Bessie Smith: The Empress Of The Blues

Bessie Smith was born April 15, 1894 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She later in life became known as the “Empress of the Blues”. At the age of eighteen she being traveling with a group by the name of Moss Stokes Company. While with the group she met Ma Rainey who also became a friend and mentor to her. After traveling with the group, in 1923 she was discovered by Columbia Records. After signing with Columbia, she released her first song Downhearted Blues. The song Downhearted Blues went on to sale over 800,000 copies and became one her most popular songs. During the 1920s and 1930s she had become one of the most famous blues singers in America. During that time period Bessie recorded over 160 tracks. Because of the time period many black singers

She is also known to the world as the “Queen of Soul”. She went on tour with her father’s traveling revival and later released her very first recording under the album, Spirituals, when she was 14 years old. Similar to Bessie Smith, Aretha Franklin was signed by Columbia Records. There she released several classics such as, I’ll Keep on Smiling and I Still Can’t Forget. Years later (1966) she signed to Atlantic Records where she recorded I Never Loved a Man (The Way I Love You) and Respect which both sold millions. From the start of her career in 1961 she has had forty three top single and maybe more to come. Having won over eighteen Grammy awards in her career. In 1987, Ms. Franklin was the very first female artist to be inducted the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. The Grammys awarded her the Legend Award in 1991. In 1994 she was awarded the Recording Academy Lifetime Achievement Award and also received the Kennedy Center Honors. She has been nominated for nine American Music Award winning four out of her nine nominations. Aretha has performed at both Bill Clinton and Barack Obama presidential inaugurations. She has also been awarded different honorary degrees in music. There is no one who could manipulate the same sound that Aretha Franklin had into this new day

Bessie life has been made into film in 2015 entitle “Bessie”. One of the number people Bessie inspired was Janis Joplin. Because of her great work “Janis credited Bessie for leading her to singing in the first place” (Suer, 2011). Bessie has used blues and jazz to express her feelings and life. Because Bessie used her music to give a strong message, many music artists was able to relate to her. Like Bessie, Aretha has had a great influence on singer, rappers, and bands. Since she sung gospel and R&B Aretha has had a worldwide influence on past and present artists. Aretha music has been simple and cover by different music artists. She has inspire artists such as Mary J. Blige, Jennifer Hudson, Mariah Carey, Alicia Keys, Adele, and a lot of others singers. Many artist has often used her top hits to cover for shows, auditions, and as a guideline when there are recording. Just like Bessie, Aretha also has a movie about her life and career and the