded Gulf Coast Blues and Down Hearted Blues. The record sold more than 750,000 copies that same year. Bessie Smith had a huge moving voice that was strong and passionate. On September 27, 1937, Bessie Smith was in an automobile accident just below Clarksdale, MS, on the main road to Memphis. Her right arm was nearly severed in the crash, and Bessie died from loss of blood.

[ click here to go to the next Bad-Ass Boulevard Broad ]

[ click here to return to the Divas of Gospel, Jazz & Blues ]