Bessie Smith

A BBC RADIO 4 BOOK OF THE WEEK

Bessie Smith: singer, icon, pioneer.

Scotland''s National Poet Jackie Kay brings to life the tempestuous story of the greatest blues singer who ever lived.

''A gem of a book . . . beautiful.'' BERNARDINE EVARISTO
''A wonderful writer on a magnificent singer.'' ROBERT WYATT
''Kay¿s book is the amplifier that Smith¿s voice deserves.'' SUNDAY TIMES
''The most vivid evocation of Bessie Smith I have ever read.'' IAN CARR, BBC MUSIC

BESSIE SMITH was born in Tennessee in 1894. Orphaned by the age of nine, she sang on street corners before becoming a big name in travelling shows. In 1923 she made her first recording for a new start-up called Columbia Records. It sold 780,000 copies and made her a star. Smith¿s life was notoriously difficult: she drank pints of ¿bathtub gin¿, got into violent fist fights, spent huge sums of money and had pa