9
8.120572 8.120583 8.120609*
* Not available in the USA
Also available in the Naxos Jazz Legends series
8.120611* 8.120616 8.120622*
120660bk Bessie 6/1/03 10:38 pm Page 8
8.120660 7
The Naxos Historical labels aim to make available the greatest recordings of the history ofrecorded music, in the best and truest sound that contemporary technology can provide. Toachieve this aim, Naxos has engaged a number of respected restorers who have thededication, skill and experience to produce restorations that have set new standards in thefield of historical recordings.
David LennickAs a producer of CD reissues, David Lennick’s work in this field grew directly from his ownneeds as a broadcaster specializing in vintage material and the need to make it listenable whilebeing transmitted through equalizers, compressors and the inherent limitations of A.M. radio.Equally at home in classical, pop, jazz and nostalgia, Lennick describes himself as exercising asmuch control as possible on the final product, in conjunction with CEDAR noise reductionapplied by Graham Newton in Toronto. As both broadcaster and re-issue producer, he relieson his own extensive collection as well as those made available to him by private collectors,the University of Toronto, Syracuse University and others.
8.120566 8.120630* 8.120659*
Available in our companion series Naxos Nostalgia…
* Not available in the USA
8.1206602
BESSIE SMITH ‘Downhearted Blues’Original Recordings 1923-1924
“She made life amusing, serious, witty and devastatingly depressing and shesang, without compromise, for people who were honest enough to realisethat life is like that.” (Spike Hughes – Melody Maker obituary, 1937)
“Bessie’s control of her voice was without parallel; a subtle accent on onesyllable could change the entire meaning of a line. Her sense of pitch was asdramatic as it was accurate.” (George Avakian)
To her friends and fans Bessie became known as ‘The Queen of the Blues’ and the recordcompanies elevated her another notch to ‘Empress’. She made the blues her speciality andunder that heading she sang of love, oppression and defeat for a salary often in excess of$1500 per week and during the first year of her recording contract alone her sales exceeded twomillion. The archetypal raw, vaudeville blues singer, she was an American legend for some timebefore her untimely death and kept her place among black and white blues enthusiasts untilchanging fashions in popular music finally put her out of vogue. Her recorded legacy, however,continues to fascinate not solely on account of Bessie’s magisterial vocalising but also becauseof accompaniments featuring such stellar luminaries of early jazz as Louis Armstrong, ColemanHawkins, Fletcher Henderson, James P. Johnson, Tommy Ladnier and Clarence Williams.
Bessie first saw the light in Chattanooga, Tennessee on 15 April 1894, one of seven siblingsborn to William Smith, a part-time Baptist preacher and his wife Laura. Raised in “a littleramshackle cabin”, her early years were marked by struggle and hardship and by the age of nineshe had already lost both parents. Her family variously dispersed into vaudeville and travellingentertainment and Bessie, gifted with a voice, took her own first step towards showbiz, singingfor nickels and dimes on Chattanooga street-corners, accompanied on guitar by her brotherAndrew. An ebullient natural, gifted with a strong voice and a commanding stage presence,before long Bessie had followed suit, touring with the Stokes troupe, initially as a dancer.
120660bk Bessie 6/1/03 10:38 pm Page 2
After other similar tours, in 1912 Bessie joined F. S. Wolcott’s Rabbit Foot Mintrels, at theinstigation of her “fairy godmother” Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey (1886-1939). The Columbus,Georgia-born cabaret and pioneering female blues singer who later won fame throughout theSouth and Midwest variously billed ‘The first Race Artist to earn the title of Madame’ and‘Mother of the Blues’ (tags bestowed largely in recognition of her recordings – she herself madeabout 100) took the virtual orphan Bessie under her wing and honed her raw talent, althoughfrom most accounts it is likely their relationship was fiery and that they parted on less thanfriendly terms.
After leaving the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, Bessie toured for a while around gin-mills and tent-shows (with Charles W. Bailey, Pete Werley’s Florida Blossoms, Silas Green et al). She appearedat Charles Bailey’s ‘81’ Theatre in Atlanta, from 1913 and with Hazel Green, at the DouglasGilmor Theatre, Baltimore, in 1918. By the early 1920s she was an established star attractionon the TOBA (Theatre Owners’ Booking Association) circuit. By 1922, having steadily built upgreat followings in the South and on the East coast, she had established herself inPhiladelphia. She is reputed to have made her very first records early in 1921, in New York, forthe Emerson label, but although they were advertised in the classified columns of the ChicagoDefender as scheduled for release on 10 March, no trace of these has so far been found. Othercontemporary ads hint that she may have first auditioned for Columbia around this time andlegend also has it that she was hired by Harry Pace to record various sides for his Black Swanlabel but fired on the spot after exclaiming “Hold on a minute while I spit” in the middle of atake!
From early in 1920 OKeh had been recording blues singer Mamie Smith with considerablecommercial success and, late in 1922 or early in 1923, with a small backing group whichincluded Sidney Bechet and pianist Clarence Williams (1893-1965) Bessie (who was then in ashow with Bechet at the Dunbar Theatre in Philadelphia) was invited by Fred Hager of OKehRecords to make a test of A. J. Piron’s “I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate”. OKehrejected this, however, considering her voice “too rough”, her style too unorthodox andtherefore without sales potential (Williams gave the test to Bessie, who presumably destroyedit). In February 1923, however, through the combined efforts of Williams and Columbia’s
8.120660 38.1206606
11. GRAVEYARD DREAM BLUES (Ida Cox) With Jimmy Jones, piano(Columbia A 4001, mx 81237-3) Recorded 26 September 1923 2:44
12. CEMETERY BLUES (Sid Laney) With Jimmy Jones, piano(Columbia 13001-D, mx 81241-3) Recorded 26 September 1923 3:31
13. ANY WOMAN'S BLUES (Lovie Austin) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia 13001-D, mx 81283-3) Recorded 16 October 1923 3:26
14. MISTREATIN' DADDY (Porter Grainger–Bob Ricketts) With Don Redman, clarinet; Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia 14000-D, mx 81392-3) Recorded 4 December 1923 3:17
15. EASY COME, EASY GO BLUES (Will Jackson–Eddie Brown) With Harry Reser, guitar; Jimmy Jones, piano(Columbia 14005-D, mx 81470-4) Recorded 10 January 1924 3:08
16. MOONSHINE BLUES (Gertrude Rainey) With Irving Johns, piano(Columbia 14018-D, mx 81676-1) Recorded 9 April 1924 3:14
17. BOWEAVIL BLUES (Gertrude Rainey)With Irving Johns, piano(Columbia 14018-D, mx 81671-3) Recorded 7 April 1924 2:52
18. HATEFUL BLUES (Perry Bradford) With Robert Robbins, violin; Irving Johns, piano(Columbia 14023-D, mx 81672-2) Recorded 8 April 1924 3:08
All selections recorded in New York
Transfers & Production: David LennickDigital Noise Reduction: Graham NewtonOriginal 78's from the collections of Roger Misiewicz and John Wilby
Photo of Bessie Smith (b/w original, Michael Ochs Archives/Redferns)
120660bk Bessie 6/1/03 10:38 pm Page 6
1. DOWNHEARTED BLUES (Lovie Austin–Alberta Hunter) With Clarence Williams, piano(Columbia A 3844, mx 80863-5) Recorded 16 February 1923 3:24
2. GULF COAST BLUES (Clarence Williams) With Clarence Williams, piano(Columbia A 3844, mx 80864-3) Recorded 16 February 1923 3:02
3. 'TAIN'T NOBODY'S BIZ-NESS IF I DO (Porter Grainger–Everett Robbins)With Clarence Williams, piano(Columbia A 3898, mx 80862-10) Recorded 26 April 1923 3:23
4. KEEPS ON A-RAININ' (Spencer Williams–Max Kortlander) With Clarence Williams, piano(Columbia A 3898, mx 80865-10) Recorded 26 April 1923 3:03
5. YODLING BLUES (Clarence Williams) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia A 3989, mx 81079-3) Recorded 4 June 1923 3:07
6. BLEEDING HEARTED BLUES (Lovie Austin) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia A 3936, mx 81075-3) Recorded 14 June 1923 3:05
7. LADY LUCK BLUES (Clarence Williams) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia A 3939, mx 81078-3) Recorded 14 June 1923 3:04
8. IF YOU DON'T I KNOW WHO WILL (Clarence Williams) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia A 3942, mx 81092-4) Recorded 22 June 1923 3:29
9. NOBODY IN TOWN CAN BAKE A SWEET JELLY ROLL LIKE MINE (Clarence & Spencer Williams) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia A 3942, mx 81095-2) Recorded 22 June 1923 3:23
10. JAIL HOUSE BLUES (Clarence Williams) With Irving Johns, piano (Columbia A 4001, mx 81226-2) Recorded 21 September 1923 3:14
8.120660 8.1206604 5
A&R man Frank Walker, who was by now keen to inaugurate a more competitive ‘Race Series’,she recorded the first of 180 known sides (twenty of which unpublished, masters now lost)under an exclusive contract which extended until November 1931. Although dropped at thattime by Columbia during the Depression, ongoing sales of her records, it is claimed, helpedsave the company from bankruptcy (executive John Hammond, who rated Bessie “the greatestartist American jazz ever produced” would add one final session, recorded for the Englishmarket, in November 1933).
Bessie’s first Columbia sessions involved multiple re-takes. All done by the long-winded andunnerving acoustical process, few of these were passed for release. Perhaps it was nerves andshe found it necessary to acclimatise to an impersonal acoustic horn now taking the place ofthe more customary audience vibes but Columbia, keen to market her potential, wereaccommodating and these earliest sessions, which until that of 26 April 1923 were allaccompanied at the piano by Williams (they were soon to part painfully after Bessie discoveredhe was pocketing 50% of her $125 per-side-used fee!), would produce some of the mostmonumental blues sides in jazz history, beginning with the highly influential DownheartedBlues. Over and above Columbia’s expectations, Bessie’s recording of this song (co-written byAlberta Hunter, who had already recorded it for Paramount, in July 1922) became a 1923equivalent of a US No.1. The recording sold an impressive 780,000 copies in under six monthsand made Bessie a household name. It was coupled with Gulf Coast Blues, one of variousitems penned for her by Clarence Williams, who probably earned more than she did inroyalties. Between 30 April and 22 June, however, benefiting from some more sensitiveaccompaniments by Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952), she recorded a further seven publishedsides, a total which exceeded the number required by her contract. Both Bessie Smith and theCuthbert, Georgia-born pianist-arranger and future bigband-leader were now poised forstardom.
Peter Dempsey, 2003
120660bk Bessie 6/1/03 10:38 pm Page 4
1. DOWNHEARTED BLUES (Lovie Austin–Alberta Hunter) With Clarence Williams, piano(Columbia A 3844, mx 80863-5) Recorded 16 February 1923 3:24
2. GULF COAST BLUES (Clarence Williams) With Clarence Williams, piano(Columbia A 3844, mx 80864-3) Recorded 16 February 1923 3:02
3. 'TAIN'T NOBODY'S BIZ-NESS IF I DO (Porter Grainger–Everett Robbins)With Clarence Williams, piano(Columbia A 3898, mx 80862-10) Recorded 26 April 1923 3:23
4. KEEPS ON A-RAININ' (Spencer Williams–Max Kortlander) With Clarence Williams, piano(Columbia A 3898, mx 80865-10) Recorded 26 April 1923 3:03
5. YODLING BLUES (Clarence Williams) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia A 3989, mx 81079-3) Recorded 4 June 1923 3:07
6. BLEEDING HEARTED BLUES (Lovie Austin) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia A 3936, mx 81075-3) Recorded 14 June 1923 3:05
7. LADY LUCK BLUES (Clarence Williams) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia A 3939, mx 81078-3) Recorded 14 June 1923 3:04
8. IF YOU DON'T I KNOW WHO WILL (Clarence Williams) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia A 3942, mx 81092-4) Recorded 22 June 1923 3:29
9. NOBODY IN TOWN CAN BAKE A SWEET JELLY ROLL LIKE MINE (Clarence & Spencer Williams) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia A 3942, mx 81095-2) Recorded 22 June 1923 3:23
10. JAIL HOUSE BLUES (Clarence Williams) With Irving Johns, piano (Columbia A 4001, mx 81226-2) Recorded 21 September 1923 3:14
8.120660 8.1206604 5
A&R man Frank Walker, who was by now keen to inaugurate a more competitive ‘Race Series’,she recorded the first of 180 known sides (twenty of which unpublished, masters now lost)under an exclusive contract which extended until November 1931. Although dropped at thattime by Columbia during the Depression, ongoing sales of her records, it is claimed, helpedsave the company from bankruptcy (executive John Hammond, who rated Bessie “the greatestartist American jazz ever produced” would add one final session, recorded for the Englishmarket, in November 1933).
Bessie’s first Columbia sessions involved multiple re-takes. All done by the long-winded andunnerving acoustical process, few of these were passed for release. Perhaps it was nerves andshe found it necessary to acclimatise to an impersonal acoustic horn now taking the place ofthe more customary audience vibes but Columbia, keen to market her potential, wereaccommodating and these earliest sessions, which until that of 26 April 1923 were allaccompanied at the piano by Williams (they were soon to part painfully after Bessie discoveredhe was pocketing 50% of her $125 per-side-used fee!), would produce some of the mostmonumental blues sides in jazz history, beginning with the highly influential DownheartedBlues. Over and above Columbia’s expectations, Bessie’s recording of this song (co-written byAlberta Hunter, who had already recorded it for Paramount, in July 1922) became a 1923equivalent of a US No.1. The recording sold an impressive 780,000 copies in under six monthsand made Bessie a household name. It was coupled with Gulf Coast Blues, one of variousitems penned for her by Clarence Williams, who probably earned more than she did inroyalties. Between 30 April and 22 June, however, benefiting from some more sensitiveaccompaniments by Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952), she recorded a further seven publishedsides, a total which exceeded the number required by her contract. Both Bessie Smith and theCuthbert, Georgia-born pianist-arranger and future bigband-leader were now poised forstardom.
Peter Dempsey, 2003
120660bk Bessie 6/1/03 10:38 pm Page 4
After other similar tours, in 1912 Bessie joined F. S. Wolcott’s Rabbit Foot Mintrels, at theinstigation of her “fairy godmother” Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey (1886-1939). The Columbus,Georgia-born cabaret and pioneering female blues singer who later won fame throughout theSouth and Midwest variously billed ‘The first Race Artist to earn the title of Madame’ and‘Mother of the Blues’ (tags bestowed largely in recognition of her recordings – she herself madeabout 100) took the virtual orphan Bessie under her wing and honed her raw talent, althoughfrom most accounts it is likely their relationship was fiery and that they parted on less thanfriendly terms.
After leaving the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, Bessie toured for a while around gin-mills and tent-shows (with Charles W. Bailey, Pete Werley’s Florida Blossoms, Silas Green et al). She appearedat Charles Bailey’s ‘81’ Theatre in Atlanta, from 1913 and with Hazel Green, at the DouglasGilmor Theatre, Baltimore, in 1918. By the early 1920s she was an established star attractionon the TOBA (Theatre Owners’ Booking Association) circuit. By 1922, having steadily built upgreat followings in the South and on the East coast, she had established herself inPhiladelphia. She is reputed to have made her very first records early in 1921, in New York, forthe Emerson label, but although they were advertised in the classified columns of the ChicagoDefender as scheduled for release on 10 March, no trace of these has so far been found. Othercontemporary ads hint that she may have first auditioned for Columbia around this time andlegend also has it that she was hired by Harry Pace to record various sides for his Black Swanlabel but fired on the spot after exclaiming “Hold on a minute while I spit” in the middle of atake!
From early in 1920 OKeh had been recording blues singer Mamie Smith with considerablecommercial success and, late in 1922 or early in 1923, with a small backing group whichincluded Sidney Bechet and pianist Clarence Williams (1893-1965) Bessie (who was then in ashow with Bechet at the Dunbar Theatre in Philadelphia) was invited by Fred Hager of OKehRecords to make a test of A. J. Piron’s “I Wish I Could Shimmy Like My Sister Kate”. OKehrejected this, however, considering her voice “too rough”, her style too unorthodox andtherefore without sales potential (Williams gave the test to Bessie, who presumably destroyedit). In February 1923, however, through the combined efforts of Williams and Columbia’s
8.120660 38.1206606
11. GRAVEYARD DREAM BLUES (Ida Cox) With Jimmy Jones, piano(Columbia A 4001, mx 81237-3) Recorded 26 September 1923 2:44
12. CEMETERY BLUES (Sid Laney) With Jimmy Jones, piano(Columbia 13001-D, mx 81241-3) Recorded 26 September 1923 3:31
13. ANY WOMAN'S BLUES (Lovie Austin) With Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia 13001-D, mx 81283-3) Recorded 16 October 1923 3:26
14. MISTREATIN' DADDY (Porter Grainger–Bob Ricketts) With Don Redman, clarinet; Fletcher Henderson, piano(Columbia 14000-D, mx 81392-3) Recorded 4 December 1923 3:17
15. EASY COME, EASY GO BLUES (Will Jackson–Eddie Brown) With Harry Reser, guitar; Jimmy Jones, piano(Columbia 14005-D, mx 81470-4) Recorded 10 January 1924 3:08
16. MOONSHINE BLUES (Gertrude Rainey) With Irving Johns, piano(Columbia 14018-D, mx 81676-1) Recorded 9 April 1924 3:14
17. BOWEAVIL BLUES (Gertrude Rainey)With Irving Johns, piano(Columbia 14018-D, mx 81671-3) Recorded 7 April 1924 2:52
18. HATEFUL BLUES (Perry Bradford) With Robert Robbins, violin; Irving Johns, piano(Columbia 14023-D, mx 81672-2) Recorded 8 April 1924 3:08
All selections recorded in New York
Transfers & Production: David LennickDigital Noise Reduction: Graham NewtonOriginal 78's from the collections of Roger Misiewicz and John Wilby
Photo of Bessie Smith (b/w original, Michael Ochs Archives/Redferns)
120660bk Bessie 6/1/03 10:38 pm Page 6
8.120660 7
The Naxos Historical labels aim to make available the greatest recordings of the history ofrecorded music, in the best and truest sound that contemporary technology can provide. Toachieve this aim, Naxos has engaged a number of respected restorers who have thededication, skill and experience to produce restorations that have set new standards in thefield of historical recordings.
David LennickAs a producer of CD reissues, David Lennick’s work in this field grew directly from his ownneeds as a broadcaster specializing in vintage material and the need to make it listenable whilebeing transmitted through equalizers, compressors and the inherent limitations of A.M. radio.Equally at home in classical, pop, jazz and nostalgia, Lennick describes himself as exercising asmuch control as possible on the final product, in conjunction with CEDAR noise reductionapplied by Graham Newton in Toronto. As both broadcaster and re-issue producer, he relieson his own extensive collection as well as those made available to him by private collectors,the University of Toronto, Syracuse University and others.
8.120566 8.120630* 8.120659*
Available in our companion series Naxos Nostalgia…
* Not available in the USA
8.1206602
BESSIE SMITH ‘Downhearted Blues’Original Recordings 1923-1924
“She made life amusing, serious, witty and devastatingly depressing and shesang, without compromise, for people who were honest enough to realisethat life is like that.” (Spike Hughes – Melody Maker obituary, 1937)
“Bessie’s control of her voice was without parallel; a subtle accent on onesyllable could change the entire meaning of a line. Her sense of pitch was asdramatic as it was accurate.” (George Avakian)
To her friends and fans Bessie became known as ‘The Queen of the Blues’ and the recordcompanies elevated her another notch to ‘Empress’. She made the blues her speciality andunder that heading she sang of love, oppression and defeat for a salary often in excess of$1500 per week and during the first year of her recording contract alone her sales exceeded twomillion. The archetypal raw, vaudeville blues singer, she was an American legend for some timebefore her untimely death and kept her place among black and white blues enthusiasts untilchanging fashions in popular music finally put her out of vogue. Her recorded legacy, however,continues to fascinate not solely on account of Bessie’s magisterial vocalising but also becauseof accompaniments featuring such stellar luminaries of early jazz as Louis Armstrong, ColemanHawkins, Fletcher Henderson, James P. Johnson, Tommy Ladnier and Clarence Williams.
Bessie first saw the light in Chattanooga, Tennessee on 15 April 1894, one of seven siblingsborn to William Smith, a part-time Baptist preacher and his wife Laura. Raised in “a littleramshackle cabin”, her early years were marked by struggle and hardship and by the age of nineshe had already lost both parents. Her family variously dispersed into vaudeville and travellingentertainment and Bessie, gifted with a voice, took her own first step towards showbiz, singingfor nickels and dimes on Chattanooga street-corners, accompanied on guitar by her brotherAndrew. An ebullient natural, gifted with a strong voice and a commanding stage presence,before long Bessie had followed suit, touring with the Stokes troupe, initially as a dancer.
120660bk Bessie 6/1/03 10:38 pm Page 2
8.120572 8.120583 8.120609*
* Not available in the USA
Also available in the Naxos Jazz Legends series
8.120611* 8.120616 8.120622*
120660bk Bessie 6/1/03 10:38 pm Page 8
BES
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ESSIE SMIT
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Transfers and Production by David LennickDigital Noise Reduction by Graham NewtonNOTES AND FULL RECORDING DETAILS INCLUDED
www.naxos.com MADE IN CANADAh & g 2003 HNH International Ltd Design: Ron Hoares
AA �
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BESSIE SMITH Downhearted BluesOriginal 1923-1924 Recordings
8.120660
ADD
TotalTime58:37
1. Downhearted Blues 3:242. Gulf Coast Blues 3:023. ’T Ain’t Nobody’s Biz-ness If I Do 3:234. Keeps On A-Rainin’ 3:035. Yodling Blues 3:076. Bleeding Hearted Blues 3:057. Lady Luck Blues 3:048. If You Don’t I Know Who Will 3:299. Nobody In Town Can Bake A Sweet Jelly Roll
Like Mine 3:2310. Jail House Blues 3:1411. Graveyard Dream Blues 2:4412. Cemetery Blues 3:3113. Any Woman’s Blues 3:2614. Mistreatin’ Daddy 3:1715. Easy Come, Easy Go Blues 3:0816. Moonshine Blues 3:1417. Boweavil Blues 2:5218. Hateful Blues 3:08
