Bessie Smith

Artist Playlists

About Bessie Smith

The original tough-mama prototype for nearly every female blues singer to come, hard-living, big-voiced Bessie Smith was also the first blues singer with a mega-hit recording career, achieved in part via collaborations with some of the most notable musicians of her era. In her prime in the 1920s and 1930s, she was the highest-paid black entertainer in the U.S., and her influence persists to this day.

HOMETOWN
Chattanooga, TN, United States
BORN
April 15, 1894
GENRE
Blues

Select a country or region

Africa, Middle East, and India

Asia Pacific

Europe

Latin America and the Caribbean

The United States and Canada