Biography
Bessie Smith was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Empress of the Blues", she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 1930s. She is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and was a major influence on fellow blues singers, as well as jazz vocalists.
Known For

It's Black Entertainment
Self (archive footage)

Bluesland: A Portrait in ...
Self (archive footage)

A Huey P. Newton Story
Self (archive footage) (uncredited)

The Story Of The Blues
Self (archive footage)

Blues Masters
Self (archive footage)

St. Louis Blues
Bessie - Battered Wife

Wild Women Don't Have the...
Self (archive footage)

Blues Masters - The Essen...
Self (archive footage)