The first major blues and jazz singer on record and one of the most powerful of all time,
rightly earned the title of "The Empress of the Blues." Even on her first records in 1923, her passionate voice overcame the primitive recording quality of the day and still communicates easily to today's listeners (which is not true of any other singer from that early period). At a time when the blues were in and most vocalists (particularly vaudevillians) were being dubbed "blues singers," Bessie Smith simply had no competition.
Back in 1912, Bessie Smith sang in the same show as Ma Rainey, who took her under her wing and coached her. Although Rainey would achieve a measure of fame throughout her career, she was soon surpassed by her protégée. In 1920, Smith had her own show in Atlantic City and, in 1923, she moved to New York. She was soon signed by Columbia and her first recording (Alberta Hunter's "Downhearted Blues") made her famous. Bessie Smith worked and recorded steadily throughout the decade, using many top musicians as sidemen on sessions including Louis Armstrong, Joe Smith (her favorite cornetist), James P. Johnson, and Charlie Green. Her summer tent show Harlem Frolics was a big success during 1925-1927, and Mississippi Days in 1928 kept the momentum going.
However, by 1929 the blues were out of fashion and Bessie Smith's career was declining despite being at the peak of her powers (and still only 35). She appeared in St. Louis Blues that year (a low-budget movie short that contains the only footage of her), but her hit recording of "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" predicted her leaner Depression years. Although she was dropped by Columbia in 1931 and made her final recordings on a four-song session in 1933, Bessie Smith kept on working. She played the Apollo in 1935 and substituted for Billie Holiday in the show Stars Over Broadway. The chances are very good that she would have made a comeback, starting with a Carnegie Hall appearance at John Hammond's upcoming From Spirituals to Swing concert, but she was killed in a car crash in Mississippi. Columbia has reissued all of her recordings, first in five two-LP sets and more recently on five two-CD box sets that also contain her five alternate takes, the soundtrack of St. Louis Blues, and an interview with her niece Ruby Smith. "The Empress of the Blues," based on her recordings, will never have to abdicate her throne.
The Complete Recordings Vol.1 (1923-1924)
Disc 1:
1. Down Hearted Blues
2. Gulf Coast Blues
3. Aggravatin' Papa
4. Beale Street Mama
5. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
6. Oh Daddy Blues
7. 'Taint Nobody's Bizness If I Do
8. Keeps On Rainin' (Papa He Can't Make No Time)
9. Mama's Got The Blues
10. Outside Of That
11. Bleeding Hearted Blues
12. Lady Luck Blues
13. Yodling Blues
14. Midnight Blues
15. If You Don't, I Know Who Will
16. Nobody In Town Can Bake A Sweet Jelly Roll Like Mine
17. Jail House Blues
18. St. Louis Gal
19. Sam Jones Blues
Disc 2:
1. Graveyard Dream Blues
2. Cemetery Blues
3. Far Away Blues
4. I'm Going Back To My Used To Be
5. Whoa, Tillie, Take Your Time
6. My Sweetie Went Away
7. Any Woman's Blues Listen
8. Chicago Bound Blues
9. Mistreating Daddy
10. Frosty Morning Blues
11. Haunted House Blues
12. Eavesdropper's Blues
13. Easy Come, Easy Go Blues
14. Sorrowful Blues
15. Pinchbacks-Take 'Em Away
16. Rocking Chair Blues
17. Ticket Agent, Ease Your Window Down
18. Boweavil Blues
19. Hateful Blues
The Complete Recordings Vol.2 (1924-1925)
Disc 1:
1. Frankie Blues
2. Moonshine Blues
3. Lou'siana Low-Down Blues
4. Mountain Top Blues
5. Work House Blues
6. House Rent Blues
7. Salt Water Blues
8. Rainy Weather Blues
9. Weeping Willow Blues
10. The Bye Bye Blues
11. Sing Sing Prison Blues
12. Follow the Deal on Down
13. Sinful Blues
14. Woman's Trouble Blues
15. Love Me Daddy Blues
16. Dying Gambler's Blues
17. The St. Louis Blues
18. Reckless Blues
19. Sobbin' Hearted Blues
Disc 2:
1. Cold In Hand Blues
2. You've Been a Good Ole Wagon
3. Cake Walkin' babies (From Home)
4. The Yellow Dog Blues
5. Soft Pedal Blues
6. Dixie Flyer Blues
7. Nashville Woman's Blues
8. Careless Love Blues
9. J.C. Holmes Blues
10. I Ain't Goin' to Play Second Fiddle
11. He's Gone Blues
12. Nobody's Blues But Mine
13. I Ain't Got Nobody
14. My Man Blues
15. New Gulf Coast Blues
16. Florida Bound Blues
17. At the Christmas Ball
18. I've Been Mistreated and I Don't Like It
The Complete Recordings Vol.3 (1925-1928)
Disc 1:
01 - Red Mountain Blues
02 - Golden Rule Blues
03 - Lonesome Desert Blues
04 - Them 'Has Been' Blues
05 - Squeeze Me
06 - What's The Matter Now_
07 - I Want Every Bit Of It
08 - Jazzbo Brown From Memphis Town
09 - The Gin House Blues
10 - Money Blues
11 - Baby Doll
12 - Hard Driving Papa
13 - Lost Your Head Blues
14 - Hard Time Blues
15 - Honey Man Blues
16 - One And Two Blues
17 - Young Woman's Blues
18 - Preachin' The Blues
19 - Back Water Blues
20 - After You've Gone
21 - Alexander's Ragtime Band
Disc 2:
01 - Muddy Water (A Mississippi Moan)
02 - There'll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight
03 - Trombone Cholly
04 - Send Me To The 'Lectric Chair
05 - Them's Graveyard Words
06 - Hot Spring Blues
07 - Sweet Mistreater
08 - Lock And Key
09 - Mean Old Bedbug Blues
10 - A Good Man Is Hard To Find
11 - Homeless Blues
12 - Looking For My Man Blues
13 - Dyin' By The Hour
14 - Foolish Man Blues
15 - Thinking Blues
16 - Pickpocket Blues
17 - I Used To Be Your Sweet Mama
18 - I'd Rather Be Dead And Buried In My Grave
The Complete Recordings Vol.4 (1928-1931)
Disc 1:
01. Standin' In The Rain Blues (2:56)
02. It Won't Be You (2:49)
03. Spider Man Blues (3:24)
04. Empty Bed Blues (Part 1) (3:03)
05. Empty Bed Blues (Part 2) (3:22)
06. Put It Right Here (Or Keep It Out There) (3:00)
07. Yes Indeed He Do! (3:17)
08. Devil's Gonna Git You (3:12)
09. You Ought To Be Ashamed (3:08)
10. Washwoman's Blues (3:10)
11. Slow And Easy Man (2:58)
12. Poor Man's Blues (3:26)
13. Please Help Me Get Him Out Of My Mind (2:58)
14. Me And My Gin (2:52)
15. I'm Wild About That Thing (2:50)
16. You've Got To Give Me Some (2:44)
17. Kitchen Man (2:58)
18. I've Got What It Takes (But It Breaks My Heart To Give It Away) (3:11)
19. Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out (3:00)
20. Take It Right Back ('Cause I Don't Want It Here) (3:20)
Disc 2:
01. He's Got Me Goin' (3:15)
02. It Makes My Love Come Down (2:58)
03. Wasted Life Blues (3:05)
04. Dirty No-Gooder's Blues (3:00)
05. Blue Spirit Blues (2:58)
06. Worn Out Papa Blues (2:51)
07. You Don't Understand (3:06)
08. Don't Cry Baby (3:12)
09. Keep It To Yourself (3:33)
10. New Orleans Hop Scop Blues (2:59)
11. See If I'll Care (3:26)
12. Baby Have Pity On Me (3:21)
13. On Revival Day (A Rhythmic Spiritual) (2:57)
14. Moan, You Moaners (3:13)
15. Hustlin' Dan (3:33)
16. Black Mountain Blues (3:11)
17. In The House Blues (3:02)
18. Long Old Road (3:28)
19. Blue Blues (3:15)
20. Shipwreck Blues (3:20)
The Complete Recordings Vol.5 (1931-1933)
Disc 1:
01. Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl (2:50)
02. Safety Mama (3:26)
03. Do Your Duty (3:27)
04. Gimme A Pigfoot (3:31)
05. Take Me For A Buggy Ride (2:38)
06. I'm Down In The Dumps (3:12)
07. The Yellow Dog Blues (3:18)
08. Soft Pedal Blues (3:22)
09. Nashville Women's Blues (3:19)
10. Careless Love Blues (3:30)
11. Muddy Water (A Mississippi Moan) (3:16)
12. St. Louis Blues Soundtrack - Band Intro (0:45)
13. St. Louis Blues Soundtrack - Crap Game (5:43)
14. St. Louis Blues Soundtrack - St. Louis Blues (8:19)
Disc 2:
01. Smith, Bessie & Ruby Smith / Bessie Disappears (4:50)
02. Smith, Bessie & Ruby Smith / Waldorf-Astoria Party (7:15)
03. Smith, Bessie & Ruby Smith / Bessie & Jack, I (2:52)
04. Smith, Bessie & Ruby Smith Bessie & Jack II / Bessie & The Ladies (10:23)
05. Smith, Bessie & Ruby Smith / Life On The Road, I (11:14)
06. Smith, Bessie & Ruby Smith / Life On The Road, II (14:02)
07. Smith, Bessie & Ruby Smith Bessie & Gertrude Saunders / Life On The Road, III (21:18)
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