Bessie Smith
Biography
Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bessie Smith began performing publicly as a child before joining the Black vaudeville circuit and touring with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. She later worked with Ma Rainey and developed her own touring act. In 1923, Smith signed with Columbia Records and recorded “Downhearted Blues,” a major commercial success that established her as one of the leading blues performers of her era. She subsequently recorded with musicians including Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, James P. Johnson, and Sidney Bechet.
Smith's Columbia recording career continued through 1933 and produced approximately 160 recordings. Her repertoire addressed love, poverty, racism, sexism, relationships, and female sexuality, while her powerful vocal style helped define the classic blues tradition. She recorded W.C. Handy's “St. Louis Blues” in 1925 and later appeared in the 1929 short film St. Louis Blues, performing the composition on screen.
Smith's personal and artistic life has become an important part of Black queer cultural history. The Smithsonian documents her bisexuality and relationships with both men and women, while scholarship on Black women's blues culture has examined the ways Smith and other blueswomen challenged expectations surrounding gender, sexuality, and respectability. Smith died in 1937 in Clarksville, Mississippi. Her legacy includes induction into the National Women's Hall of Fame and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, as well as multiple Grammy Hall of Fame recordings.
BQW Impact
Smith's significance to BQW is both cultural and historical. As a Black bisexual woman who performed publicly during the 1920s and 1930s, she occupied a space where Black womanhood, sexuality, artistic expression, and public identity intersected. Her documented relationships with women and her willingness to address sexuality and desire in her music make her an important early figure in Black queer cultural history.
Her recordings challenged restrictive expectations surrounding respectable Black womanhood. Through songs addressing relationships, desire, hardship, and female sexuality, Smith gave voice to experiences that were often excluded from mainstream representations of Black women. Her influence on later generations of blues, jazz, and popular singers further extended the cultural reach of that expression.
Notable Works
Downhearted Blues (1923)
Smith's breakthrough Columbia recording and one of the defining recordings of the classic blues era.
Backwater Blues (1927)
Blues recording written and performed by Smith that became one of her most enduring songs.
Empty Bed Blues (1928)
Two-part blues recording addressing romantic and sexual relationships and among Smith's best-known recordings.
St. Louis Blues (1929)
Short film featuring Smith performing W.C. Handy's composition, and the only known surviving film footage of her.
Learn More
Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture
Institutional biography documenting Smith's career, bisexuality, relationships, and cultural significance.
Exhibition material examining Black women's blues culture, sexuality, and queer history.
Collection record for Smith's historic film appearance in St. Louis Blues.
Institutional recognition of Smith's musical legacy.
Recognition of Smith's historical contribution.