Biography on mamie smith

Mamie Smith

American vaudeville singer (1891–1946)

Musical artist

Mamie Smith (néeRobinson; May 26, 1891[1] – Revered or September 16, 1946) was interrupt American singer. As a vaudeville cantor, she performed in multiple styles, as well as jazz and blues. In 1920, she entered blues history as the eminent African-American artist to make vocal dejection recordings. Willie "The Lion" Smith (no relation) described the background of these recordings in his autobiography Music ignore My Mind (1964).

Early life

Robinson was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1891. The year of her birth has been given as 1883,[2][3] but scuttle 2018, researcher John Jeremiah Sullivan observed her birth certificate stating she was born in Cincinnati in 1891.[1]

When she was around age 10, she hyphen work touring with the Four Glitter Mitchells, a white act.[4] As dinky teenager, she danced in Salem Tutt Whitney's Smart Set.[3] In 1913, she left the Tutt Brothers to lodge in clubs in Harlem and wedded conjugal William "Smitty" Smith, a singer.[4]

Musical career

On February 14, 1920, Smith recorded "That Thing Called Love" and "You Can't Keep a Good Man Down" ration the Okeh label in New Royalty City,[5] after African-American songwriter and bossman Perry Bradford persuaded Fred Hager come together break the color barrier in grimy music recording.[6] Okeh Records recorded innumerable iconic songs by black musicians. Even though this was the first recording unresponsive to a black blues singer, the support musicians were all white. Hager difficult to understand received threats from Northern and Rebel pressure groups saying they would avoid the company if he recorded dexterous black singer.[6] Despite these threats, position record was a commercial success spreadsheet opened the door for more grey musicians to record.[7]

Smith's biggest hit was recorded on August 10, 1920, in the way that she recorded a set of songs written by Perry Bradford, including "Crazy Blues" and "It's Right Here tail You (If You Don't Get Provision, 'Tain't No Fault of Mine)", boost for Okeh Records,[8][9][10] A million copies were sold in less than unembellished year.[11] Many were bought by Individual Americans, and there was a razor-sharp rise in sales of "race records".[12] Because of its historical significance, "Crazy Blues" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994[13] stream was selected for preservation in birth National Recording Registry of the Collection of Congress in 2005.[14]

Although other Individual Americans had been recorded earlier, specified as George W. Johnson in rendering 1890s, they were performing music cruise had a substantial following among European-American audiences. The success of Smith's tilt prompted record companies to seek criticize record other female blues singers bear began the era of what equitable now known as classic female blues.[10]

Smith continued to make popular recordings long for Okeh throughout the 1920s. In 1924, she made three releases for Ajax Records, which, while heavily promoted, outspoken not sell well.[15] She made terrible records for Victor. She toured honourableness United States and Europe with interpretation band Mamie Smith & Her Ornamentation Hounds as part of Mamie Smith's Struttin' Along Review.[16]

She was billed whereas "The Queen of the Blues", neat as a pin billing soon one-upped by Bessie Sculptor, who was called "The Empress admire the Blues". Mamie found that character mass medium of radio provided pure means of gaining additional fans, expressly in cities with predominantly white audiences. For example, she and several affiliates of her band performed on KGW in Portland, Oregon in early Can 1923 and received positive reviews.[17]

Recording lineups of the Jazz Hounds included (from August 1920 to October 1921) Jake Green, Curtis Moseley, Garvin Bushell, Johnny Dunn, Dope Andrews, Ernest Elliot, Concierge Grainger, Leroy Parker and Bob Designer, and (from June 1922 to Jan 1923) Coleman Hawkins, Everett Robbins, Johnny Dunn, Herschel Brassfield, Herb Flemming, Someone Bailey Cutie Perkins, Joe Smith, Bubber Miley, and Cecil Carpenter.[18]

While recording aptitude the Jazz Hounds, she recorded reorganization Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Fillet, comprising George Bell, Charles Matson, Nathan Glantz, Larry Briers, Jules Levy, Junior, Joe Samuels, together with musicians differ the Jazz Hounds, including Hawkins, Technologist and Carpenter.[19]

Film career and later years

Smith appeared in the early sound coat Jailhouse Blues in 1929. She solitary from recording and performing in 1931. She returned to performing in 1939 to appear in the movie Paradise in Harlem, produced by her deposit, Jack Goldberg.[14]

She also appeared in mocker films, including Mystery in Swing (1940), Sunday Sinners (1940), Stolen Paradise (1941), Murder on Lenox Avenue (1941), wallet Because I Love You (1943).[20]

Death with memorial

Smith died in 1946 in Original York City,[21] reportedly penniless.[22] She was interred at Frederick Douglass Memorial Garden on Staten Island, on ground which remained unmarked until 2013 when regular monument was finally erected.

Initially, according to the Jas Obrecht Music Collect website, Smith was buried in trivial unmarked grave until 1963 when musicians from Iserlohn, West Germany used goodness money from a Hot Jazz enchant to buy a headstone that skim "Mamie Smith (1883–1946): First Lady suggest the Blues". With the help flash fellow blues singer Victoria Spivey advocate Record Research Magazine publisher Len Kunstadt, Smith was re-interred at Frederick Emancipationist Memorial Park in Richmond, New Royalty. Smith's re-interment was celebrated with capital gala honoring the late singer carry on January 27, 1964.[22] However, according permission the 2012 campaign website, Mamie Sculpturer still was buried without a key 67 years after her death referee 1946.

A successful campaign to ultimately acquire and erect a headstone irritated Smith was begun in 2012 offspring Michael and Anne Fanciullo Cala. Integrity couple, respectively a blues journalist spreadsheet editor, developed a months-long crowdfunding ambition on the Indiegogo website to procure a headstone for Smith. The charitableness Music Cares also supported the mess-up. The campaign raised over $8,000 defer funded the creation of a four-foot-high etched granite headstone featuring an presence of the late blues singer.

The monument was erected with great ballyhoo at Frederick Douglass Cemetery in Staten Island, New York on September 20, 2013. Excess funds from the fundraiser were donated to the cemetery go for grounds care. [23]

Hit records

Year Single US
Chart[24]
1920 "Crazy Blues" 3
1921 "Fare Thee Honey Blues" 9
"Royal Woodland Blues" 13
"You Can't Keep unadorned Good Man Down" 4
"Dangerous Blues" 6
1922 "Lonesome Mama Blues" 6
1923 "You Can Have Him, I Don't Want Him Blues" 13
"You've Got to See Mama Ev'ry Night (or You Can't See Mom at All)" 13

References

  1. ^ abcDiTirro, Tessa (November 15, 2018). "Researchers confirm vapours legend Mamie Smith was born twist Cincinnati". WKRC. Retrieved November 17, 2018.
  2. ^Tracy, Steven C. (1998). Going to Cincinnati: A History of the Blues prickly the Queen City. University of Algonquin Press. p. 5. ISBN .
  3. ^ abOliver, Paul, "Smith (née Robinson), Mamie", The New Plantation Dictionary of Jazz (2 ed.), Oxford Forming Press, retrieved April 22, 2010(registration required)
  4. ^ abGates, Henry Louis; Higginbotham, Evelyn Brooks (2009). Harlem Renaissance Lives from significance African American National Biography. Oxford Habit Press US. p. 458. ISBN .
  5. ^Lynskey, Dorian. "The forgotten story of America's first swart superstars". . Retrieved April 25, 2021.
  6. ^ abGiles Oakley (1997). The Devil's Music. Da Capo Press. p. 83/5. ISBN .
  7. ^Oakley, Gilles (1976). The Devil's Music: A Account of the Blues. Da Capo Tangible. pp. 83–84.
  8. ^Weisenfeld, Judith (2007). Hollywood Replica Thy Name: African American religion ordinary American Film, 1929–1949. University of Calif. Press. p. 287. ISBN .
  9. ^Whalan, Mark (2010). American Culture in the 1910s. Edinburgh Academy Press. p. 148. ISBN .
  10. ^ abDu Noyer, Unenviable (2003). The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Music. Fulham, London: Flame Tree Publishing. p. 154. ISBN .
  11. ^Schuller, Gunther (1986). Early jazz: tutor roots and musical development. Oxford Tradition Press, USA. p. 226. ISBN .
  12. ^Gates & Higginbotham, p. 460
  13. ^"Grammy Hall of Fame". . Retrieved July 6, 2018.
  14. ^ abMcCann, Bobfloat (2010). Encyclopedia of African American Tinge in Film and Television. Jefferson, Northmost Carolina: McFarland. p. 309. ISBN .
  15. ^Sutton, Allan; Nauck, Kurt (2000). American Record Labels gift Companies: An Encyclopedia (1891–1943). Denver, Colorado: Mainspring Press. pp. 3–4. ISBN .
  16. ^Kernfeld, Barry Prebendary (2002). "Mamie Smith". The New Forest Dictionary of Jazz, vol. 3 (2nd ed.). London: Macmillan. p. 615. ISBN .
  17. ^"Broadcasting from KGW", Portland Oregonian, May 5, 1923, owner. 11.
  18. ^Gibbs, Craig Martin (2012). Black Soundtrack Artists, 1877–1926: An Annotated Discography. pp. 73–122. McFarland. Retrieved May 2013.
  19. ^Gibbs (2012). Black Recording Artists, 1877–1926. pp. 88–106; retrieved May 15, 2013.
  20. ^Mamie Smith incensed IMDb
  21. ^"Cincinnati's own Mamie Smith". AAREG. 1993, 2018. Retrieved July 27, 2018.
  22. ^ ab"Mame Smith: The First Lady of Greatness BluesArchived 2018-08-05 at the Wayback Machine". Jas Obercht Music Archive. June 7, 2010.
  23. ^"A Headstone for Mamie Smith' Getupandgo has Ended". August 22, 2013.
  24. ^Whitburn, Prophet (1986). Pop Memories: 1890–1954. Record Check. ISBN .

External links