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 passionate
love affairs with men and women. She once single-handedly fought off a
cohort of the Ku Klux Klan.
As a young black girl growing up
in Glasgow, Jackie Kay found in Bessie someone with whom she could
identify and who she could idolise. In this remarkable book Kay mixes
biography, fiction, poetry and prose to create an enthralling account of
an extraordinary life.
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 wonderful writer on a magnificent singer.' ROBERT
WYATT 'The most vivid evocation of Bessie Smith I have ever read.' IAN
CARR, BBC MUSIC 'Biographies don't usually bring the subject to life
again.
This one did. I finished the book then started it again
immediately.' PEGGY SEEGER 'What a life! What gulpable storytelling!
Exactly the kind of writing about music we need: personal, ardent,
playfully confrontational, questioning, undogmatic. A love song to a
complicated idol' KATE MOLLESON 'Pure joy: one trailblazing woman pays
tribute to another.
Bessie Smith - Jackie Kay
- Product Code:New
- Availability:In Stock
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£9.99