Crazy Blues

E590369

"Crazy Blues" is a landmark 1920 blues recording by Mamie Smith that is widely regarded as the first commercially successful blues record by an African American female singer.

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Statements (47)

Predicate Object
instanceOf blues recording
song
accompaniment jazz band
approximateLength about 3 minutes
associatedWithMovement early race records era
catalogNumber Okeh 4169 NERFINISHED
composer Perry Bradford NERFINISHED
countryOfOrigin United States of America
surface form: United States
era 1920s popular music
firstCommerciallySuccessfulBluesRecordBy African American female singer
firstIssuedOnFormat shellac disc
genre blues
hasInfluenceOn later blues singers
recording opportunities for African American artists
hasPerformer Mamie Smith NERFINISHED
Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds NERFINISHED
hasTitle Crazy Blues NERFINISHED
historicalSignificance early landmark in recorded blues history
pioneering recording in African American popular music
influenced development of classic female blues
record industry marketing of race records
language English
lyricist Perry Bradford NERFINISHED
marketedAs race record
musicalForm 12-bar blues
notableFor being the first commercially successful blues record by an African American female singer
helping to establish the race records market
originalAudience African American record buyers
originalMedium 78 rpm phonograph record
performedBy Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds NERFINISHED
performer Mamie Smith NERFINISHED
period early jazz and blues era
recordCompany Okeh Phonograph Corporation NERFINISHED
recordedIn New York City NERFINISHED
recordingStudio Okeh recording studio NERFINISHED
recordingYear 1920
recordLabel Okeh Records NERFINISHED
releaseDate 1920-08-10
side A-side
subgenre classic female blues
subjectMatter emotional distress
romantic sorrow
tempo medium
vocalist Mamie Smith NERFINISHED
vocalStyle classic blues vocal
vocalType female solo vocal
writer Perry Bradford NERFINISHED

Referenced by (2)

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

China Moses notableWork Crazy Blues
Mamie Smith notableWork Crazy Blues