How much was Bessie Smith making a week?
Before the Great Depression, Bessie was the highest paid black entertainer in the world, collecting as much as $2,000 a week to sing her compositions “Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out,” “Empty Bed Blues” and more, accompanied by music legends such as Louis Armstrong and Benny Goodman.
Was Bessie Smith the highest paid black performer?
Collaboration with Louis Armstrong Louis Blues.” By the end of the 1920s, Smith was the highest-paid Black performer of her day, and had earned herself the title “Empress of the Blues.”
How many records did Bessie Smith sell?
Within a reported 10 months of signing Smith, the Columbia label sold two million records. Over the next four years, her sales reached six million. But she sang a wider repertoire as a featured performer in vaudeville, in her traveling tent show, on theatrical tours, and, later, in jazz clubs.
Where did Ma Rainey die?
Rome, Georgia, United States
Ma Rainey/Place of death
How did Bessie Smith get all her money?
Bessie’s primary source of income and fame came through endless traveling. Her recordings were so popular that more theaters and clubs wanted to book her. Bessie was the highest-paid Black performing artist in the country.
How long did Bessie Smith have a recording career?
Singer Bessie Smith’s recording career lasted only 10 years, but during that time she created a body of work that helped shape the sound of the 20th century.
Why was Bessie Smith the Empress of the Blues?
No blues singer can escape the influence of Bessie Smith, “The Empress of the Blues.”. She gave the music its raw, regal poignancy — and marketability. Her feverish growls and testifying delivery has informed nearly every facet ofBessie Smith, “The Empress of the Blues.”.
Why was Bessie Smith important to African Americans?
She was the highest-paid African American artist working in music and the first African American superstar. Bessie Smith’s sound and her attitude, rooted in a distant era, are with us in the 21st century.