Left us on this day (Sept. 26) in 1937: influential blues & jazz - TopicsExpress



          

Left us on this day (Sept. 26) in 1937: influential blues & jazz singer Bessie Smith (vehicle collision, age 43), often referred to as The Empress of the Blues & considered one of the greatest singers of the ’20s & ’30s; she scored a significant 1923 hit with her first release, a coupling of Gulf Coast Blues & Downhearted Blues; it, along with her St. Louis Blues (1925) & Empty Bed Blues have all been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame; Bessie worked in live theater, making it to Broadway, & appeared in the 1929 film version of St. Louis Blues; Bessie moved over to swing in the early-’30s thanks to legendary talent scout John Hammond, who brought her in to record four sides for Okeh Records, which proved to be her final recordings; Bessies grave remained unmarked until August 7, 1970, when a tombstone paid for by singer Janis Joplin was erected; Dory Previn wrote a song of Janis Joplin & the tombstone called Stone for Bessie Smith on her 1971 album, Mythical Kings & Iguanas; in 1989, Bessie was given a posthumous Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award & was inducted into the R&R Hall of Fame as an early influence…
Posted on: Fri, 26 Sep 2014 21:11:42 +0000

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