Her family was extremely poor. Her father was a Baptist minister. Both of her parents died when she was young. Bessie and her brother Andrew made money for the family working as street performers.
What happened to Bessie Smith son?
The courts remanded Jack, Jr. to Viola’s care, rather than to Smith’s. A short while later, Jack Jr. went to live with his biological father, who kept him in the basement and often forgot to feed him. The SPCC then sent the boy to a home in Valhalla, New York.
How many records did Bessie Smith sell?
Within a reported 10 months of signing Smith, the Columbia label sold two million records. Over the next four years, her sales reached six million. But she sang a wider repertoire as a featured performer in vaudeville, in her traveling tent show, on theatrical tours, and, later, in jazz clubs.
Who was Bessie Smith’s husband?
Personal life. In 1923, Smith was living in Philadelphia when she met Jack Gee, a security guard, whom she married on June 7, 1923, just as her first record was being released.
Was Bessie Smith rich? – Related Questions
Who paid for Bessie Smith’s grave?
PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 8 1970 (AP) —Janis Joplin, the blues‐rock singer, and Juanita Green, a registered nurse from Philadelphia shared the cost of a stone for the “Empress of the Blues,” whose grave lay un marked for more than 30 years.
Did Bessie Smith have any children?
Bessie never had any biological children, but in the Queen Latifah movie we see her (informally) adopted son, Jack Gee, Jr.
What happened to Bessie Smith’s husband Jack?
Jack Gee, who was the hus band of Bessie Smith, the late blues singer, died Monday at his home in Philadelphia. He was 84 years old. Mr. Gee, a former policeman, married Miss Smith in 1923, the year her re cording career began, and be came her manager.
Did Bessie Smith marry Richard Morgan?
They married June 7, 1923. He soon quit his job and became Mr. Bessie Smith, a situation that would eventually destroy their marriage. Bessie Smith was an alcoholic and a promiscuous bisexual.
Who was Richard Morgan to Bessie Smith?
Richard Morgan
A Chicago bootlegger who was Smith’s companion during the last two years before her death.
Did Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith work together?
Together with her protégé Bessie Smith, Rainey shaped and introduced classic women’s blues before 1920. Bessie and Ma became huge stars when these first Classic Blues records were introduced in the early 1920s, recording hundreds of titles and selling millions of records.
Who is considered the king of jazz?
Paul Whiteman, (born March 28, 1890, Denver, Colorado, U.S.—died December 29, 1967, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, U.S.), American bandleader, called the “King of Jazz” for popularizing a musical style that helped to introduce jazz to mainstream audiences during the 1920s and 1930s.
Did Ma Rainey get royalties?
Williams later boasted to a prospective biographer that nine out of ten Paramount artists received no royalties, regardless of sales – a figure that likely included Rainey.