Bessie Smith

E56866
African-American musician blues singer human recording artist

Bessie Smith was a pioneering American blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s, celebrated as the "Empress of the Blues" for her powerful voice and influential recordings.

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Statements (49)

Predicate Object
instanceOf African-American musician ⓘ
blues singer ⓘ
human ⓘ
recording artist ⓘ
activeYearsEnd 1930s ⓘ
activeYearsStart 1910s ⓘ
burialPlace Mount Lawn Cemetery, Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania, United States ⓘ
causeOfDeath injuries from automobile accident ⓘ
countryOfCitizenship United States of America ⓘ
dateOfBirth 1894-04-15 ⓘ
dateOfDeath 1937-09-26 ⓘ
ethnicGroup Black Americans ⓘ
surface form: African American
familyName Smith ⓘ
featuredInFilm St. Louis Blues (1929 short film) ⓘ
fieldOfWork blues music ⓘ
music ⓘ
fullName Bessie Smith self-link ⓘ
genre blues ⓘ
jazz ⓘ
givenName Bessie ⓘ
honor inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame ⓘ
inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (Early Influence) ⓘ
influenced Aretha Franklin ⓘ
Billie Holiday ⓘ
Janis Joplin ⓘ
Mahalia Jackson ⓘ
mannerOfDeath traffic collision ⓘ
marriageStart 1923 ⓘ
movement classic female blues ⓘ
nickname Empress of the Blues ⓘ
notableAchievement best-selling blues singer of the 1920s ⓘ
pioneer of recorded blues ⓘ
notableWork Backwater Blues ⓘ
Downhearted Blues ⓘ
Gimme a Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer) ⓘ
Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out ⓘ
St. Louis Blues ⓘ
Tain’t Nobody’s Biz-ness If I Do ⓘ
occupation blues singer ⓘ
singer ⓘ
vaudeville performer ⓘ
performedWith Fletcher Henderson ⓘ
Louis Armstrong ⓘ
placeOfBirth Chattanooga ⓘ
surface form: Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States
placeOfDeath Clarksdale, Mississippi, United States ⓘ
recordLabel Columbia Records ⓘ
sexOrGender female ⓘ
spouse Jack Gee ⓘ
voiceType contralto ⓘ

Referenced by (4)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Bessie Smith → fullName → Bessie Smith self-link ⓘ
Okeh Records → hasNotableArtist → Bessie Smith ⓘ
Blues Hall of Fame → notableInductee → Bessie Smith ⓘ
Harlem Renaissance → notablePerson → Bessie Smith ⓘ