Bessie Smith

Term Paper Title	Bessie Smith
# of Words	345
# of Pages (250 words per page double spaced)	1.38

Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith
Meredith Kerr
2-21-00

Bessie Smith was born in a shack in Chattanooga, Tennessee around 1894.  Black birth certificates were not kept very well back then, but that is the assumed date.  In those times black women did not have many choices for careers, but Bessie�s talent proved to be more than enough to give her a life as an entertainer.
She began singing on street corners, her brother playing the guitar.  In 1912 Bessie�s brother got her an audition with Vaudeville, a traveling group of entertainers.  She got the job and was befriended by Ma Rainy, who was called the mother of the blues.  Ma Rainy gave Bessie the guidance to become the Blues legend she is today.
1923 was a big year for Bessie, she got married to a man named Jack G. and she recorded her first album for Columbia records, which sold 780,000 copies.  Despite her success she did not receive as much money as she should have, but more than most blacks ...

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