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Bessie Smith (April 15, 1892 – September 26, 1937) was an African-American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the "Empress of the Blues" and formerly Queen of the Blues, she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s. Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, she is often regarded as one of the greatest singers of her era and was a major influence on fellow blues singers, as well as jazz vocalists.
Born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Smith was young when her parents died, and she and her six siblings survived by performing on street corners. She began touring and performed in a group that included Ma Rainey, and then went out on her own. Her successful recording career with Columbia Records began in 1923, but her performing career was cut short by a car crash that killed her at the age of 45.
Smith was the daughter of Laura and William Smith, a laborer and part-time Black church (he was listed in the 1870 census as a "minister of the gospel", in Moulton, Lawrence County, Alabama). He died while his daughter was too young to remember him. By the time Bessie was nine, her mother and a brother had also died and her older sister Viola took charge of caring for her siblings. As a consequence, Bessie was unable to gain an education.
Due to her parents' death and her poverty, Bessie experienced a "wretched childhood." To earn money for their impoverished household, Bessie and her brother Andrew busking on the streets of Chattanooga. She sang and danced as he played the guitar. They often performed on "street corners for pennies," and their habitual location was in front of the White Elephant Saloon at Thirteenth and Elm streets, in the heart of the city's African-American community.
In 1904, her oldest brother Clarence left home and joined a small traveling troupe owned by Moses Stokes. "If Bessie had been old enough, she would have gone with him," said Clarence's widow, Maud. "That's why he left without telling her, but Clarence told me she was ready, even then. Of course, she was only a child."Albertson, 2003, p. 11.
In 1912, Clarence returned to Chattanooga with the Stokes troupe and arranged an audition for his sister with the troupe managers, Lonnie and Cora Fisher. Bessie was hired as a dancer rather than a vocalist since the company already included popular singer Ma Rainey. Contemporary accounts indicate that, while Ma Rainey did not teach Smith to sing, she likely helped her develop a stage presence.Albertson, 2003, pp. 14–15. Smith eventually moved on to performing in , making the "81" Theatre in Atlanta her home base. She also performed in shows on the black-owned Theater Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.) circuit and would become one of its major attractions.
Hoping to capitalize on this new market, Smith began her recording career in 1923. She was signed to Columbia Records in 1923 by Frank Walker, a talent agent who had seen her perform years earlier. Her first recording session for Columbia was on February 15, 1923; it was engineered by Dan Hornsby who was recording and discovering many southern music talents of that era. For most of 1923, her records were issued on Columbia's regular A-series. When the company established a "race records" series, Smith's "Cemetery Blues" (September 26, 1923) was the first issued. Both sides of her first record, "Downhearted Blues" backed with "Gulf Coast Blues", were hits (an earlier recording of "Downhearted Blues" by its co-writer Alberta Hunter had previously been released by Paramount Records).
As her popularity increased, Smith became a headliner on the Theatre Owners Booking Association (T.O.B.A.) circuit and rose to become its top attraction in the 1920s. Working a heavy theater schedule during the winter and performing in tent shows the rest of the year, Smith became the highest-paid black entertainer of her day and began traveling in her own 72-foot-long railroad car.Albertson, 2003, p. 80. Columbia's publicity department nicknamed her "Queen of the Blues", but the national press soon upgraded her title to "Empress of the Blues". Smith's music stressed independence, fearlessness, and sexual freedom, implicitly arguing that working-class women did not have to alter their behavior to be worthy of respect.
Despite her success, neither she nor her music was accepted in all circles. She once auditioned for Black Swan Records (W. E. B. Du Bois was on its board of directors) and was dismissed because she was considered too rough as she supposedly stopped singing to spit. The businessmen involved with Black Swan Records were surprised when she became the most successful diva because her style was rougher and coarser than Mamie Smith. Even her admirers—white and black—considered her a "rough" woman (i.e., working class or even "low class").
Smith had a strong contralto voice, which recorded well from her first session, which was conducted when recordings were made acoustically. The advent of electrical recording made the power of her voice even more evident. Her first electrical recording was "Cake Walking Babies From", recorded on May 5, 1925.Albertson, Chris. CD booklet. Bessie Smith, The Complete Recordings Vol. 2. Columbia COL 468767 2. Smith also benefited from the new technology of radio broadcasting, even on stations in the segregated South. For example, after giving a concert to a white-only audience at a theater in Memphis, Tennessee, in October 1923, she performed a late-night concert on station WMC, which was well received by the radio audience. Musicians and composers like Danny Barker and Tommy Dorsey compared her presence and delivery to a preacher because of her ability to enrapture and move her audience.
She made 160 recordings for Columbia, often accompanied by the finest musicians of the day, notably Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins, Fletcher Henderson, James P. Johnson, Joe Smith, and Charlie Green. A number of Smith's recordings—such as "Alexander's Ragtime Band" in 1927—quickly became among the best-selling records of their release years.
Smith was paid a non-royalty fee of $37.50 for each selection on these Okeh sides, which were her last recordings. Made on November 24, 1933, they serve as a hint of the transformation she made in her performances as she shifted her blues artistry into something that fit the swing era. The relatively modern accompaniment is notable. The band included such swing era musicians as the trombone Jack Teagarden, the trumpeter Frankie Newton, the tenor saxophone Chu Berry, the pianist Buck Washington, the guitarist Bobby Johnson, and the bassist Billy Taylor. Benny Goodman, who happened to be recording with Ethel Waters in the adjoining studio, dropped by and is barely audible on one selection.Oliver, Paul (2001) Hammond was not entirely pleased with the results, preferring to have Smith revisit her old blues sound. "Take Me for a Buggy Ride" and "Gimme a Pigfoot", both written by Wesley Wilson, were among her most popular recordings.
The first person on the scene was a Memphis surgeon, Dr. Hugh Smith (no relation). In the early 1970s, Hugh Smith gave a detailed account of his experience to Bessie's biographer Chris Albertson. This is the most reliable eyewitness testimony about the events surrounding her death.
Arriving at the scene, Dr. Smith examined Smith, who was lying in the middle of the road with obviously severe injuries. He estimated she had lost about a half pint (240 mL) of blood, and immediately noted a major traumatic injury: her right arm was almost completely severed at the elbow. He stated that this injury alone did not cause her death. Though the light was poor, he observed only minor head injuries. He attributed her death to extensive and severe crush injuries to the entire right side of her body, consistent with a side collision collision.
Henry Broughton, a fishing partner of Dr. Smith's, helped him move Smith to the shoulder of the road. Dr. Smith dressed her arm injury with a clean handkerchief and asked Broughton to go to a house about off the road to call an ambulance. By the time Broughton returned, about 25 minutes later, Smith was in shock.
Time passed with no sign of the ambulance, so Dr. Smith suggested that they take her into Clarksdale in his car. He and Broughton had almost finished clearing the back seat when they heard the sound of a car approaching at high speed. Dr. Smith flashed his lights in warning, but the oncoming car failed to slow and plowed into his car at full speed. It sent his car careening into Smith's overturned Packard, completely wrecking it. The oncoming car ricocheted off Hugh Smith's car into the ditch on the right, barely missing Broughton and Bessie Smith.Albertson (1972), p. 195.
The young couple in the speeding car did not sustain life-threatening injuries. Two ambulances then arrived from Clarksdale—one from the black hospital, summoned by Broughton, the second from the white hospital, acting on a report from the truck driver, who had not seen the crash victims.
Smith was taken to the G. T. Thomas Afro-American Hospital in Clarksdale, where her right arm was . She died that morning without regaining consciousness. After her death, an often repeated, but now discredited story emerged that she died because a whites-only hospital in Clarksdale refused to admit her. The jazz writer and producer John Hammond gave this account in an article in the November 1937 issue of DownBeat magazine. The circumstances of Smith's death and the rumor reported by Hammond formed the basis for Edward Albee's 1959 one-act play The Death of Bessie Smith.
"The Bessie Smith ambulance would not have gone to a white hospital; you can forget that", Hugh Smith told Albertson. "Down in the Deep South Cotton Belt, no ambulance driver, or white driver, would even have thought of putting a colored person off in a hospital for white folks."
Smith's funeral was held in Philadelphia a little over a week later, on October 4, 1937. Initially, her body was laid out at Upshur's funeral home. As word of her death spread through Philadelphia's black community, her body had to be moved to the O. V. Catto Elks Lodge to accommodate the estimated 10,000 mourners who filed past her coffin on Sunday, October 3.Albertson, Chris (1975). Bessie: Empress of the Blues. London: Sphere Books. Contemporary newspapers reported that her funeral was attended by about seven thousand people. Far fewer mourners attended the burial at Mount Lawn Cemetery, in nearby Sharon Hill. Jack Gee thwarted all efforts to purchase a stone for his estranged wife, once or twice pocketing money raised for that purpose.Albertson, Bessie, pp. 2–5, 277.
In the 1920s and 30s African Americans had limited options in terms of hotels and other spaces to gather. To meet this need, establishments were created by and for African Americans called Buffet Flats, which featured expensive food, free-flowing booze, and sex shows (see also, Prostitution in Harlem Renaissance). Smith frequented Buffet Flats after concerts with friends, including drag queens and gay men who viewed it as a safe haven. Her friends reported that a lot of people would pay top dollar to see the sex shows at the buffet, and it has been reported that she would engage in sexual activities with both men and women, including her longtime friend and lover Ruby Walker, both before and during her relationship with Jack Gee.
Her marriage to Gee was stormy, with infidelity on both sides, including Smith's numerous female lovers. Gee was impressed by the money Smith made during her career, but never adjusted to show business life, or to her bisexuality. He would leave periodically, and Smith would use this as an opportunity to have affairs, including with her musical director Fred Longshaw. When Gee found out about this, he physically assaulted Smith, but she got back up quickly and started beating him. When she found out about one of her husband's affairs, she proceeded to get Gee's gun, and shot at him. In 1929, when she learned of his affair with another singer, Gertrude Saunders, Smith ended the relationship, although neither of them sought a divorce.
Smith later entered a common-law marriage with an old friend, Richard Morgan, who was Lionel Hampton's uncle. She stayed with him until her death.
What becomes evident after listening to her music and studying her lyrics is that Smith emphasized and channeled a subculture within the African-American working class. Additionally, she incorporated commentary on social issues like poverty, intra-racial conflict, and female sexuality into her lyrics. Her lyrical sincerity and public behavior were not widely accepted as appropriate expressions for African-American women; therefore, her work was often written off as distasteful or unseemly, rather than as an accurate representation of the African-American experience.
Smith's work challenged elitist norms by encouraging working-class women to embrace their right to drink, party, and satisfy their sexual needs as a means of coping with stress and dissatisfaction in their daily lives. Smith advocated for a wider vision of African-American womanhood beyond domesticity, piety, and conformity; she sought empowerment and happiness through independence, sassiness, and sexual freedom. Although Smith was a voice for many minority groups and one of the most gifted blues performers of her time, the themes in her music were precocious, which led to many believing that her work was undeserving of serious recognition.
Smith's lyrics are often speculated to have portrayed her sexuality. In "Prove it On Me", performed by Ma Rainey, Rainey famously sang, " Went out last night with a crowd of my friends. They must've been women, 'cause I don't like no mens.. they say I do it, ain't nobody caught me. Sure got to prove it on me." African American queer theorists and activists have often looked to Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith as "gender-bending" role models of the early 20th-century blues era.
| 1923 | "Downhearted Blues" | Blues (single) | Columbia | 2006 |
| 1925 | "St. Louis Blues" | Jazz (single) | Columbia | 1993 |
| 1928 | "Empty Bed Blues" | Blues (single) | Columbia | 1983 |
"Downhearted Blues" was also included in the list of Songs of the Century by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts in 2001, and in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 songs that shaped rock 'n' roll.
| 2008 | Nesuhi Ertegun Jazz Hall of Fame | Jazz at Lincoln Center, New York |
| 1989 | Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award | |
| 1989 | Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | "Early influences" |
| 1981 | Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame | |
| 1980 | Blues Hall of Fame |
In 1984, Smith was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame.
Dinah Washington and LaVern Baker released tribute albums to Smith in 1958. Released on Exodus Records in 1965, Hoyt Axton Sings Bessie Smith is another collection of Smith's songs performed by folk singer Hoyt Axton.
The song "Bessie Smith" by The Band first appeared on The Basement Tapes in 1975, but probably dates from 1970 to 1971, although musician Artie Traum recalls bumping into Rick Danko, the co-writer of the song, at Woodstock in 1969, who sang a verse of "Going Down The Road to See Bessie" on the spot.
Her song "See If I'll Care" was sampled by Indian Summer throughout their self-titled EP, released in 1993. The release was received well by critics, noting how the sample helped contrast the post-hardcore and emo styles of the rest of the release. When their discography was reissued in 2019 to acclaim, Smith and the song also saw a boost in popularity.
She was the subject of a 1997 biography by Jackie Kay, reissued in February 2021 and featuring as Book of the Week on BBC Radio 4, read in an abridged version by the author.
In the 2015 HBO film Bessie, Queen Latifah portrays Smith, focusing on the struggle and transition of Smith's life and sexuality. The film was well received critically and garnered four Primetime Emmy Awards, winning Outstanding Television Movie.
Each June, the Bessie Smith Cultural Center in Chattanooga sponsors the Bessie Smith Strut as part of the city's Riverbend Festival.
Given those historic limitations, the '70 Lp complete recordings and even more th Remaster versions of her work deliver noticeable improvements in the sound quality. Some critics believe that the American Columbia Records compact disc releases are somewhat inferior to subsequent transfers made by the late John R. T. Davies for Frog Records.
First editions in 10 and 122" Lps
Antologies
| A-3844 | "Gulf Coast Blues" | 1923-02-16 |
| A-3844 | "Down Hearted Blues" | 1923-02-16 |
| A-3877 | "Aggravatin' Papa" | 1923-04-11 |
| A-3877 | "Beale Street Mama" | 1923-04-11 |
| A-3888 | "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" | 1923-04-11 |
| A-3888 | "Oh Daddy Blues" | 1923-04-11 |
| A-3898 | "Keeps on A Rainin All Time" | 1923-02-16 |
| A-3898 | "Tain't Nobody's Bizness if I Do" | 1923-04-26 |
| A-3900 | "Outside of That" | 1923-04-30 |
| A-3900 | "Mama's Got the Blues" | 1923-04-30 |
| A-3936 | "Bleeding Hearted Blues" | 1923-06-14 |
| A-3936 | "Midnight Blues" | 1923-06-15 |
| A-3939 | "Yodeling Blues" | 1923-06-14 |
| A-3939 | "Lady Luck Blues" | 1923-06-14 |
| A-3942 | "If You Don't, I Know Who Will" | 1923-06-21 |
| A-3942 | "Nobody in Town Can Bake a Jelly Roll Like My Man" | 1923-06-22 |
| A-4001 | "Jail House Blues" | 1923-09-21 |
| A-4001 | "Graveyard Dream Blues" | 1923-09-26 |
| 13000 D | "Whoa, Tillie, Take Your Time" | 1923-10-24 |
| 13000 D | "My Sweetie Went Away" | 1923-10-24 |
| 13001 D | "Cemetery Blues" | 1923-09-26 |
| 13001 D | "Any Woman's Blues" | 1923-10-16 |
| 13005 D | "St Louis Gal" | 1923-09-24 |
| 13005 D | "Sam Jones' Blues" | 1923-09-24 |
| 13007 D | "I'm Going Back to My Used to Be" | 1923-10-04 |
| 13007 D | "Far Away Blues" | 1923-10-04 |
| 14000 D | "Mistreatin' Daddy" | 1923-12-04 |
| 14000 D | "Chicago Bound Blues" | 1923-12-04 |
| 14005 D | "Frosty Mornin' Blues" | 1924-01-08 |
| 14005 D | "Easy Come Easy Go Blues" | 1924-01-10 |
| 14010 D | "Eavesdropper Blues" | 1924-01-09 |
| 14010 D | "Haunted House Blues" | 1924-01-09 |
| 14018 D | "Boweavil Blues" | 1924-04-07 |
| 14018 D | "Moonshine Blues" | 1924-04-09 |
| 14020 D | "Sorrowful Blues" | 1924-04-04 |
| 14020 D | "Rocking Chair Blues" | 1924-04-04 |
| 14023 D | "Frankie Blues" | 1924-04-08 |
| 14023 D | "Hateful Blues" | 1924-04-08 |
| 14025 D | "Pinchbacks, Take 'em Away" | 1924-04-04 |
| 14025 D | "Ticket Agent Easy Your Window Down" | 1924-04-05 |
| 14031 D | "Louisiana Low Down Blues" | 1924-07-22 |
| 14031 D | "Mountain Top Blues" | 1924-07-22 |
| 14032 D | "House Rent Blues" | 1924-07-23 |
| 14032 D | "Work House Blues" | 1924-07-23 |
| 14037 D | "Rainy Weather Blues" | 1924-08-08 |
| 14037 D | "Salt Water Blues" | 1924-07-31 |
| 14042 D | "Bye Bye Blues" | 1924-09-26 |
| 14042 D | "Weeping Willow Blues" | 1924-09-26 |
| 14051 D | "Dying Gambler's Blues" | 1924-12-06 |
| 14051 D | "Sing Sing Prison Blues" | 1924-12-06 |
| 14052 D | "Follow the Deal on Down" | 1924-12-04 |
| 14052 D | "Sinful Blues" | 1924-11-11 |
| 14056 D | "Reckless Blues" | 1925-01-14 |
| 14056 D | "Sobbin' Hearted Blues" | 1925-01-14 |
| 14060 D | "Love Me Daddy Blues" | 1924-12-12 |
| 14060 D | "Woman's Trouble Blues" | 1924-12-12 |
| 14064 D | "Cold in Hand Blues" | 1925-01-14 |
| 14064 D | "St Louis Blues" | 1925-01-14 |
| 14075 D | "Yellow Dog Blues" | 1925-05-06 |
| 14075 D | "Soft Pedal Blues" | 1925-05-14 |
| 14079 D | "Dixie Flyer Blues" | 1925-05-15 |
| 14079 D | "You've Been a Good Ole Wagon" | 1925-01-14 |
| 14083 D | "Careless Love" | 1925-05-26 |
| 14083 D | "He's Gone Blues" | 1925-06-23 |
| 14090 D | "I Ain't Goin' to Play No Second Fiddle" | 1925-05-27 |
| 14090 D | "Nashville Women's Blues" | 1925-05-27 |
| 14095 D | "I Ain't Got Nobody" | 1925-08-19 |
| 14095 D | "J.C.Holmes Blues" | 1925-05-27 |
| 14098 D | "My Man Blues" | 1925-09-01 |
| 14098 D | "Nobody's Blues but Mine" | 1925-08-19 |
| 14109 D | "Florida Bound Blues" | 1925-11-17 |
| 14109 D | "New Gulf Coast Blues" | 1925-11-17 |
| 14115 D | "I've Been Mistreated and I Don't Like It" | 1925-11-18 |
| 14115 D | "Red Mountain Blues" | 1925-11-20 |
| 14123 D | "Lonesome Desert Blues" | 1925-12-09 |
| 14123 D | "Golden Rule Blues" | 1925-11-20 |
| 14129 D | "What's the Matter Now?" | 1926-03-05 |
| 14129 D | "I Want Every Bit of It" | 1926-03-05 |
| 14133 D | "Jazzbo Brown from Memphis Town" | 1926-03-18 |
| 14133 D | "Squeeze Me" | 1926-03-05 |
| 14137 D | "Hard Driving Papa" | 1926-05-40 |
| 14137 D | "Money Blues" | 1926-05-04 |
| 14147 D | "Baby Doll" | 1926-05-04 |
| 14147 D | "Them Has Been Blues" | 1926-03-05 |
| 14158 D | "Lost Your Head Blues" | 1926-05-04 |
| 14158 D | "Gin House Blues" | 1926-03-18 |
| 14172 D | "One and Two Blues" | 1926-10-26 |
| 14172 D | "Honey Man Blues" | 1926-10-25 |
| 14179 D | "Hard Time Blues" | 1926-10-25 |
| 14179 D | "Young Woman's Blues" | 1926-10-26 |
| 14195 D | "Back Water Blues" | 1927-02-17 |
| 14195 D | "Preachin' the Blues" | 1927-02-17 |
| 14197 D | "Muddy Water" | 1927-03-02 |
| 14197 D | "After You've Gone" | 1927-03-02 |
| 14209 D | "Send Me to the 'Lectric Chair" | 1927-03-03 |
| 14209 D | "Them's Graveyard Words" | 1927-03-03 |
| 14219 D | "There'll Be a Hot Time in Old Town Tonight" | 1927-03-02 |
| 14219 D | "Alexander's Ragtime Band" | 1927-03-02 |
| 14232 D | "Trombone Cholly" | 1927-03-03 |
| 14232 D | "Lock and Key Blues" | 1927-04-01 |
| 14250 D | "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" | 1927-09-27 |
| 14250 D | "Mean Old Bed Bug Blues" | 1927-09-27 |
| 14260 D | "Sweet Mistreater" | 1927-04-01 |
| 14260 D | "Homeless Blues" | 1927-09-28 |
| 14273 D | "Dyin' by The Hour" | 1927-10-27 |
| 14273 D | "Foolish Man Blues" | 1927-10-27 |
| 14292 D | "I Used to Be Your Sweet Mama" | 1928-02-09 |
| 14292 D | "Thinking Blues" | 1928-02-09 |
| 14304 D | "I'd Rather be Dead and Buried in my Grave" | 1928-06-16 |
| 14304 D | "Pickpocket Blues" | 1928-02-09 |
| 14312 D | "Empty Bed Blues Pt1" | 1928-03-20 |
| 14312 D | "Empty Bed Blues Pt2" | 1928-03-20 |
| 14324 D | "Put It Right Here" | 1928-03-20 |
| 14324 D | "Spider Man Blues" | 1928-03-19 |
| 14338 D | "It Won't Be You" | 1928-02-12 |
| 14338 D | "Standin' in The Rain Blues" | 1928-02-12 |
| 14354 D | "Devil's Gonna Git You" | 1928-08-24 |
| 14354 D | "Yes He Do" | 1928-08-24 |
| 14375 D | "Washwoman's Blues" | 1928-08-24 |
| 14375 D | "Please Help Me Get Him Off My Mind" | 1928-08-24 |
| 14384 D | "Me and My Gin" | 1928-08-25 |
| 14384 D | "Slow and Easy Man" | 1928-08-24 |
| 14399 D | "Poor Man's Blues" | 1928-08-24 |
| 14399 D | "You Ought to be Ashamed" | 1928-08-24 |
| 14427 D | "You've Got to Give Me Some" | 1929-05-08 |
| 14427 D | "I'm Wild About that Thing" | 1929-05-08 |
| 14435 D | "My Kitchen Man" | 1929-05-08 |
| 14435 D | "I've Got What It Takes" | 1929-05-15 |
| 14451 D | "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" | 1929-05-15 |
| 14451 D | "Take It Right Back" | 1929-07-25 |
| 14464 D | "It Makes My Love Come Down" | 1929-08-20 |
| 14464 D | "He's Got Me Goin'" | 1929-08-20 |
| 14476 D | "Dirty No Gooder's Blues" | 1929-10-01 |
| 14476 D | "Wasted Life Blues" | 1929-10-01 |
| 14487 D | "Don't Cry Baby" | 1929-10-11 |
| 14487 D | "You Don't Understand" | 1929-10-11 |
| 14516 D | "New Orleans Hop Scop Blues" | 1930-03-27 |
| 14516 D | "Keep It to Yourself" | 1930-03-27 |
| 14527 D | "Blue Spirit Blues" | 1929-10-11 |
| 14527 D | "Worn out Papa Blues" | 1929-10-11 |
| 14538 D | "Moan Mourners" | 1930-06-09 |
| 14538 D | "On Revival Day" | 1930-06-09 |
| 14554 D | "Hustlin' Dan" | 1930-07-22 |
| 14554 D | "Black Mountain Blues" | 1930-07-22 |
| 14569 D | "Hot Springs Blues" | 1927-03-03 |
| 14569 D | "Lookin' for My Man Blues" | 1927-09-28 |
| 14611 D | "In the House Blues" | 1931-06-11 |
| 14611 D | "Blue Blues" | 1931-06-11 |
| 14634 D | "Safety Mama" | 1931-11-20 |
| 14634 D | "Need a Little Sugar in My Bowl" | 1931-11-20 |
| 14663 D | "Long Old Road" | 1931-06-11 |
| 14663 D | "Shipwreck Blues" | 1931-06-11 |
| 8945 | "I'm Down in the Dumps" | 1933-11-24 |
| 8945 | "Do Your Duty" | 1933-11-24 |
| 8949 | "Take Me for a Buggy Ride" | 1933-11-24 |
| 8949 | "Gimme a Pigfoot (and a Bottle of Beer)" | 1933-11-24 |
| 1923 | "Downhearted Blues" | 1 |
| "Gulf Coast Blues" | 5 | |
| "Aggravatin' Papa" | 12 | |
| "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" | 6 | |
| "T'ain't Nobody's Biz-Ness if I Do" | 9 | |
| 1925 | "The St. Louis Blues" | 3 |
| "Careless Love" | 5 | |
| "I Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle" | 8 | |
| 1926 | "I Ain't Got Nobody" | 8 |
| "Lost Your Head Blues" | 5 | |
| 1927 | "After You've Gone" | 7 |
| "Alexander's Ragtime Band" | 17 | |
| 1928 | "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" | 13 |
| "Empty Bed Blues" | 20 | |
| 1929 | "Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out" | 15 |
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