Bessie Smith Informative Speech

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“It’s a long old road, but I know I,m gonna find the end,” that is one of Bessie Smith famous quotes. Bessie Smith is an American blues singer and is also known for “Empress of the Blues”. Bessie Smith was born April 15, 1894 and died on September 26, 1937. First I’m going to talk about her whole life. Then I’m going to talk about her career and what songs she did. Last, I’m going to talk about the last things about her life. According to the 1900 census Bessie was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee. She was the daughter of Laura and William Smith. His dad was a laborer and a part-time Baptist in Moulton, Alabama. Bessie’s dad died when she was a little girl. When she was 9 years old her mother and brother died, the older sister of Bessie (Viola) took care of her siblings. Bessie would earn money by impoverished household, she and her brother (Andrew) began singing on the street of Chattanooga, she would dance and sing. Her brother would play the guitar while she was doing that. In 1904 the oldest brother from them left home to join a small traveling troupe. When he returned he took his Bessie to audition the troupe. She was hired for a dancer not a singer because the company already had a well-known as a singer. Now I’m going to talk about her career. She began her recording career in …show more content…

On September 26,1937 Bessie Smith got in a automobile crash while drive on Route 61 between Memphis, Tennessee and Clarksdale, Mississippi. Richard Morgan was driving very fast while there was a slow truck was in front. He tried to serve around it but he hit the rear of the truck with a quick speed. She was hen attended in a hospital and later she moved to G.T. Thomas Afro-American Hospital when she was a that hospital her right arm was amputated and later she died in the morning without any regaining consciousness. Her funeral was located in Philadelphia on October 4 1937. About 10,000 people attended her funeral on a