Bessie Smith
Legendary blues vocalist
Bessie Smith (1894–1937) was an American blues singer whose powerful voice and emotional intensity made her the most popular female blues artist of the 1920s.
Known as the "Empress of the Blues," she recorded with Louis Armstrong and shaped the sound of classic blues.
Her name invokes the golden age of the genre: She sang that song like Bessie Smith herself.
One who sings professionally
- contraltoLowest female vocal range
- torch songsEmotional songs about lost love
- Columbia RecordsOldest surviving American label
- St. Louis BluesMissouri NHL franchise
call and response · belting · vaudeville · juke joint · phonograph
Black arts explosion, 1920s
- Roaring TwentiesProsperous 1920s era
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- speakeasyIllicit liquor establishment
- Great MigrationVast collective relocation
Jazz Age · 1920s · flappers · Cotton Club · Apollo Theater · Chattanooga · radio broadcast · talking pictures
First to forge ahead
- pioneerEarly explorer or settler
- influencePower to affect others
- Billie Holiday"Strange Fruit" vocalist
- Mahalia JacksonRenowned gospel vocalist
Janis Joplin · Aretha Franklin · rock and roll · rhythm and blues · civil rights · Black excellence · cultural icon · posthumous
Having great strength
- expressiveShowing feelings outwardly
- emotiveArousing strong feelings
- resonantDeeply vibrating with sound
- commandingExerting strong authority
melismatic · belting · projection · phrasing · vibrato · raw · gritty · soulful
vocalist
One who sings professionally
- contraltoLowest female vocal range
- torch songsEmotional songs about lost love
- Columbia RecordsOldest surviving American label
St. Louis Blues · call and response · belting · vaudeville · juke joint · phonograph
Harlem Renaissance
Black arts explosion, 1920s
- Roaring TwentiesProsperous 1920s era
- prohibitionAuthoritative legal ban
- speakeasyIllicit liquor establishment
Great Migration · Jazz Age · 1920s · flappers · Cotton Club · Apollo Theater · Chattanooga · radio broadcast · talking pictures
trailblazer
First to forge ahead
- pioneerEarly explorer or settler
- influencePower to affect others
- Billie Holiday"Strange Fruit" vocalist
Janis Joplin · Mahalia Jackson · Aretha Franklin · rock and roll · rhythm and blues · civil rights · Black excellence · cultural icon · posthumous · gravestone
powerful
Having great strength
- expressiveShowing feelings outwardly
- emotiveArousing strong feelings
- resonantDeeply vibrating with sound
commanding · melismatic · belting · projection · phrasing · vibrato · raw · gritty · soulful · passionate
Louis Armstrong
Pioneering jazz trumpeter, singer
Bessie SmithEnrico Caruso
smith, Smith, Elizabeth, locksmith, blacksmith, smithing, smithy, goldsmith, silversmith