How Did Bessie Smith Influence The Harlem Renaissance

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During the Harlem Renaissance there was a Blues singer that captured America, her name was Bessie Smith. Bessie had a powerful, soulful voice that no one could ignore. Her early life, legendary career, and the struggles that came along with her career made an impact on the Harlem Renaissance. At the age of twelve, Bessie sang along with her brother who had to be on the guitar because they were in need of money. The streets she sang on were in Chattanooga, Tennessee which is the place she was raised in and born on April 15, 1894. Through her years of singing and dancing, in 1923 she got discovered by Columbia Records. That same year she married a man named Jack Gee. Her career began to take off. She was among the few women to get recognized …show more content…
That was one of the most copies of a records sold in the early 1920’s. That specific song brought her to the Blues spotlight. She began to tour and sing anywhere she could. She not only had an amazing voice but a great personality that let her connect to her fans. Her adoring fans greeted her when she arrived to the city’s train station and they were there when she left. Bessie eventually bought her own custom railroad car to travel comfortably with her troupe. The reason she was able to get so successful and influential is because she didn’t let her money be expressed through her songs she was still humble. Through her career she got the nickname “Empress of the Blues.” As The Telegraph News expresses that Bessie was truly something special, “What sets Smith apart is that the form channels the cry of an entire oppressed people, expressed in terms that are earthy, popular and artistically subtle, all at once.” The Empress sang with popular musicians like pianist James P. Johnson and other sensational preformers like Buster Bailey and Don Redman. A name many people know and who Bessie made successful songs with is Louis
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