Bessie Smith

Coined the “Empress of the Blues” Elizabeth Smith of Chattanooga, Tennessee became a phenomenon with her powerful vocals. Growing up in  poverty Bessie found a love for singing, going to clubs at a very young age to perform for club audiences. Beng that she was already on the scene, it was not very hard for her talent to be discovered by Ma Rainey who was also an African American vocalist. With training from her new mentor, Smith was now traveling across the southern states in small venues which ultimately led her to Philadelphia, PA. In this new city Bessie was presented with new opportunities, her new record deal Columbia was the gateway to all the success that was to come.

In 1923, Bessie recorded her first record “Down Hearted Blues” which proved to be very successful selling 2 million copies. From that point on she continued to make music with a number of other black artist such as the legendary Louis Armstrong showing the collaborative nature of black artist at the time. Tragically losing her life due to the injuries from a car crash in 1937, many still to this day believe that she would still be alive if she were treated like a white woman.  Her music reflected the struggles of black people during this era that many Black people could relate to. She used her talents as way to inform and rally together Black people who had the similar harsh reality of being black in America.

Bessie Smith- “St. Louis Blues” Link - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3rd9IaA_uJI

Willie“The Lion” Smith

William Henry Joseph Berthol Bonaparte Bertholoff Smith was born on November 25, 1897. Smith grew up in Newark, N.J., where his family always lived with music. Growing up, Smith’s mother played organ and his grandmother played both organ and guitar. Smith started playing the piano at the age of 8. In Newark, Smith was introduced to Jewish and African-American music. As a teen, Smith started playing professionally and incorporating different rhythmic styles into his music. In 1916, Smith enlisted in the army where he became a drum major. During WWI, Smith spent over a month on front lines earning his nickname “The Lion” for his bravery.

Smith died on April 18, 1973. Unfortunately, his cause of death was cancer, but he lived to be one of the best musicians to ever step foot on earth. Smith lived through six decades of music and, despite the changes of different styles over the years, Smith remained true to himself and his style. Even till this day, Smith’s spirit and his legacy live on through his music.

From his 1958 collection “The Legend of Willie Smith” “Echoes of Spring” Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UnsfIIKSt0E

Jelly Roll Morton

Jelly Roll Morton was an American pianist and songwriter. He was born on October 20, 1890, in New Orleans, Louisiana. He was best known for influencing the formation of modern jazz during the 1920’s. He started his career in the jazz genre, he rose to frame as a leader of Jelly Roll Morton’s Red Hot Peppers in the 1920s. Morton learned to play piano at age 10, and within a few years he was playing in the red- light district bordellos, where he got the nickname “Jelly Roll.” He was at the forefront of jazz. Morton toured the country, earning money as a musician, vaudeville comic, gambler and pimp.

Jelly Roll Morton was believed to have been the first jazz musician to put his arrangements on paper, saying “Original Jelly Roll Blues” which was the genre’s first published work. Later on in Morton’s life, he was managing a jazz club in Washington, D.C., in the late 1930s. In 1938 he met someone by the name of Alan Lomax. Lorax recorded a series of interviews for the library of congress which morton was an oral history of the origins of jazz. He also taught styles on the piano. His recording helped fire back up Morton and his music, but Morton had died in Los Angeles, California , on July 10, 1941 due to poor health.

A song Morton used to show others he had just as much technique as his counterparts “Finger Breaker”. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYMArK1f7wU

Duke Ellington

Edward Kennedy “Duke” Elington was an African American songwritter, pianist, and bandleader of the big-band jazz. He was born in Washington, D.C. on April 29, 1899. When Duke’s mother taught him how to play the piano at the age of 7, he was able to place his skills to use at events to earn extra money. As a teen, Duke suddenly realized how he had such a huge passion for music. Duke Ellington began to put together his own band known as Duke Ellington and his Cotton Club Orchestra. During the time of the 1920’s, Duke made Jazz very popular and it was a form of art and influenced the black culture. The band created many recordings, appeared in movies and on the radio.

Their first signature song ‘’ East St. Louis Toodle-oo’’ was recorded for Vocalion Records in 1926. Their first single hit charts.They toured Europe on two occasions in the 1930s They continously prosepered throughout the years. At the age of 75, on May 24, 1974, Duke Ellington died of lung cancer and pneumonia. He was buried  in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City.

One of Duke’s most popular songs, “It Don’t Mean A Thing”. Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qDQpZT3GhDg

Louis Armstrong

Louis “Satchmo” Armstrong was a singer, and trumpet player, who is arguably one of the best jazz players of not just his time, but in history. He is best known for his songs “Star Dust”, “La Vie En Rose”, and “What a Wonderful World”.  He was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, to a prostitute and a factory worker. His father left him after birth, and because his mother was a prostitute, that left him with his maternal grandmother a lot. He ultimately had to quit school in the 5th grade in order to work and make money for the family. A young Jewish family Armstrong met through one of his odd jobs; he was encouraged to sing. After an incident on New Years Eve with his stepdad’s gun, he was sent to Colored Waif’s School for Boys, and there is where he picked up a cornet and fell in love   with music. 

His reputation as a performer began to grow as he replaced Joe Oliver in the band “Kid Ory’s Band” which was at that time the most popular band in New Orleans. Joining the band caused him to be able to quit working his other odd jobs, and focus full time on music. While spending his time playing various gigs in New Orleans, King Oliver contacted him with a deal: to play with his Creole Jazz Band in Chicago. While playing with Oliver’s band, he got his first solo record; called “Chimes Blues.”

After his stint in Chicago, Armstrong and his new wife Lilian Henderson move to New York, to record as a sideman. Soon Louis was able to get his own band called Louis Armstrong and His Hot Five, which he made over 60 records with. He then met a young pianist names Earl Hines, and together they made many recordings, some even the best in jazz, like “Weather Bird” and “West End Blues”. He had a variety of first under his name; he was the first African-American to write an autobiography called “Swing that Music”. While in the late 1950s, when his career was winding down, he suffered a heart attack while touring in Italy. He was still releasing records while reaching out to a younger audience, which lead to his 1962 hit “What a Wonderful World”. Although the song didn’t do much in America, it reached the number one spot around the world.

After years and years of living a lifestyle of being in a different city every night, it finally caught up to him. He had suffered from heart and kidney problems, which caused him to stop playing for a while, but he still managed to play his trumpet in the spare time. In 1970, Armstrong was allowed to travel and play again, so he took gigs and travelled around the world again. He returned home in 1971, and while still wanting to play anywhere he could, he sadly died in his sleep on July 6th, 1971.

Louis Armstrong died as he lived; always wanting to give people the gift of music. His music resembled where he came from, and that’s what attached most people to his music; he never forgot where he came from. He expressed himself through his music; everything he went through you could hear in his voice. He, along with many other made Jazz a genre that you could truly tell a story through. Throughout his career, his music stayed true to his blackness and roots, and he is a musician that will never be forgotten.

His most recognizable song “What a Wonderful World” 

Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3yCcXgbKrE

Welcome to our Tumblr!

Hello! On this tumblr, we are going to take you on a historical journey of the 1920s, specifically the African-American musicians of that era. The “Roaring Twenties” was a era of expression, and all of these people we are presenting left their mark on the music world. We decided on a tumblr page because musicians in the modern day use all types of social medias to present themselves, and most new music is found on these types of social medias. We are going to explain what made these artists so influential, and show you a song, so you can pass these artists to people have never heard of them before. The musicians we are talking about are: 

Bessie Smith

Louis Armstrong

Willie “The Lion” Smith

Duke Ellington 

Jelly Roll Morton 

We hope you enjoy! 

(Derrick Butler Jr, Vashon Oglesby Jr, Jaelynn Galmer, Lauren Butts, Victoria Pericles)