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The Essential Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith

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Released: Sep 1997
Label: Columbia/Legacy
This 36-track anthology is as good a place as any to introduce yourself to one of the great voices of 20th century American music. Bessie Smith (nicknamed, appropriately, The Empress of the Blues) was the most popular female blues, jazz and pop singer of the '20s. She was also the decade's most powerful. "Graveyard Dream Blues," "Careless Love Blues," "Dyin' By The Hour"... she didn't sing tunes so much as unleash operas-in-miniature stained in lust, sadness, death and, of course, booze. But don't overlook her sly sense of humor. After all, Ms. Bessie thrived in the age of vaudeville.
- Justin Farrar
Bessie Smith - The Essential Bessie Smith 1997-10-23
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    1
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    3:18
    Aggravatin' Papa
    Aggravatin' Papa
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    2
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    2:57
    Baby Won't You Please Come Home
    Baby Won't You Please Come Home
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    3
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    3:27
    'Taint Nobody's Bizness If I Do
    'Taint Nobody's Bizness If I Do
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    4
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    3:15
    Jail-House Blues
    Jail-House Blues
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    5
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    2:45
    Graveyard Dream Blues
    Graveyard Dream Blues
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    6
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    3:20
    Ticket Agent, Ease Your Window Down
    Ticket Agent, Ease Your Window Down
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    7
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    2:52
    Boweavil Blues
    Boweavil Blues
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    8
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    3:11
    Weeping Willow Blues
    Weeping Willow Blues
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    9
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    2:59
    Dying Gambler's Blues
    Dying Gambler's Blues
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    10
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    3:11
    St. Louis Blues
    St. Louis Blues
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    11
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    3:29
    You've Been A Good Ole Wagon
    You've Been A Good Ole Wagon
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    12
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    3:09
    Cake Walkin' Babies From Home
    Cake Walkin' Babies From Home
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    13
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    3:26
    Careless Love Blues
    Careless Love Blues
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    14
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    3:23
    I Ain't Goin' To Play Second Fiddle
    I Ain't Goin' To Play Second Fiddle
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    15
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    3:25
    At The Christmas Ball
    At The Christmas Ball
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    16
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    3:20
    Jazzbo Brown From Memphis Town
    Jazzbo Brown From Memphis Town
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    17
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    3:19
    Backwater Blues
    Backwater Blues
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    18
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    2:57
    After You've Gone
    After You've Gone
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    19
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    3:00
    Alexander's Ragtime Band
    Alexander's Ragtime Band
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    20
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    3:19
    There'll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight
    There'll Be A Hot Time In The Old Town Tonight
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    21
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    3:11
    Trombone Cholly
    Trombone Cholly
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    22
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    3:23
    Send Me To The 'Lectric Chair
    Send Me To The 'Lectric Chair
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    23
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    3:00
    A Good Man Is Hard To Find
    A Good Man Is Hard To Find
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    24
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    2:58
    Dyin' By The Hour
    Dyin' By The Hour
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    25
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    2:51
    Me And My Gin
    Me And My Gin
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    26
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    2:56
    Kitchen Man
    Kitchen Man
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    27
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    2:58
    Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
    Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out
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    28
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    2:56
    On Revival Day (A Rhythmic Spiritual)
    On Revival Day (A Rhythmic Spiritual)
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    29
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    3:13
    Moan, You Moaners
    Moan, You Moaners
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    30
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    3:08
    Black Mountain Blues
    Black Mountain Blues
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    31
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    3:21
    Shipwreck Blues
    Shipwreck Blues
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    32
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    2:49
    Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl
    Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl
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    33
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    3:25
    Do Your Duty
    Do Your Duty
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    34
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    3:27
    Gimme A Pigfoot (And A Bottle Of Beer)
    Gimme A Pigfoot (And A Bottle Of Beer)
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    35
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    2:37
    Take Me For A Buggy Ride
    Take Me For A Buggy Ride
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    36
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    3:11
    Down In The Dumps
    Down In The Dumps
℗ Originally Released 1923, 1924, 1925, 1926, 1927, 1928, 1929, 1930, 1931, 1932, 1934, 1940 (P) 1997 Sony Music Entertainment Inc. WARNING: All rights reserved. Unauthorized duplication is a violation of applicable laws.