An Insight about the Musical Genius Life of Bessie Smith - Essay Example

3 June Assignment The period of Jazz music flourished greatly in the United s of America under the influence of musical greats like Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith. Also referred to as the Empress of the Blues, Bessie Smith had established herself as one of the most renowned musicians in the field of jazz and blues in the period between the 1920s and 1930s. During the course of her career, Bessie Smith has been able to make some of the most remembered contributions towards popular cultural and music; she has made her mark on Broadway musicals, films as well as the era of Swing music, and thus this paper helps to give an insight about the musical genius’ life and subsequent contributions towards culture and also how the socio-economic, political and historical factors played a role in making significant changes towards the same. Bessie Smith’s inherent passion for music was discovered fortunately at a very young age as she and her brother took to the streets of their local neighbourhoods in Chattanoonga, as they sang and danced in order to earn money for their meals. However, her brother soon left her to join a professional troupe and she was left behind due to being very young. Soon enough, her brother arranged for a meeting and interview for Bessie for the Stokes Troupe and she was hired as a dancer but not as a singer, thus her true potential had yet not been realised. In 1915, the singer left and became a part of the Theater Owners Bookers Association, an African American performance group and this became the milestone in her career. The group helped her to gain popularity all over and become a recognised singer. Following this, offers began coming in for Bessie to be part of musicals and one of her firsts, titled ‘How Come?’ made its way to Broadway as well. Here, Bessie co starred with Sidney Bechet. Looking at her success and getting motivated by the same, Smith moved on to working in theatre, mostly Black theatres as they accepted her better, and in 1923 she landed with her first recording contract. Soon enough, Bessie became one of the highest paid black women in her field however, the money did not make much difference to her life then and she realised she wanted to sing all her life. Smith’s voice, mellifluous and harmonious, was something she was able to practice and develop on her own. She did not receive any formal training from anywhere, and with the practice she had had since her early years, she dedicated and devoted more time to get even better than what she was and all that she had achieved. Bessie’s mentor, during her years with the Stokes Troupe was Ma Rainey, and she learned a lot during her time there even though it was not a platform for her to better her vocal power and skills. Nonetheless, under Ma Rainey, she was able to learn and understand what stage presence meant and how she could make herself better in front of the general public. During the time that Bessie was trying to establish herself, the environment for black people was not very conducive. Apartheid reigned badly all around and the opportunities for blacks were very limited, especially in off the hook fields like music. She first got a chance to sing with Okeh Records as they signed her alongside Mamie Smith. Being a woman, Bessie knew she had to really give in her best and fight for her rights in order to get her music heard across to people and have them accept her first as a musician and then as an identity and part of her race. Columbia Records thus, was impressed by her because of her work with Okeh Records, and soon signed her as a part of ‘race records’ series with her record named ‘Cemetery Blues’ which was the first to be released in 1923. Paramount Label had helped Bessie’s first hit titled ‘Gulf Coast Blues’ coupled with ‘Downhearted Blues’ to become an even bigger hit than what it was at the time of release. Bessie began to tour following this success as well as prepared and trained for theatre productions and musicals. She was given titles such as ‘Queen of the Blues’ and ‘Empress’ by people all over the world as they began to appreciate her music and look up to her. She became an admired idol in the field of blues and became the highest paid black entertainer during her time. As part of her achievements at Columbia Records, Bessie was able to make 160 single recordings along with a number of duets sung with notable jazz musicians during her time like Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, Charlie Green and James P. Johnson. However, Bessie did undergo a downturn during the course of her career because of certain economic problems that were prevailing at the time. The Great Depression of 1930 put her out of her job as the entire recording industry had gone out of business temporarily during the time. Despite her popularity among the black community as well as other groups of people, she was not able to retain a job with any recording company and her contracts had expired as well. All she could do was to wait patiently and try and let the financial downturn pass in order to begin singing and entertaining people again. Even though the Depression led to her career getting cut short a certain amount, Bessie was blessed because of the inception of the talkies, which were short films produced at the time. She continued to tour and performed for people during this period and kept herself on the horizon thus. She also sang in a number of clubs and thus helped people to not forget her as easily as they had come to know her. Finally in the year 1929, Bessie was able to lend her voice for a Broadway musical by the name of Pansy. This was very well received by critics, and they said in their reviews that she was the only asset of the entire show; if it had not been for her, the show would have been a complete flop. Two-reeler films soon began to creep onto the horizon and different forms of entertainment in the field of cinema began to establish themselves all over. Bessie was a part of Louis Blues which was based on the song sung by W.C Handy. The members of Fletcher Henderson’s orchestra sang in the film and she accompanied with her beautiful voice, giving the entire movie a musical atmosphere that was completely different from any of the records or singles that she had ever made in her life. This newfound positive energy in Bessie to produce newer and better forms of music helped to energize her and was well received by the public as well. It further motivated her to push herself and produce even more different kinds of music for her fans. John Hammond, who had also mentored Billie Holiday, was further interested in taking Bessie Smith’s career forward as her helped her achieve a little more by asking her to make four more records for Okeh Records. With her recordings here, she was able to drift into the swing era as she started making music in that field. She was influenced herself by many artists that worked with swing music however, it was found that Bessie’s voice lay in singing blues music and that it did not compare anywhere near her swing music. Thus, despite having made a few achievements in the field, she moved back to blue as she recorded music like “Gimme a Pigfoot” and “Take Me for a Buggy Ride”. In the year 1973, Bessie Smith’s name and career was also inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. This particular accolade added more to her list of achievements because its commencement was begun for the purpose of honouring musicians that have contributed and made significance in musical history in the last twenty five years at least. The songs that we recorded and achieved induction in the Hall of Fame were hits like ‘Downhearted Blues’ and ‘Empty Bed Blues’ from the blues genre and ‘St. Louis Blues’ from the blues genre. Furthermore, Smith’s career achieved a greater height when her single ‘Downhearted Blues’ was also included in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry by the National Recording Preservation Board. This particular song has a great amount of cultural, as well as historical and aesthetical significance. This was the song that helped Bessie to rise to the occasion and accept her fame and recognition as one of the first ever black woman blues singers in the world. It helped her to empower music as a black woman and set an example for musicians all over the world. A list known as the ‘Songs of the Century’ made by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts, in the year 2001, also included Bessie’s hit single, ‘Downhearted Blues.’ This song, over the years, has achieved so much fame on its own that it was also included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and was branded as one of the best rock and roll songs, or one of the songs that have shaped the history of rock and roll altogether. Bessie Smith’s fame achieved an even higher peak when she was issued on a US Postage stamp in the year 1994 as a 29 cents commemorative stamp in order to celebrate her contributions towards blues and jazz music that have helped to shape music for the US and the world gradually. She has been a pristine example of dedication and hard work along with talent and skill, especially for the blacks all around the world. Bessie Smith, through her music, has helped to contribute to socio-cultural aspects of the world as well. She has written and sung songs on the basis of a number of themes that help people to understand ongoing issues within society; her lyrics are passionately sung and strong enough to move minds. Almost every song sung by her is an autobiography or piece of her personal life. She has sung songs on the basis of unrequited love, avenged and wronged as a woman, also about her abusive partner and how a woman continues to love a man despite his wrong doings towards her. Through these issues and such music, she was able to reach out to many women who were going through the same thing and thus were able to connect with each other on the basis of Bessie Smith’s music and lyrics. She is one of the very few musicians who has the power to completely throw in her personal emotions into the song she is signing and be able to feel every word of it as if it were happening to her at that very moment. One can easily feel this in songs like ‘There’ll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight’ and in ‘Alexander’s Ragtime Band’. Bessie Smith was able to go along with the flow of time and help people understand her music as well. That is how the mark of a true musician can be understood, and Bessie was able to do the same by helping people around her understand the same things she was going through. There have been a number of stories and poems written in her memory in popular culture as well; in the year 1948, J.D Salinger, the author of the famous book ‘Catcher in the Rye’ wrote ‘Blue Melody’ a short story on Bessie. Furthermore, in 1959, a short play by Edward Albee, based on Bessie’s death, entitled ‘The Death of Bessie Smith’ also won her more recognition and helped the world understand the causes behind her untimely passing away. In conclusion, Bessie Smith has been able to contribute a great deal to music and popular culture films and reel and in the process she has also been able to influence a large population of the American society. She has also made a significant achievement in music by rising high as a black woman and making record deals that have made a mark and impact all over the world in the blues and jazz genre. (Smith, Bessie – Jazz.com) Works Cited "Smith, Bessie – Jazz.com | Jazz Music – Jazz Artists – Jazz News." Jazz.com | Jazz Music – Jazz Artists – Jazz News. Web. 04 June 2011. . Read More