How Did Bessie Smith Affect Society

The Empress of Blues – Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith is the best blues singer of the twentieth century because the legacy she left behind still affects us today. Bessie Smith is known as the “Empress of Blues”, and this title is well deserved. Bessie Smith is the most influential and significant blues singer of the twentieth century. Bessie Smith's ability to have full control over the genre was amazing because it allowed her to have a soulful but powerful performance ("Bessie Smith Queen of the Blues"). Smith's work ethic that was drilled in by her older sister helped her launch and continue on with her successful career. Because of Smith's work ethic, she was able to rise out of poverty and into fame (Forman). Bessie Smith influenced many other singers like Billie Holiday, Janis Joplin, and more ("Bessie Smith"), and she also had role in changing the musical landscape for African American women (Machado). During her prime, Bessie Smith sold thousands of records and was well paid ("Bessie Smith Queen of the Blues"). She signed with Columbia Records and the focus of her songs were about a woman's control over her body and sexuality (Machado). Smith's success gave hope to

oppressed African-Americans and represented a "triumph over white domination" ("Bessie Smith Queen of the Blues"). She left behind a legacy that is incomparable.
Bessie Smith was born on April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and died on September 26, 1937 from an automobile accident outside of Clarksdale, Mississippi. Smith lost both of her parents at a young age, so she was raised by her aunt and her older siblings. Around the time she lost her mom and two of her siblings, she started to perform as a street singer accompanied by her younger brother playing the guitar. After a few years of being a street singer, she began performing in minstrel show as a dancer, and met Ma Rainey who took Smith under her wing. In the following decade, Smith performed in various theaters on the circus circuit ("Bessie Smith"). Smith gained independent success through these performances.
Bessie Smith had a rough childhood. She was born into poverty, both her parents passed away when she was very young, and her skin color played a huge role in her life. Growing up, her family all lived in a one room shack, but then moved into a small apartment after both of her untimely parents’ death. Because of her parents’ early death, Bessie Smith and her siblings were in the care of her aunt but mostly her older sister, Viola. In order to have a steadier income, Smith started to perform as a street singer then moved onto to work in a minstrel show where she became very well-known with her incredible voice ("Bessie Smith." United States History). Also, Bessie Smith has faced racism in her profession and early life and consequently became tougher through the experience. There is no doubt that Bessie Smith was ridiculed as a child because of her skin color, but their insults that were meant to tear her down actually helped her tremendously in the entertainment world where she was constantly judged because of her skin tone. Whites believed that she was “too rough” meaning too black. However, she never had a desire to become successful in the white music and acting world because she did not care enough to please and imitate whites. Despite the difficult challenges that consumed Bessie Smith’s life, Smith became one of the most successful African-American entertainer during her time ("Bessie Smith." SparkNotes). She rose out of poverty and into fame with her alluring voice.
Bessie Smith’s voice was captivating because her seductive voice and acting abilities mesmerized audiences. She valued diction because it allowed her to sing with emotion which was a first for jazz recordings. Smith’s voice penetrated people’s inner being because she projected her personality and emotions while she sang. She took extreme sensitivity with every word she sang which means that she gave each word a meaning and sometimes a physical meaning, and she was subtle but had a powerful voice that resonated within a person, reached out to every audience member/listener with her earthy, lovely tones, and filled a large room without any amplification which is called projection. She dominated the stage. However, the most remarkable ability of Bessie Smith was her pitch control. She handled songs with ease, and it was natural because nothing about her remarkable voice sounded forced and artificial. Her voice set her apart from shouters also because she demonstrated versatility with mastered techniques of moaning, growling, inflection, and lyricism, and her innovative covers of her favorite blues song also helped differentiate Smith with other singers. Smith knew how to work her way in and out of notes and phrases and her voice was so hypnotic that people could not stop watching her even if they tried and her sensitivity to the demands of the recording studio helped contribute to her very successful career as an entertainer (Dupuis).
Smith’s voice landed her a recording contract with Columbia Records. When Bessie Smith settled in Philadelphia, Clarence Williams, a representative of Columbia Record, discovered her. She was signed in 1923 and quickly rose to stardom. Smith made her first recordings which included classics like “Downhearted Blues”, her most popular hit, and “Gulf Coast Blues”. She originally made $125 for her first release, but she made a deal where she will receive $200 per issued selection ("The Empress of Blues-Bessie Smith Story"). The recordings were so popular that about 780,000 copies were sold, and this event tremendously helped Smith propel into the blues spotlight. With her smooth and powerful voice, Bessie Smith became a successful recording artist and was in high demand for tours and performances. She toured extensively and made about $2000 per live performance. Therefore, by 1924, she became the most paid African-American entertainer and broadened and expanded her fan base ("Bessie Smith").
Smith’s fan base is still growing today proving how influential and incredible she truly was. In 2002, Smith’s recording of “Downhearted Blues” was included into the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry who pick songs that are “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant”. Most of her songs reflected Smith’s life, so most of them were about love, betrayal, and a woman wronged. Some may even say that her songs were autobiographical. In “Downhearted Blues”, the song’s main theme, unrequited love, is obvious in the first line of lyrics. Smith was also known for having sexual innuendos in her songs. In “Kitchen Man”, she disguises the true meaning of the song by using the word “kitchen”. The sexually suggestive songs were controversial mostly with the whites because it made references to sexual activity and allowed discussion of sex with black men and women that white women could hear. In short, sexual songs were not as popular among the whites, but they made a solid, good part of blues music (Till). Even though she was not as popular with the white audience, she was still able to attract large crowds to her performances which proves that she is the greatest blues singer because she did not adapt her vocal style to better fit the whites. This inspired and influenced artists.
Several other artists were influenced by her success and talent. For example, Janis Joplin was greatly influenced by Bessie Smith. When Janis Joplin first heard track recordings of Bessie Smith, she wanted to become a blues singer just like Smith, and some even said that she was the reincarnation of Bessie Smith, “The Empress of Blues”. Janis Joplin’s sister, Laura Joplin said that the two were so similar in their vocal style and personality. They both were sassy and powerful in their performances, bisexual, foulmouthed, and wore bright clothes and feathers (Braziel). When individuals listen to a track from Janis Joplin, they would hear the “Bessie way” meaning that she had a similar singing style to Smith because Joplin adored Smith. For example, “Trouble in Mind” by Janis Joplin resembles the sway and swing of Bessie Smith’s voice, and Janis Joplin has made covers of songs by Bessie Smith. In addition, reviewers, critics, and past workers of Bessie Smith all had the same reaction when they first heard Janis Joplin. They were all shocked because Joplin reminded them of Smith by throwing herself into her performance and her authentic voice. Joplin even said, referring to Smith, that “She showed me the air and taught me how to fill it” which means that she was not a yeller but had a voice that resonated and filled a large room just like Bessie Smith. Janis Joplin idolized Bessie Smith so much that she paid for a headstone for Bessie Smith and strived to be just as great as the legendary “Empress of Blues” (Braziel). The two were both signed to Columbia Records, well-known cultural icons that helped defined their separate eras, went against societal norms, gender roles, and sexuality, and last of all, legends. They had similar struggles regarding their race. For example, Bessie Smith was born into a time of deep oppression and segregation with the Jim Crow law, and Janis Joplin was born into a time of war, segregation, and racial oppression. However, both artists did not let this challenge stop them from pursuing a career as an entertainer. Also, both were very publically sexual. For example, their songs were very sexually suggestive and sometimes too suggestive for the white audience. They wore bizarre outfits, had multiple sex partners and a one-night-stand attitude meaning no commitment, did contraceptives, and drank alcohol excessively. They perfectly represented the stereotypes associated with bisexual, no commitment, promiscuity, and basically unpredictable people. Some even identify them as “spoiled identities’ meaning that they weren’t bisexual or in between, but rather, they were nowhere. Despite the challenges that they faced, both went on to be very successful entertainers like how Bessie Smith became known as “The Empress of Blues” and went on to influence all sorts of musicians and artists (Braziel).
Other entertainers that Bessie Smith has influenced are Billie Holiday and Frank Sinatra.

Bessie Smith impacted Billie Holiday because Holiday learned a lot through Smith’s records by thinking that Smith was kind of a teacher. Even though Billie Holiday did not have a voice as powerful as Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday’s musical interpretations and phrasing were similar to Bessie Smith. Frank Sinatra was impacted by Bessie Smith because he believed that she was an early blues genius. Sinatra’s voice was more polished than Smith’s voice, but he did find inspiration in the emotions she sang with in the records. Bessie Smith was a highly influential artist that had the power to help people with their music even after her death proving that she truly is “The Empress of Blues” ("Bessie Smith"

SparkNotes).
Bessie Smith also changed the musical landscape for women-especially African-American women. She did this through her fearlessness, determination, confidence, and incredible talent. She proved that women were no longer relegated to the church or to private places, nor did they have to be light-skinned in order to be successful, and nor did they have to look innocent to attract attention. Rather, they needed confidence and talent. Smith’s powerful voice and charisma took command of any room she occupied, and she sang songs about how women should take back control of their bodies and not be embarrassed to display their sexual desires. She shaped not only the sound but attitude of the blues, and many artists from Beyoncé to Nicki Minaj has Bessie Smith and as well as other female artists to thank for because they paved the way for today’s female artists. Beyoncé is the closest thing we have to earlier blues artists like Bessie Smith because she testifies for women cultural and sexual needs. Bessie Smith had a big role when she and other strong, female artists altered the musical landscape for female artists today (Machado).
To many African-Americas, Bessie Smith was a blessing. She was a blessing because she represented a triumph over the white race that, at the time, dominated the entertainment industry. As stated in the previous paragraph, Bessie Smith paved the way for many aspiring African-American entertainers. During her time, African-Americans were oppressed and segregated. Slavery may have been abolished, but the unfair treatment of African-Americans never went away. It was as strong as ever. Therefore, Bessie Smith’s extremely successful career helped people realize that talent is not subjective. Rather, it was objective because people of all races were talented, not just the whites. Bessie Smith left behind a rich and wonderful legacy, and her talent cannot be matched. Even though she came close, Janis Joplin may never reach the height of Bessie Smith’s astonishing talent no matter how hard she may try. Bessie Smith’s career symbolizes the well need triumph over the white supremacy of the entertainment world ("Bessie Smith Queen of the Blues").
During the Great Depression, Bessie Smith found herself in a tough spot. Because the stock market crashed, more and more people were plunged into poverty and could not afford the basic necessities like food and shelter. Since they were too poor to buy the necessities, Bessie Smith’s record sales decreased substantially and her shows were being canceled. Therefore, Bessie Smith found herself adjusting her tour schedule and relied fully on the shows to make ends meet. With her main revenue and shows being shut down or cancelled, Bessie Smith had to book shows herself. She cut corners to get by, and during this time she recorded her last two songs, “Safety Mama” and “Need a Little Sugar in my Bowl”, with Columbia Records. After nine long years, 160 track recordings, and hundreds of thousands of records sold, Bessie Smith’s left Columbia Records. Smith’s work ethic was amazing ("Bessie Smith" SparkNotes).
Bessie Smith will forever be known as “The Empress of Blues” because she deserves the title with her incredible talent. Her ability to throw herself into her song helped separate her from all the other aspiring artists and contributed to her success as an entertainer. In addition, she became the highest paid African-American entertainer during her heyday. Despite her skin color and sexuality, she received the respect and attention of the public audience with her powerful and alluring voice. She also influenced major musicians like Billie Holiday, Frank Sinatra, and Janis Joplin whose talent almost matched Smith’s talent. Also, Bessie Smith was one of the major figures to the changing of the musical landscape which tremendously helped pave the way for female entertainers. Bessie Smith never changed herself to satisfy the white audience, but she did adapt her sound to fit into what the recording studio wanted but still incorporated her original style into her songs. Bessie Smith left behind a legacy that is still incomparable.