Unit 3 - Research - Bessie Smith Sugar in my Bowl
- Sarah Chalkie Cloonan
- Aug 13, 2021
- 0 min read
“The Greatest Blues Singer in the World Will Never Stop Singing.” (Janis Joplin, 1970)
Born April 15th 1892 in Chattanooga, USA she died the year my mother was born 1937.
MARCH 5, 2020 6:33 AM EST
Bessie Smith was born into tragedy. Her parents died by the time she was 9, leaving her in the care of older siblings. A gifted singer, Smith was forever changed—perhaps even saved—by her rare talent on the stage and insatiable drive off it. Years of busking and performing in traveling vaudeville shows led to a deal with Columbia Records in 1923 and a signature recording, “Downhearted Blues,” which sold nearly 800,000 copies. Smith’s song became an instant classic, beloved by contemporary audiences and revered by the generations that followed. It helped make Smith the highest-paid black entertainer of the time and earned her the moniker Empress of the Blues. But Smith was set apart by more than her success. Often called “rough,” she was not only African American and curvy, but also an openly bisexual artist who channeled her early struggles into her music. Her lyrics—defined by her sass and biting wit—addressed poverty and conflict, imploring working-class women to be up-front about their sexual desires. For me, as an African-American woman who is trans—part of two communities that are most marginalized—Smith’s life shows the importance of staying true to yourself, even when the hardest of obstacles are in your way. —MJ Rodriguez
(‘Bessie Smith: 100 Women of the Year’. Time, https://time.com/5792677/bessie-smith-100-women-of-the-year/. Accessed 21 Aug. 2021.)
https://youtu.be/meuwKhPGItk
Authors and ComposersNotesClarence Williams (songwriter)J. Tim Brymn (songwriter)Dally Small (songwriter)
Bessie with Clarence on the Piano
Chicago Style APA Style MLA Style
"Columbia matrix W151883. Need a little sugar in my bowl / Bessie Smith." Discography of American Historical Recordings. UC Santa Barbara Library, 2021. Web. 21 August 2021.
I considered placing a QR code in “Liliths Complaint” that would take you to Bessy Smith singing 'Sugar in my bowl' which she made famous. It would be a way of making my work more inclusive and attempt to decolonise it. I cannot change the fact that my contexts growing up as a white western woman are full of white western women and the historical context is based upon my english education but I would like to rewrite my past within my work to include more references to other women of other cultures and creeds.
Bessy found her voice in her music using it to express her views about her bitter sweet life, she made herself heard, not an easy thing for a black women in the 1920s. She made her touring railway carriage her home and fed and cared for those on tour with her, it was a home from home, her music was a talisman for those suffering the same struggles, it gave them solace and hope and a place to commune, they felt understood and less alone.
Bessie Smith’s music left her audience changed.
QR code
I loved the fact there are childrens page for her.
This morning she was mentioned in "start the week this week", she seems to be popping up everywhere.
Thousands came to her funeral to pay their respects to the “Empress of the Blues.”
She was buried in an unmarked grave.
30 years after her death, the singer Janis Joplin, along with a longtime fan of Ms. Smith, bought a tombstone for her unidentified grave—it read, “The Greatest Blues Singer in the World Will Never Stop Singing.” Click the links to find out more.
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