Since I always loved Bessie Smith and recently saw her biopic, it was just natural that I will eventually read this interesting book that came my way and turned quite a treat.
This is not a place to find details from Bessie's life - if you want a definitive biography, it was written long ago by Chris Albertson who even updated it recently and this is last word on a subject, as he interviewed people who are no longer alive and who knew the Empress personally. What Michelle R. Scott did here - and she did it masterfully - she created something along the line of Daphne Duvall and her unforgettable book "Black Pearls" that was all about the world in which these 1920s Blues singers lived. Scott completely focuses on American south (particularly area of Chattanooga) around turn of the century and in great detail describes life conditions of black population, how did they lived, what options in life they had, what exactly was the life of washerwoman (Bessie's mother) like, what was the popular music of the day and how it all influenced young woman who started as a street singer and eventually became highest paid entertainer of her time.
To be honest, Bessie is mentioned almost as afterthought - she is present and we get details about her family movements, how they changed the addresses constantly, jobs they did and where exactly Bessie started professionally - but reader can tell author's heart was elsewhere and she wanted to paint greater picture instead. Scott truly enjoys when describing life of black population of now long-lost world the way it was back in the day, at times it feels almost like archaeological work because she really digs in old documents and newspapers, starting with aftermath of Civil War and than explaining how urban migration came along, what was the role of the church in this new society, Ku Klux Clan and hostility towards this newcomers, minstrelsy and new music that came along... Bessie Smith is discussed but more in light of what her early life must have been and what probably shaped her well-known personality. Its all very well written with a hint of all sorts of intelligent perception and understanding of life of poor black woman from the bottom of society in those frankly, dangerous times. Contrary to readers who expected more of Bessie, I found the book absolutely fascinating because it covers overview of the whole society. Brilliant. This is re-reading literature for sure.
"The durability of a female performer most generally depends on her nerve and her constitution."
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