Bessie Smith and Friends
Bessie Smith possessed arguably the most magnificent voice of the 1920’s. Deep, rich and confident, she could bend a note like no other, and was a major influence on Billy Holliday. Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee in 1895, her first hit was Down Hearted Blues, which she recorded with Louis Armstrong, James P Johnson and Joe Smith.
Bessie Smith and Friends is a collection of three early blues and jazz films produced between 1929 and 1941. St. Louis Blues (1929) the only known filmed appearance of Bessie Smith, Bye Bye Blackbird (1932) and Boogie Woogie Dream (1941).
