Happy Birthday, Bessie Smith

Blues singer Bessie Smith was born on April 15, 1894, in Chattanooga, Tennessee. (There is some uncertainty about this date. The 1900 census indicates that she was born in July 1892, but the 1910 census recorded her birthday as April 15, 1894, and this date appears on all subsequent documents and was observed by her entire family.)

Smith was known as the Empress of the Blues, but she was also the first major jazz singer and can be said to have used the blues in jazz. Her phrasing, in particular, allowed her to transcend the rigid framework of the blues. Three of her recordings — "Downhearted Blues," "St. Louis Blues," and "Empty Bed Blues" — have been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.

In his book, The 101 Best Jazz Albums, Len Lyons recommends Bessie Smith's album, Nobody's Blues But Mine (Columbia CG 31093, 2 LPs). Unfortunately, the album is only available in vinyl. (There is a CD with the same title but without the same tracks.) Jim Determan, who updated the Lyons list, recommends instead the following:

• Bessie Smith: The Essential Bessie Smith (Purchase at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Bessie Smith: Bessie Smith - The Collection (Purchase at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Bessie Smith: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 1 (Purchase at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Bessie Smith: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 2 (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  
• Bessie Smith: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 3 (Purchase at Barnes & Noble.)
  
• Bessie Smith: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 4 (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  
• Bessie Smith: The Complete Recordings, Vol. 5 (Purchase at Amazon.com.)
  

Smith's "Downhearted Blues" was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2002, was listed as one of the Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts in 2001, and is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock 'n' roll.

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