Bessie Smith was the first significant female blues singer to emerge during the early electric recording era

Bessie Smith was not only the first significant female blues singer to emerge during the early electric recording era, but her influence and reputation is such that she is still rightly hailed as the most important and greatest female blues artist in the annals of the genre, rightly given the title 'The Empress Of The Blues'. Her recording career was compressed into the decade covered by this collection, her career being blighted by the Depression, although she was actively performing and expanding her audience when she was killed in a car crash in 1937. This excellent value 48-track 2-CD set is selected from the 160 recordings she made for Columbia, and does not duplicate any titles which appear on the Fabulous label's existing Bessie Smith 2-CD set 'Bessie Smith Greatest Hits' (FADCD2004), and so the two together will give collectors around half of her entire recorded output, including some lesser known material alongside the famous classics. During her career, she recorded with eminent musicians of the day accompanying her and most of them are featured in this collection, including Louis Armstrong, Fletcher Henderson, James P. Johnson, Clarence Williams, Benny Goodman, Jack Teagarden and Don Redman.

Track Listing

• Beale Street Mama
• Keeps On A Rainin All Time
• Outside Of That
• Midnight Blues
• Nobody In Town Can Bake A Jelly Roll Like My Man
• Whoa, Tillie, Take Your Time
• I'm Going Back To My Used To Be
• Mistreatin' Daddy
• Frosty Mornin' Blues
• Eavesdropper Blues
• Sorrowful Blues
• House Rent Blues
• Weeping Willow Blues
• Dying Gambler's Blues
• Reckless Blues
• Sobbin' Hearted Blues
• Cold In Hand Blues
• St Louis Blues
• Cake Walkin' Babies
• J.C.Holmes Blues
• My Man Blues
• Nobody's Blues But Mine
• I've Been Mistreated And I Don't Like It
• I Want Every Bit Of It

• Jazzbo Brown From Memphis Town
• Baby Doll
• One And Two Blues
• Honey Man Blues
• Young Woman's Blues
• Muddy Water
• There'll Be A Hot Time In Old Town Tonight
• Sweet Mistreater
• Dyin' By The Hour
• I Used To Be Your Sweet Mama
• Put It Right Here
• Standin' In The Rain Blues
• Devil's Gonna Git You
• Me And My Gin
• My Kitchen Man
• I've Got What It Takes
• He's Got Me Goin'
• You Don't Understand
• New Orleans Hop Scop Blues
• Blue Spirit Blues
• See If I Care
• Shipwreck Blues
• I'm Down In The Dumps
• Take Me For A Buggy Ride

Additional Details

Label: Fabulous

Genre: Blues

Language: English

Run Time: 76 mins

Region: 0

Release Date: 06/03/14

UPC: 824046204020