A film clip with Bessie Smith singing in St. Louis Blues. It consists of a single reel of positive, black-and-white, 16mm acetate film with variable-area optical sound. The clip opens with Bessie ...

Bessie Smith, Empress of the Blues, was the first African American superstar, an artist that mingled regal dignity with sensuality. We’ll sample her recorded legacy, talk with critics and hear ...

If Bessie Smith were alive today, she’d likely be singing the blues about North Carolina. A state advisory panel has recommended against approval of a highway historical marker for the night the blues ...

If Robert Johnson made a deal with the Devil, then Bessie Smith drank gin with him — and put him under the table. As soon as she steps onto the set of Florida Stage’s production of The Devil’s Music: ...

After the success of her first film, Pariah, Dee Rees’ career is on track with a biopic about the legendary Bessie Smith—warts and all. GOING DEEPER: Rees is most interested in character and story. "I ...

Smith was barnstorming the South, performing her act under a canvas tent for Black audiences or in segregated theaters. One sweltering night in July, it took her to the heart of Concord’s Black ...