1895-1937
Bessie Smith was notoriously a violent and rude woman. Smith was one of the greatest blues women to record in the 1920s. In 1912, she joined "Pa and Ma Rainey's Musical Act" and befriended the famed singer. She toured with them until 1915 and in 1923 recorded her first album rivaling the sales of her predecessor Mamie Smith. Unfortunately as her career began to blossom the Blues style began to fade in popularity. In an attempt to create a comeback, she began to rework her image as a swing singer. She was not able to continue her work due to her death.
How could she be seen as having Feminist ideas?
Like her predecessors she lived the life of the fast and free due to her reframing her respectability away from domesticity. She was very sure of herself and individualistic unlike many women who follow. By being as blunt and straight to the point she appealed to many, spreading her music to the masses, white and black. She demonstrates the feminist notion by continually choosing to stand on her own, even when people told her she couldn't she still stood on her own. Though some of her lyrics may have been overtly sexual she made her confidence well known.
