Lyrics | Artists | Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith

A hugely popular blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s, Bessie Smith is one of the genre's most iconic names, influencing many generations of blues singers following her premature death in 1937. Her father, a labourer and part-time Baptist preacher, died before she could walk and by the time she was nine she'd also lost her mother and a brother and was effectively raised in near-poverty by her elder sister. To try and raise some money she and brother Andrew busked on the streets of Chattanooga - Bessie sang and danced while Andrew played guitar. She later joined her eldest brother ...