On September 26, 1937, Smith was severely injured in a car accident while traveling from a concert in Memphis to Clarksdale, Mississippi, with her companion Richard Morgan. She was taken to Clarksdale`s segregated Afro-Hospital, where she died.
In 1970, when singer Janis Joplin discovered that Smith`s grave was unmarked, she offered to pay for a stone. She shared the cost with Janita Green, who claimed she owed her successful, nonmusical career to Bessie Smith. According to Green, she was a little girl in a talent contest at the Standard Theatre where she was told by Smith after coming off stage, “You better stay in school, `cause you can`t
In 1970, when singer Janis Joplin discovered that Smith`s grave was unmarked, she offered to pay for a stone. She shared the cost with Janita Green, who claimed she owed her successful, nonmusical career to Bessie Smith. According to Green, she was a little girl in a talent contest at the Standard Theatre where she was told by Smith after coming off stage, “You better stay in school, `cause you can`t