Remember When: Bessie Smith Recorded "Downhearted Blues

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the recording of Bessie Smith's first song, "Downhearted Blues." The Harlem Renaissance singer is popularly known as the Empress of Blues.

Bessie Smith was the youngest of seven children. Her father, a Baptist minister and day laborer died when she was only five years old. Her mother and older brother died six years later, leaving her and her five other siblings to be raised by their aunt in poverty. Bessie became a street singer with her brother, Andrew, who played guitar. She eventually made her way to the Black vaudeville stage with another brother, Clarence, who was a stand-up comedian and dancer. Ma Rainey took Bessie under her wing and taught her how to command an audience and navigate the music industry. By the age of 24, Bessie was touring the South and East Coast as a solo act.

The recording of "Downhearted Blues" was a landmark moment in music history. The song was written by blues singer Alberta Hunter and pianist Lovie Austin, and it quickly became a hit, selling over 750,000 copies in just a few months.

"Downhearted Blues" highlights Bessie Smith's powerful and emotive vocals, backed by a band that included some of the top jazz musicians of the day. The song describes the pain and heartbreak of a failed romance, and Bessie's soulful delivery captures the emotion of the song perfectly: "I'm so disgusted, heartbroken too/I've got those downhearted blues/Once I was crazy 'bout a man/He mistreated me all the time/The next man I get has got to promise me/To be mine, all mine."

The success of "Downhearted Blues" made Bessie Smith a star and established her as one of the most significant and renowned blues singers of all time. She went on to record many more hits for Columbia Records. Her music and her powerful voice continue to inspire and influence musicians and fans of blues and jazz to this day.

Bessie Smith was inducted into the National Women’s Hall of Fame in 1984 and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989. "Downhearted Blues” was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2006.

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