Bessie Smith

Both Bessie Smith and Janis Joplin transcended the limitations of words through manmade sounds. At the end of “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” Smith interspersed sound with phrases. While she hummed “mmmmm” to demonstrate frustration with the speaker’s situation, Smith wove in phrases like “I felt so low” and “not one penny / And my friends I haven’t any.” She portrayed the bitterness and nostalgia people feel after loss. This lyric choice only made the ballad’s content more poignant. Joplin borrowed this technique in “Me and Bobby McGee” to display regret towards a past lover. While singing varied combinations of “la” and “da,” she dropped in phrases like “my Bobby,” and “I call him my lover, call him my man.” Her performed feelings were multifaceted. The soft sounds conveyed tenderness, the louder ones reflected “unabashed sexuality,” and the roughest notes hinted at sadness (“Controversy” para 5). In the end, the most valuable thing…

Gaga are just a few ladies that have made it big in the music industry. They have set many records along the way but it wasn’t always like that for women in the music industry. The blues that we know now used to be known as “race music.” (Rockin’ out textbook – page 30) This type of music was sung by mostly whites but in 1920, African American singers were introduced into the blues music. (Rockin’ out textbook – page 30) A lady named Mamie Smith was a woman that was well known for her singing…

Listening to the music produced by Bessie Smith called St. Louis Blues, some musical aspects come out clearly. Coming to be known as one of the fundamental jazz plays in history, it has comprised of the blues aspect in the rhythmic flow, a quality that had not been explored. The song by Bessie Smith uses the famous saxophone as the foremost redundant melodic flow that accompanies by Bessie Smith singing. There is also the vibraphone that is played in the background. The combination of these…

even of all time, Bessie Smith. She has set the stage for not only African-American singers but female black singers who came after her. Although Bessie Smith may have been born into misfortune and poverty, she was determined to not let that define her. Bessie was born on April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. During her childhood Bessie experienced quite a bit of loss throughout her childhood, her father died before…

The blues originated from African-Americans on Southern plantations in the nineteenth century. Slaves, ex-slaves, and families of slaves were the main creators of blues music (Kopp, AllAboutJazz.com). Bessie Smith is known as the most popular female blues singer in the 1920s. Smith was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee on the fifteenth of April of 1894. Growing up, Smith did not really have her parents in her life due to them both dying while she was young, around eight or nine years-old (Editors…

In Gayl Jones’ Corregidora one of the main texts focus and themes is centered and founded upon the blues. Through Ursa; the main characters singing of this specific genre of music, the reader is forced to recognize that Ursa’s singing ties in completely to her defined belief that her sole purpose is to “make generations” and her singing in a way fulfills that purpose as she in body can’t. The reader is given evidence to this by past recollections in the text, current statements that repeatedly…

After reading the textbook, the modules, and listening to the blues, there is definitely a different sound to each artist, time period and type of blues. I enjoyed all the selections for their unique characteristics and respect for the music and its artists, however there were some types that I preferred. Of the blues selections provided in the modules Keb Mo’s blues song “Am I Wrong” was by far my favorite. I believe that I prefered this blues songs over the others was for its upbeat feeling…

Smith was born April 15, 1894, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was an independent African-American woman who was born into a large and poor family. She was one of eight children. At a young age, both her parents and her two brothers passed away. Bessie started singing and dancing on the street with her brother which helped her poor family financially. Her career started when she got a job with Vaudeville. Was given the name “Empress of the Blues” for her ability to endure the obstacles that a…

Bessie Smith was one of the women discussed in the video. She grew up in poverty and she had a brother. She started singing the blues, and she realized she had an unusual voice. Because her parents struggled with only one source of income, she started to use her voice to help make income by singing on the street. One of her most famous songs was "Down Hearted Blues", which got her a record deal with Columbia Records. She was also trained under Ma Rainey. She earned the title of "Empress of the…

Bessie Smith was born in April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She began singing in 1923 at a young age. In 1923 she signed a contract with Columbia Records. She became the highest-paid black performers of her time, with hits like “Downhearted Blues”. White people used to say Bessie Smith was to black, and that only pushed Bessie. Her life and her come back were cut short from a car accident outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi. She died from her injuries on September 26, 1937, when she was 43…