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mari1532's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
I listened to this book with the last of my Audible subscription.
I must admit that I had not heard of Bessie Smith before reading this book. Albertson does an excellent job of bringing Smith's complex personality to life throughout the book. He even managed to bring out her sense of humour from the stories that sources provided Albertson. Smith had a great talent for singing, being known as the Empress of Blues and the albums I've listened to since reading this work make it clear this is a well-deserved title.
Although, 75% of this book covers the life, career, and relationships of Smith a good 25% of the book covers music history, particularly in the realms of Blues and Jazz. These parts were interesting, well-researched, and written in a way that as someone with no background information, I was able to follow along without issues. However, there were a few places where this history did overtake the fascinating story of Smith's life.
If you are a music lover or enjoy reading something new, this is an excellent book. The impact that Bessie Smith had on music in the United States is far-reaching and it is important to bring her life back to the forefront of music history.
I must admit that I had not heard of Bessie Smith before reading this book. Albertson does an excellent job of bringing Smith's complex personality to life throughout the book. He even managed to bring out her sense of humour from the stories that sources provided Albertson. Smith had a great talent for singing, being known as the Empress of Blues and the albums I've listened to since reading this work make it clear this is a well-deserved title.
Although, 75% of this book covers the life, career, and relationships of Smith a good 25% of the book covers music history, particularly in the realms of Blues and Jazz. These parts were interesting, well-researched, and written in a way that as someone with no background information, I was able to follow along without issues. However, there were a few places where this history did overtake the fascinating story of Smith's life.
If you are a music lover or enjoy reading something new, this is an excellent book. The impact that Bessie Smith had on music in the United States is far-reaching and it is important to bring her life back to the forefront of music history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Kidnapping and Classism
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
jt_tetreault's review against another edition
2.0
If you are not a die hard blues fan, this book will NOT resonate with you. Bessie was unabashedly herself, extraordinarily talented and hard-working and I think Chris Albertson did the best he could with the scattered sources available but this read like a text book and I really had to trudge through.
mythyagain's review
4.0
A fantastic amount of research went into this book and that in itself is amazing since most had to be gathered from live interviews with Bessie's colleagues. Dubbed the Emperoress of the Blues, Bessie was by all accounts a feisty, tough beyond belief, talented singer. Rising up from abject [poverty through singing, Bessie started "working" by age 9 ultimately supporting her 4 adult siblings, a husband, a few lovers and an adopted child. This biography also dispels some of the rumors surrounding Bessie's death.
emilysquest's review against another edition
4.0
A good biography of a fascinating person. Albertson does a good job of giving a rounded picture of Bessie Smith, although most of the interest and vitality comes from the verbatim memories of Ruby Walker, Smith's niece by marriage, who toured extensively with her in the 1920's and 30's. Albertson readily admits that without Ruby there wouldn't be a book, and her words definitely communicate much about Bessie that would otherwise be lost: her rollicking sense of humor, her mood throughout different eras, and what it was like to just hang out with her. Her famous temper probably would have come through, but maybe not how quick she often was to forgive and forget. Albertson's prose seems slightly dated (originally published in 1971, it seems to belong somewhat to an older, less engaging school of nonfiction writing). But it gives good structure and some commentary to the anecdotes related by Ruby and his other sources, some of which are amazing: the account of Smith cussing out Ku Klux Klan members who were trying to sabotage her performance tent, and creating such a formidable spectacle that the men slunk off into the night, was what turned me on to Albertson's book to begin with. There's lots more where that came from, but Smith is never painted as infallible or flawless. All in all, an enjoyable and educational read!