D. Blackwell
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Bessie
- De: Chris Albertson
- Narrado por: Robertson Dean
- Duración: 13 h y 15 m
- Versión completa
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General4.5 out of 5 stars 43
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Narración:4.5 out of 5 stars 39
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Historia4.5 out of 5 stars 40
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 '20s. 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.
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5 out of 5 stars
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First-rate bio of a first-rate blues legend
- De tru britty en 07-07-15
- Bessie
- De: Chris Albertson
- Narrado por: Robertson Dean
The Quintessential Empress of the Blues Biography
Revisado: 06-13-21
This was an amazing read by Mr. Albertson. I am aware that he compiled more sources on the life and times of Bessie Smith than any other attempted biographer. Though Albertson's personal feelings on the artist gave slight direction to his portrayal of her, he attempted to make the events as objective as possible. It has always been a hard task to accurately document the life and legacy of Blacks in the earlier eras of the United States for many reasons including conflicting interests during their lives and a lack of written first-hand material from those same individuals after they have died. Many of these individuals were either illiterate (many were before the mid 1950s), or there was little that could be said for fear of retaliation. Albertson uses similar phenomena within the recording industry's powerful workings to illustrate their complete control over their artists' portrayal and expression. The fact that Albertson's work is not complete self-written works from the Empress herself, enough was known of her from several sources who worked and lived with her to bring rather opaque events into focus. Every biography can be scrutinized for relying on certain sources over others but that does not mean the story should not be told. Albertson merely uses Ruby Walker and Alberta Hunter as a timeline to place Bessie at a certain place at a certain time, he then relies on material and written review of the event to structure a more vivid picture of what patrons and friends/family would have known during the time the events actually happened. I have deduced that if Queen Victoria, one of the most prolific diarists of the 19th Century, can have conflicting or fabricating material (due to personal bias), other great biographies should be excused for at least offering people like Bessie Smith, who's voice defined so much of her life, a voice about the humanity of her essence in death.
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