Bessie smith combined natural earthiness and vigor with remarkable musical sensitivity. If you havent come across jackie kay before, buy a book and take a look youre in for a treat. Bessie smith lived in style and made her grand exit in twotoned pink velvet and a gold and silver coffin to an unmarked grave. Bessie smith author of undisputed queen of the blues. The film is directed by dee rees, with a screenplay by rees, christopher cleveland and bettina gilois. A beautiful melody of a book, bessie smith by jackie kay evokes the life of the great blueswoman through a provocative interweaving of fact, poetry, blues lyrics, and imaginings. She died on september 26, 1937 in clarksdale, mississippi, usa. Kay on the tempestuous life of blues singer bessie smith february 2021. Jjm blues singer alberta hunter, a contemporary of bessie smiths, said of bessie.
Inspired by gertrude ma rainey, bessie found that her deep, soulful voice was ideally suited to the new. Before becoming a fulltime writer, she worked as an editor for cambridge university press 196062, as lecturer in english at bishops stortford training college 19636, as assistant lecturer in english literature at the university of essex 196770, and as. As a young black girl growing up in glasgow, jackie kay found in bessie smith someone with whom she could identify and idolize. Based on a true incident, bessie smith and the night riders is a powerful story of facing down danger and standing up for whats right.
Biography of blues singer bessie smith written by award winning poet and novelist. Her fascinating and extraordinary outline mixes fact and fiction, poetry and prose as she relates the tempestuous life of the greatest blues singer who ever lived. These biographies, split between the harlem renaissance and the civil rights movement, allow readers to get a sense of the time period each subject lived in, by telling the stories of musicians, writers, and actors whose perseverance and unique qualities continue to set examples today. The novel opens as evan and his wife, izzy, welcome their first child. Her father, william smith, had died when she was a baby.
She holds a doctor of education in organizational leadership with emphasis in business, master of public administration, and bachelor of criminal justice. However, formatting rules can vary widely between applications and fields of interest or study. This is not a straightforward biography of bessie smith. Lecture series, in partnership with the bessie smith cultural center.
Bessie smith songbook by bessie smith, paperback barnes. Bessie smith songs downhearted blues by the early 1920s, smith had settled down and was living in philadelphia, and in 1923 she met and married a man named jack gee. Tempests first work of nonfiction, a short, radical theory of creativity about. Bessie smith april 15, 1894 september 26, 1937 was an american blues singer. Bessie smith july, 1892 september 21, 1937 was the most popular and successful female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s, and a strong influence on subsequent generations, including billie holiday, mahalia jackson, and janis joplin. Bessie smith, american singer, one of the greatest blues vocalists. Her passion for writing has resulted in the publication of three books. Author jeffrey blount to speak on new novel, social injustice in. Bessie smith was before his time, but he tells a colorful version of her story. Bessie smith was born on april 15, 1894 in chattanooga, tennessee, usa as elizabeth smith. The definitive biography of musical legend bessie smith. She is known to well for her dominance in the blues genre music in the span of around 1920s and 1930s. She is often referred to as the empress of the blues. Initially a dancer, she was encouraged to sing by ma rainey, in whose travelling show she worked.
May 16, 2015 bessie, hbos new biopic from writerdirector dee rees, tracks bessie smiths rise to fame as the empress of bluesand delivers stunning performances from starring actresses queen latifah. Apr 28, 2015 how bessie smith ushered in the jazz age the singer known as the empress of the blues is the subject of a new hbo biopic. Bessie smith and the night riders book the indianapolis public. Zadie smith on inhabiting the world of billie holiday. Chris albertson, author of bessie jerry jazz musician. Nicknamed the empress of the blues, she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. The american dream, the sandbox, the death of bessie smith, fam and yam acting edition for theater productions by edward albee oct 1, 1962 2. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and was a major influence on. With john holyfields luminous paintings setting the stage, readers will be cheering for bessie and emmarene all the way to their final bow. It is also about the awakening of a young girls the authors sense of herself as female and black. Get book recommendations, fiction, poetry, and dispatches from the world of literature in your inbox. The book even passed the acid test when i handed it off to my sister who, although never having heard a bessie smith song, loved it.
What was your impression of her before writing this book. He was the chairman of the fiction jury for the 1989 national book awards. I think this is the only bessie smith songbook available though im sure you can find some of these songs in other places. Heres a collection of non fiction and historical fiction books to help children learn about a past that should be highlighted far beyond these 28 days each year. Library shelves are crying out for more quality biographies on this amazing woman.
Lightnin hopkins, bessie smith, elmore james, robert johnson. In striving to enrich the lives of all readers, teachingbooks supports the first amendment and celebrates the right to read. Death of bessie smith, the sandbox, and the american dream. How bessie smith influenced a century of popular music. Frazier robert johnsons freewheeling jazz funeral brings to life important figures from the era bessie smith, thurgood marshall, and wallace thurmanconvincingly capturing their. Home literature 45 books to teach children about black history. Bessie smith and the night riders stauffacher, sue, holyfield, john on. Browse the full bessie cast and crew credits for actors by character names from the hbo original program.
Elaine feinstein was educated at newnham college, cambridge and has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the university of leicester. She took the rough, undisciplined blues form and converted it into exquisitely subtle jazz, without losing any of the power. Bessie smith by oliver, paul and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. The death of bessie smith the sandbox the american dream the death of bessie smith a play in eight scenes for ned rorem first performance april 21, 1960, berlin, germany. Lawrence, poet laureate ted hughes and anna akhmatova. Jazz night in america host christian mcbride breaks down her influence. Her fascinating and extraordinary outline mixes fact and fiction, poetry and. Emmarene johnson is thrilled when smith comes to concord, n. A littleknown episode in legendary blues singer bessie smith s career comes to life in this playfully fictionalized account. Even if you are not familiar with the wonderful music of bessie smith, i highly recommend this book. Bessie smith had her own traveling variety show, complete with canvas tent and roustabouts. Bessie smith smith, bessie national womens hall of fame. In this engrossing olio of biography, autobiography, poetry, and fiction, kay creates an edgy.
The truth about bessie smiths tragic death richard. The arrangements are good, though maybe a bit too simple. Frank dobie was a member of the faculty at the university of texas off and on from 1914 until his dismissal in 1947. When asked to write about beasley books and one of our specialties, i tried to.
Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of bessie smith and what it means. Pearson edexcel level 1level 2 gcse 91 english language. Bessie smith and the night riders by sue stauffacher, john. Bessie smith and the night riders by sue stauffacher. Bessie smith biography life, children, death, mother. List of songs with songfacts entries for bessie smith. Bessie smith, the empress of the blues the pioneering singer influenced blues, jazz, rock and beyond with her powerful voice and inventive delivery. Known as the empress of the blues, she was a bold, supremely confident artist who sang with breathtaking emotional intensity on such songs as down hearted blues, empty bed blues, and nobody knows you when youre down and out. Yes, this is catalogued as fiction, but had there actually been a dozen torchwielding riders. As black feminist critics daphne duval harrison and angela davis have explained in their books on the classic blues, bessie smith s songs are tales of. Numerous and frequentlyupdated resource results are available from this search. Sugar in my bowl is noticibly absent, as well as some other bessie favorites.
This beautiful book offers the most vivid evocation of bessie smith i have ever read. She is the author of a number of plays for television and radio and several biographies, including singer bessie smith, writer d. At the age of nine, bessie smith was singing on the streets of chattanooga, tennessee. Beginning of a dialog window, including tabbed navigation to register an account or sign in to an existing account. The legend of bessie smith, who was born on 15 april 1984, and died, aged just 43, on 26 september 1937, has created an extra layer to what was a fascinating and monumental career. Bessie smith was certainly the greatest blues singer who lived and probably one of the. Because of this loss, bessie began jotting down her thoughts and feelings in a journal as a coping mechanism to heal. Bessie smith and the night riders stauffacher, sue, holyfield, john on amazon. I was a small child when i heard about what happened to bessie smith and billie holiday. The truth about bessie smiths tragic death richard pennington. Watch the music video and discover trivia about this classic pop song now.
Reliable information about the coronavirus covid19 is available from the world health organization current situation, international travel. Home home blog updates the truth about bessie smiths tragic death february, 2018 richard blues music, history, racism 1 comments j. Bessie smith april 15, 1894 september 26, 1937 was an early american blues singer born in chattanooga, tennessee. The talking book and house of hayduk, and also shares some stories from. The definitive biography of bessie smith, the great singer known as the empress of the blues considered by many to be the greatest blues singer of all time. She joined a traveling vaudeville show as a dancer, but it was soon apparent that her singing talent outshone her dance ability. The picture book fictionalizes the story by inserting a young girl as narrator, but bessie smith is one of the most compelling individuals from an era full of remarkable people. Bessie smith by elaine feinstein goodreads share book. Complete your bessie smith with louis armstrong collection. Louis blues books picked by phd and masters students from stanford, harvard, berkeley. Her father died soon after her birth and her mother and two of her brothers died by the time she was eight or nine. Perhaps it doesnt matter since the greatest blues singer of all time has never really died even if this is the first attempt to tell her whole story as it was, as she was. During the mid20s she toured with her troupe throughout the southeastern united states, working her way across north carolina and much of the ohio and mississippi river valleys. The true story confirms that bessie s mother, laura smith, died when bessie was eight or nine.
Bessie smith was born into poverty in chattanooga, tennessee, one of seven children of william and laura smith. Even though she cant afford a ticket to see the great blues singer bessie smith perform, emmarene listens. Bessie did not have access to an education because her parents had died and her elder sister was taking care of her. The personal life of bessie smith was a bit complicated after she married a security guard jack gee on 7 june 1923. Oclcs webjunction has pulled together information and resources to assist library staff as they consider how to handle coronavirus. Her fascinating and extraordinary outline mixes fact and fiction, poetry and prose. Bessie is a story weve seen before, complete with feathers, spangles, and bootleg liquor as the action meanders through the 1920s, but a script about a queer black woman smith was bisexual by. The death of bessie smith is a powerful drama that bares the ugly and shameful circumstances surrounding the tragic death of a great negro blues singer. Known as the empress of the blues, bessie smith was a successful vaudeville entertainer who became the highest paid african american performer of the roaring twenties. Chris albertson is the acknowledged authority on bessie smith. Black blues singer bessie smith singlehandedly scares off ku klux klan. Bessie smith the bessie smith story volume 4 discogs. Some of the chapter epigraphs, moreover from blues lyrics by bessie smith, ida.
Smith decided to end the relationship with gee when he had affair with gertrude saunders in 1929. Schlosspark theater the first american performance of the death of bessie smith was presented at the york playhouse in new york city on january 24, 1961. Of russianjewish ancestry, she has been influenced by russian writers, especially marina tsvetayeva and anna akhmatova. Readers will be inspired to learn about the lives of sixteen wellknown africanamericans who overcame. Bessie smith is the author of undisputed queen of the blues 4. Bessie had such a ringing vibration in that voice of hers, and her tones boomed out so clear and clanging full, you could hear her singing all the way down the street.
Bessie smith and the night riders by sue stauffacher book cover, description, publication history. Styled the empress of the blues, bessie smith would eventually be buried in an unmarked grave after her death at age 43. Smith began singing on stage in 19 in atlanta and by 1920 she was a star, regularly touring the south playing for black audiences, her main constituency. Like in the movie, her oldest sister, viola, assumed the responsibility of raising her and her four other siblings. The author relies entirely on secondary sources, such as chris albertsons pathbreaking biography bessie, but disagrees where she feels like it, e. Bessie is an hbo tv film about the american blues singer bessie smith, and focuses on her transformation as a struggling young singer into the empress of the blues.
There she sees the night riders gathering, torches lit and obviously up to no good. Song lyrics by bessie smith, little richard and others comment on the emotions and actions of the characters. An american jazz musician essay 1437 words 6 pages. A summary of the death of bessie smith in s bessie smith. Feb 01, 1985 elaine feinstein was educated at newnham college, cambridge and has been awarded an honorary doctorate from the university of leicester. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans.
This 38song book is a tribute to the work of bessie smith, unquestionably the greatest of the vaudeville blues singers. We sell high quality lps 45s cds blurays dvds vhs laserdiscs books magazines comic books. Bessie stewartbanks is a serial entrepreneur, author, motivational speaker, and mentor. Bessie smith, the empress of the blues the pioneering singer influenced blues, jazz, rock and beyond with her powerful voice and inventive delivery, displaying a. Bessie smith bessie smith is an american jazz musician in the genre of blues. Topics bessie smith, blues, oldies, rythym, mikeslroh, dead singers, folk music.
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