The Blues — Bessie Smith

Published Sept 25, 2017

Bessie Smith, who lived 1894–1937, was a an American blues singer known as The Empress of the Blues because she was the most popular female blues singer during the 1920’s and 1930’s. She is regarded as one of the greatest of her era and influenced many jazz singers to come. Her songs I will be talking about is “Lost Your Head Blues” and “Empty Bed Blues”.

In “Lost Your Head Blues” she tells the story of how she stood by her man when he had nothing and once he had something he found somebody new. You can here the pain of this tale through her intense vocals and the low notes of the song. There is a strong presence of the saxaphone that is played between each lyrical stance. The combination of all of these elements pronuces a very soulful sound.

In “Empty Bed Blues”, the lyrical stanza is very similar to Lost your Head Blues. Each stanza has three lines. The first two lines are repeats and the third line is differnt. This song is about a man who left her. Repeat the two lines creates a sense of aching and need for recognition. She also uses the saxaphone as a use of drawn out low tones to produce sorrow and that famous “blues”. This song is very beautiful in how she uses her words. She talks about the man in high esteem which makes the story even more sad becasue she is clearly still in love with him.