Bessie Smith
Actor · 1894 – 1937 · Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA
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.
Movies5
Movie8.7DocumentaryMusicA star-studded tribute (from the creators of That's Entertainment) to the contributions of Afro-Americans in film over the last century. Vanessa Williams traces the struggles and triumphs of the superstars of music and film. Among the many artists featured are: Whitney Houston, Ella Fitzgerald, Sammy Davis Jr., Diana Ross, Michael Jackson, Cab Calloway, Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, Ella Fitzgerald, and Little Richard, Also included are today's contemporary superstars: Snoop Dogg, Ice T, Quincy Jones, Spike Lee, Russell Simmons, and many, more! 80 minutes plus DVD bonus features.
It's Black Entertainment
2002 · 3 votes
Movie5.4DocumentaryDramaThe story of how the radical Huey P. Newton developed the Black Panther Party based on his 10-point program for social reform.
A Huey P. Newton Story
2001 · 10 votes
Movie7.5DocumentaryMusicBlues as a genre shaped the sound of jazz in the early 20th century and directly led to the creation of rock 'n' roll in the '50s. The scales, chords, and progressions of blues as a musical form can be found in styles from jazz to rock to contemporary R&B.
Bluesland: A Portrait in American Music
1993 · 2 votes
Movie6.5DocumentaryMusicIn 1966, CBC Television invited some of North America's greatest blues performers to gather in a studio in Toronto, recording together and individually in sessions that lasted three days. The result was originally televised as part of the CBC "Festival" series, and now the session video tapes have been found, restored and re-edited. The great Muddy Waters and his band perform "You Can't Lose What You Never Had" and "Got My Mojo Workin'," the latter with James Cotton on harmonica. Willie Dixon goes solo on "Bassology" and (helped by a little '90s technology) performs "Crazy for My Baby" with host Colin James. Plus rare appearances by Sonny Terry and Brownie McGhee, Mable Hillery singing "How Long This Train Been Gone," and delta blues piano player Sunnyland Slim, introducing a whole new generation to this inspiring, soulful music.
Blues Masters
1999 · 2 votes
Movie5.4MusicDramaIn this all-black cast short, legendary blues singer Bessie Smith finds her gambler lover Jimmy messin' with a pretty, younger woman; he leaves and she sings the blues, with chorus and dancers.
St. Louis Blues
1929 · 24 votes