Study and Essay
Study Questions
What elements of Bessie's voice and musical
style made her an innovator?
How did Bessie Smith's attitudes toward
whites make her different from many other blues and jazz artists
of her time?
Why did Bessie's career go downhill in
the years after 1929?
Essay Topics
How did American musical tastes change after the advent
of the Great Depression what genres of music became popular?
Why did so many African-Americans from Southern states
migrate to the industrial cities of the North?
Name three musicians who claim Bessie Smith as an influence
and identify elements of their style in which her influence is present.
The circumstances surrounding Bessie Smith's death are
perplexing and unclear. How has her death been mythologized and
what effect has this had on her legacy?
