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Changed line(s) 15,16 (click to see context) from:
* TheAlcoholic: ''Me and My Gin'' where she claims she is sinning due to her drinking habits, is friends with any bootlegger and will fight the army and navy if they get in the way of her gin.
* ChristmasSongs: ''At The Christmas Ball'' of course set during Christmas time.
* ChristmasSongs: ''At The Christmas Ball'' of course set during Christmas time.
to:
* TheAlcoholic: ''Me "Me and My Gin'' Gin" where she claims she is sinning due to her drinking habits, is friends with any bootlegger and will fight the army and navy if they get in the way of her gin.
* ChristmasSongs:''At "At The Christmas Ball'' Ball" of course set during Christmas time.
* ChristmasSongs:
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* HauntedHouse: In ''Haunted House Blues'', she claims her house is haunted with dead man though it seems her main concern is a man who mistreats her.
* MurderBallad: "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair"
* MurderBallad: "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair"
to:
* HauntedHouse: In ''Haunted "Haunted House Blues'', Blues", she claims her house is haunted with dead man though it seems her main concern is a man who mistreats her.
* MurderBallad: "Send Me to the 'LectricChair"Chair" has Bessie bragging about killing her man for cheating on her, then begging to be executed so she won't have to go to jail.
-->''I cut him with my Barlow\\
I kicked him in the side\\
I stood here laughing o'r him\\
While he wallowed around and died''
* MurderBallad: "Send Me to the 'Lectric
-->''I cut him with my Barlow\\
I kicked him in the side\\
I stood here laughing o'r him\\
While he wallowed around and died''
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-->''Give that piano player a drink because he's bringing me down!''
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* SpokenWordInMusic: "Gimme A Pig Foot and a Bottle of Beer" starts with Bessie exclaiming "Twenty-five cents?! HAH! I wouldn't pay 25 cents to go in NOwhere!"
to:
* SpokenWordInMusic: "Gimme A Pig Foot and a Bottle of Beer" starts with Bessie exclaiming "Twenty-five cents?! HAH! No, no, I wouldn't pay 25 cents to go in NOwhere!"''nowhere''!" before striding into the speakeasy she's singing about.
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* TwelveBarBlues: St. Louis Blues is notable example of a song with this structure.
to:
* TwelveBarBlues: St. "St. Louis Blues Blues" is notable example of a song with this structure.
* DoubleEntendre: Naturally, for a 20s nightclub entertainer, her songs are full of this. "I Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl" and "Kitchen Man" are probably the standouts.
-->''His frankfurters are oh so sweet\\
How I like his sausage meat\\
Oh, how that boy can open clam\\
No one else can touch my ham''
-->''His frankfurters are oh so sweet\\
How I like his sausage meat\\
Oh, how that boy can open clam\\
No one else can touch my ham''
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* OdeToIntoxication: If Me and My Gin is any indication, she won’t let anyone get in the way of her drinking (even if acknowledging it as a sin)
* RichesToRags: Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out is about a former wealthy person who has since lost their fortune with not even a penny in their pocket.
* SomethingBlues: She has dozens of examples with some of the best known being Downhearted blues, St. Louis Blues and Empty Bed Blues.
* RichesToRags: Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out is about a former wealthy person who has since lost their fortune with not even a penny in their pocket.
* SomethingBlues: She has dozens of examples with some of the best known being Downhearted blues, St. Louis Blues and Empty Bed Blues.
to:
* MurderBallad: "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair"
* OdeToIntoxication: IfMe "Me and My Gin Gin" is any indication, she won’t let anyone get in the way of her drinking (even if acknowledging it as a sin)
sin). "Gimme A Pig Foot" isn't far behind sheer debauchery, even if it makes it sound a lot more fun.
* RichesToRags:Nobody "Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out Out" is about a former wealthy person who has since lost their fortune with not even a penny in their pocket.
* SomethingBlues: She has dozens of examples with some of the best known beingDownhearted blues, St. "Downhearted blues", "St. Louis Blues Blues" and Empty "Empty Bed Blues.Blues".
* SpokenWordInMusic: "Gimme A Pig Foot and a Bottle of Beer" starts with Bessie exclaiming "Twenty-five cents?! HAH! I wouldn't pay 25 cents to go in NOwhere!"
* OdeToIntoxication: If
* RichesToRags:
* SomethingBlues: She has dozens of examples with some of the best known being
* SpokenWordInMusic: "Gimme A Pig Foot and a Bottle of Beer" starts with Bessie exclaiming "Twenty-five cents?! HAH! I wouldn't pay 25 cents to go in NOwhere!"
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* HauntedHouse: Haunted House Blues says her claiming her house is haunted with dead man though it seems her main concern is a man who mistreats her.
to:
* HauntedHouse: Haunted In ''Haunted House Blues says her claiming Blues'', she claims her house is haunted with dead man though it seems her main concern is a man who mistreats her.
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Added DiffLines:
[[quoteright:320:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/4_15_bessie_smith.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:320: The Empress of Blues]]
Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 to September 26, 1937) was one of the most successful and influential Blues singers from the Jazz Age. She was known as a bold and confident artist whose work typically involved themes of poverty, oppression and love (typically broken relationships) which was not unlike some of the hardships she faced in her own life. She is often referred by the honorific nickname “The Empress of Blues”. Her work has also seen her collaborate with several Jazz musicians who later became more well known like Music/LouisArmstrong, Benny Goodman and Fletcher Henderson.
She began performing while still a kid as a means of surviving after her parents both died in a car accident. She later began touring as a {{Vaudeville}} performer and received training from Ma Rainey, one of the first big blues singers. After years performing throughout the American South, she secured a recording deal and began making her first records in 1923. Many of her records became big hits and she starred in a film short Film/StLouisBlues. At her peak, she was the highest paid black entertainer.
Her popularity though did wane around the time of TheGreatDepression as the recording industry was nearly out of business while the Vaudeville venues she played out gradually died off as sound films became the norm. She did continuing touring in the 30s, mostly in less elaborate clubs, and made what would be her final recordings in 1933, though with more swing styled arrangements than her earlier blues material. In 1937, she was critically injured in a car accident and died shortly after. While thousands attended her funeral, she was initially buried in an unmarked gave though a tombstone was later commissioned by Music/JanisJoplin, who was a big fan of her work, which says "The Greatest Blues Singer in the World Will Never Stop Singing."
Despite a relatively short recording career, her work influenced numerous other singers. She has since received numerous honors since her passing. She was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and was part of the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, listed as an “Early Influence”. She has also had multiple recordings inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as well an induction in the National Recording Registry. Her life story was also adapted as the HBO film Bessie (2015) where she was played by Music/QueenLatifah.
----
!! Tropes:
* TwelveBarBlues: St. Louis Blues is notable example of a song with this structure.
* TheAlcoholic: ''Me and My Gin'' where she claims she is sinning due to her drinking habits, is friends with any bootlegger and will fight the army and navy if they get in the way of her gin.
* ChristmasSongs: ''At The Christmas Ball'' of course set during Christmas time.
* GreatestHitsAlbum: Various compilations of hers serve as this. Granted, she recorded music during a time where LP albums didn’t exist yet.
* HauntedHouse: Haunted House Blues says her claiming her house is haunted with dead man though it seems her main concern is a man who mistreats her.
* OdeToIntoxication: If Me and My Gin is any indication, she won’t let anyone get in the way of her drinking (even if acknowledging it as a sin)
* RichesToRags: Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out is about a former wealthy person who has since lost their fortune with not even a penny in their pocket.
* SomethingBlues: She has dozens of examples with some of the best known being Downhearted blues, St. Louis Blues and Empty Bed Blues.
* {{Vaudeville}}: Many of her live performances were part of the Vaudeville shows.
[[caption-width-right:320: The Empress of Blues]]
Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 to September 26, 1937) was one of the most successful and influential Blues singers from the Jazz Age. She was known as a bold and confident artist whose work typically involved themes of poverty, oppression and love (typically broken relationships) which was not unlike some of the hardships she faced in her own life. She is often referred by the honorific nickname “The Empress of Blues”. Her work has also seen her collaborate with several Jazz musicians who later became more well known like Music/LouisArmstrong, Benny Goodman and Fletcher Henderson.
She began performing while still a kid as a means of surviving after her parents both died in a car accident. She later began touring as a {{Vaudeville}} performer and received training from Ma Rainey, one of the first big blues singers. After years performing throughout the American South, she secured a recording deal and began making her first records in 1923. Many of her records became big hits and she starred in a film short Film/StLouisBlues. At her peak, she was the highest paid black entertainer.
Her popularity though did wane around the time of TheGreatDepression as the recording industry was nearly out of business while the Vaudeville venues she played out gradually died off as sound films became the norm. She did continuing touring in the 30s, mostly in less elaborate clubs, and made what would be her final recordings in 1933, though with more swing styled arrangements than her earlier blues material. In 1937, she was critically injured in a car accident and died shortly after. While thousands attended her funeral, she was initially buried in an unmarked gave though a tombstone was later commissioned by Music/JanisJoplin, who was a big fan of her work, which says "The Greatest Blues Singer in the World Will Never Stop Singing."
Despite a relatively short recording career, her work influenced numerous other singers. She has since received numerous honors since her passing. She was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 1980 and was part of the inaugural class of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, listed as an “Early Influence”. She has also had multiple recordings inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame as well an induction in the National Recording Registry. Her life story was also adapted as the HBO film Bessie (2015) where she was played by Music/QueenLatifah.
----
!! Tropes:
* TwelveBarBlues: St. Louis Blues is notable example of a song with this structure.
* TheAlcoholic: ''Me and My Gin'' where she claims she is sinning due to her drinking habits, is friends with any bootlegger and will fight the army and navy if they get in the way of her gin.
* ChristmasSongs: ''At The Christmas Ball'' of course set during Christmas time.
* GreatestHitsAlbum: Various compilations of hers serve as this. Granted, she recorded music during a time where LP albums didn’t exist yet.
* HauntedHouse: Haunted House Blues says her claiming her house is haunted with dead man though it seems her main concern is a man who mistreats her.
* OdeToIntoxication: If Me and My Gin is any indication, she won’t let anyone get in the way of her drinking (even if acknowledging it as a sin)
* RichesToRags: Nobody Knows You When You’re Down and Out is about a former wealthy person who has since lost their fortune with not even a penny in their pocket.
* SomethingBlues: She has dozens of examples with some of the best known being Downhearted blues, St. Louis Blues and Empty Bed Blues.
* {{Vaudeville}}: Many of her live performances were part of the Vaudeville shows.
