This story is free to read because readers choose to support LAist. If you find value in independent local reporting, make a donation to power our newsroom today. SHAPIRO: Or does rock 'n' roll owe a ...

Miche Braden stars as Bessie Smith, the legendary “Empress of the Blues,” who blazed the trail for a century of performers from Aretha Franklin to Adele. Mixing classics like “Need a Little Sugar In ...

The hangings parted and a great brown woman emerged—she was the size of Fay Templeton in her Weber & Fields days, and she was even garbed similarly, in a rose satin dress, spangled with sequins, which ...

This broadcast opens with a celebration of the music of Bessie Smith, the Empress of the Blues, in honor of her birthday, with new releases from saxophonist Melissa Aldana, vocalists Emma Larsson, ...

There’s a reason Bessie Smith was known as the Empress of the Blues. Her heartfelt songs and gritty glamour introduced the sounds of African American music to large audiences in the 1920s and 30s. She ...

Bessie Smith, Empress of the Blues, was the first African American superstar, an artist that mingled regal dignity with sensuality. We’ll sample her recorded legacy, talk with critics and hear ...

Jazzanooga is celebrating National Jazz Appreciation Month (JAM) with a tribute to a jazz icon each week in April during its JAM Fest. Coincidentally, the late, great Bessie Smith's birthday is also ...

“I wrung my hands and I wanted to scream / But when I woke up I found it was only a dream.” There she stood at Columbia’s studio in New York to record this song in September 1923. She and pianist ...