Mamie Smith
Though technically not a blues performer, Mamie Smith notched her place in American music as the first black female singer to record a vocal blues. That record was "Crazy Blues" (recorded August 10, 1920), which sold a million copies in its first six months and made record labels aware of the huge potential market for "race records"; thus paving the way for Bessie Smith (no relation) and other blues and jazz performers. An entertainer who sported a powerful, penetrating, feminine voice with belting vaudeville qualities, as opposed to blues inflections, Smith toured as a dancer with Tutt-Whitney's Smart Set Company in her early teens, and sang in Harlem clubs before World War I. Apparently, Smith's pioneering recording session was an accident, since she was filling in for Sophie Tucker, but the success of the record made her wealthy.
Soon thereafter, Smith began touring and recording with a band called the Jazz Hounds, which featured such jazz notables as Coleman Hawkins, Bubber Miley, Johnny Dunn, and more, and she toured with the bands of Andy Kirk and Fats Pichon in the 1930s. She also appeared in several films, including Paradise in Harlem late in her life (1939). She recorded several sides for OKeh during her heyday; one unissued take of "My Sportin' Man" is included on Columbia's Roots N' Blues Retrospective 1925-1950 box set. In the 1980s, all of her recordings were reissued on LP by the imported Document label.
© Richard S. Ginell /TiVo
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Crazy Blues: The Best Of Mamie Smith
Pop/Rock - Released by Columbia - Legacy on 3 May 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Presenting Mamie Smith
Blues - Released by Universal Digital Enterprises on 8 Apr 1920
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Mamie Smith Vol. 1 (1920-1921)
Blues - Released by Document Records on 28 Jun 2005
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Mamie Smith Vol. 3 (1922-1923)
Blues - Released by Document Records on 28 Jun 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
You Can't Keep a Good Man Down (Recordings of 1920 & 1921)
Pop - Released by Blues Classics on 31 Jul 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Blue Notes – A Blues Survey from 1920-1960, vol. 1
Bessie Smith, Texas Alexander, Mamie Smith
Blues - Released by Phontastic on 29 Mar 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Deep in My Music
Jazz - Released by Deep In My Music Recordings TM on 22 Oct 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Essential Blues Masters
Blues - Released by Master Classics Records on 24 Sep 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Buzzy Suite Masters
Jazz - Released by Buzzy Suite Masters Recordzzz on 25 Jun 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Fantastic Christmas Songs
Jazz - Released by Best Holidays Recordings on 10 Dec 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Me Myself and My Songs (Remastered)
Blues - Released by Underground Inside Records on 24 Jun 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Mamie Smith Vol. 4 (1923-1942)
Blues - Released by Document Records on 28 Jun 2005
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Daylights Nightlights Best Songs
Jazz - Released by Daylights Nightlights Recordz TM on 28 Jan 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wild Mood Best Tracks
Jazz - Released by Wild Mood Best Tracks Recordings on 24 Sep 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Delight Beautiful Tracks
Jazz - Released by Daylights Nightlights Recordz TM on 23 May 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Time Songs Imagination
Jazz - Released by Time Songs Imagination Music Rec on 24 Sep 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Great Masterpieces Maker
Jazz - Released by Great Masterpieces Maker Recordings Ltd on 23 May 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Riding Where Sunshine
Jazz - Released by Riding Where Sunshine Records on 22 Oct 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Sensational Flight Call
Jazz - Released by Sensational Flight Call Recording on 24 Sep 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
City Bouncing Uptown
Jazz - Released by City Bouncing Uptown Muzik on 24 Sep 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Best of Christmas Holidays (Fantastic Relaxing Songs) (Remastered)
Blues - Released by Nueva Era Recordings on 1 Dec 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo