Artist
Bessie Smith
Bessie Smith appears once in our Blues list, placing as high as No. 6. Hand-curated, with a reason for every pick.
- Ranked entries
- 1
- Appears on
- Blues
- Year
- 1923
- Highest placing
- No. 6 in Blues
- Updated
- 2026-08-30
Appears on
Downhearted Blues
1923 · Columbia
Ranked No. 6 in Blues
The Empress of the Blues on her debut, outselling everything around her. Smith phrases like a horn player, which is the technique every singer on the soul list inherited.