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Title details for Bessie by Chris Albertson - Available

Bessie

by Chris Albertson
Robertson Dean
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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1 of 1 copy available
Bessie Smith, the great singer known as the "Empress of the Blues," is considered by many to be the greatest blues singer of all time. She was also a successful vaudeville entertainer who became the highest-paid African American performer of the Roaring Twenties.

Chris Albertson's revised and expanded edition of the biography of this extraordinary artist debunks many of the myths that have circulated since her untimely death in 1937. Albertson writes with insight and candor about the singer's personal life and her career, supplementing his historical research with dozens of interviews with her relatives, friends, and associates, including Ruby Walker Smith, a niece by marriage who toured with Bessie for over a decade.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    August 19, 2014

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9781494523701
      • File size: 382100 KB
      • Duration: 13:16:02

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Robertson Dean offers a solid reading of this biography of Bessie Smith, a pioneering jazz singer known as the "Empress of the Blues." In the portions that cover the history and culture of the 1920s entertainment world, he keeps the text flowing by varying his pacing and adding appropriate pauses. But his real strength comes in direct quotations. He adopts just enough of an accent to clearly distinguish the speakers, whether black, white, American, or European. Further, the shifts from one to another sound perfectly natural. This book, an update of an earlier version, shines a light on Smith and offers perspective on the era's artistic community as well as Smith's rise and untimely death. R.C.G. © AudioFile 2014, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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