Mamie Smith

American blues singer and songwriter

• Born: May 26, 1883
• Birthplace: Cincinnati, Ohio
• Died: August 16, 1946
• Place of death: New York, New York

The first black singer to record the blues, Smith reached a great popularity that enticed the record industry to record more black vocalists. These recordings spread the classical blues style, and they inspired the next generation of blues singers.

Member of Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds; Mamie Smith and the Harlem Trio

The Life

From an early age, Mamie Smith had an ambition to be a professional singer. At the age of ten, she joined the Four Dancing Mitchells, a minstrel group that toured Ohio and the surrounding states. Originally hired as a dancer, she gained valuable experience from the troupe. In 1912 the Four Dancing Mitchells joined Salem Tutt Whitney and Homer Tutt’s show, The Smart Set. Now firmly immersed in the vaudeville circuit, Smith was confident enough to quit The Smart Set in 1913, when the show appeared in New York. Smith performed as a vaudeville, jazz, and blues singer in many of the clubs in Harlem, including Barron Wilkins’ Little Savoy Club, Edmund’s, Leroy’s, Bank’s Place, and Percy Brown’s.

In 1918 she recorded “That Thing Called Love” with Victor Records, although the label decided not to make it available to the public. In 1920 Perry Bradford, a black composer, convinced Okeh Records to record and produce some of his compositions. On February 14, 1920, Smith again recorded Bradford’s “That Thing Called Love” and “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down.” Although not best sellers, they did sell well in the South and in large Northern cities thanks to the Chicago Defender, a black weekly newspaper, pointing out its existence. In August of that year, Smith recorded two more Bradford compositions, “Crazy Blues” and “It’s Right Here for You (If You Don’t Get It, ’Taint No Fault of Mine),” with the backing of the Jazz Hounds, who included such musicians as Willie “the Lion” Smith and Bubber Miley. “Crazy Blues” became a huge hit, with sales reaching 75,000 records the first month of issue. In the next seven years, Smith toured the country with the Jazz Hounds, playing nightclubs and theaters. She also recorded more than one hundred songs.

During the era she was known for her vivacious lifestyle, her extravagant spending, and a procession of lovers. She was responsible for discovering the saxophonist Coleman Hawkins, and she performed with a number of the best musicians of the era. After the Wall Street crash of 1929, Smith was forced into semiretirement. On her last recording date in 1931, she recorded some of her best works, including “Jenny’s Ball,” her only record to be released in Britain.

In her late forties, Smith was featured in a number of short films, including Paradise in Harlem (1939); however, the films did not revive her career. After a short illness, she passed away at the Harlem Hospital at the age of sixty-three. She was buried in a common grave in the Frederick Douglass Memorial Park in Staten Island, N.Y.

The Music

Smith’s music is solidly rooted in the minstrel tradition of the early 1900’s. After settling in New York, she continued to perform the same style of songs, adding blues numbers to her repertoire for performance in Harlem. Her singing style is more refined than that of other performers of the era, mostly because of her Northern roots and the influence of popular music in New York.

“Crazy Blues.” Recorded in 1920, “Crazy Blues” was the first hit record by a black blues singer. Although not a twelve-bar blues form, it epitomizes the classic blues style of New York. Written by Bradford, the song is characterized by its combination of pop song form, Dixieland jazz, and blues lyrics. Because the song was recorded acoustically, Smith is difficult to hear over the Jazz Hounds at times.

“Don’t You Advertise Your Man.” Written by Jimmie Foster, this work is a cautionary tale for young women. The work, in a verse-chorus pop song form, is brought to life by the backing band. Dixieland sounds emanate from the cornets, trombones, and clarinets that support Smith. The work exhibits strong backbeats, hot rhythm, and the use of stop time. The balance between the singer and backing band is strong, and it allows Smith to use the power and ornamentation of her voice to better express the song.

“Jenny’s Ball.” A dressed-down pop song, “Jenny’s Ball” gives a snapshot of life as a cabaret dancer in Harlem. This number exhibits a call-and-response between Smith and the Jazz Hounds. The cornet also plays an important role, commenting on the lyrics with extended solos. In this recording, the piano can be heard, unlike in “Crazy Blues.” Smith repeats the first chorus, with ornamentation, for the parting advisement, accentuating the hook of the song, increasing its popularity with the public. This was the only recording done by Smith that was released in Britain.

Musical Legacy

Smith’s greatest achievement was opening the doors of white-owned recording studios to black performers. Without her pioneering work, the performances of Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Blue le Burke would never have been recorded. The whole industry of race records was founded after the great success of her “Crazy Blues.” The availability of recordings spread the blues out of the rural American South and the black clubs of the Northern big cities. Smith’s records were released as far away as Britain, influencing new generations of musicians, both black and white, and exposing them to a style of music they might never have otherwise known.

Principal Recordings

singles (solo): “That Thing Called Love,” 1920; “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down,” 1920; “Do It, Mr. So-and-So,” 1923; “Mistreatin’ Daddy Blues,” 1923; “My Mammy’s Blues,” 1923; “Plain Old Blues,” 1923; “You Can’t Do What My Last Man Did,” 1923; “Goin’ Crazy with the Blues,” 1926; “I Once Was Yours, I’m Somebody Else’s Now,” 1926; “Sweet Virginia Blues,” 1926; “What Have You Done to Make Me Feel This Way?” 1926; “Don’t You Advertise Your Man,” 1931; “Golfing Papa,” 1931; “Jenny’s Ball,” 1931; “Keep a Song in Your Soul,” 1931.

singles (with Mamie Smith and Her Jazz Hounds): “Crazy Blues,” 1920; “It’s Right Here for You (If You Don’t Get It, ’Taint No Fault of Mine),” 1920; “Baby, You Made Me Fall for You,” 1921; “Royal Garden Blues,” 1921; “That Thing Called Love,” 1921; “U Need Some Loving Blues,” 1921; “What Have I Done?,” 1921; “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down,” 1921; “Carolina Blues,” 1922; “The Decatur Street Blues,” 1922; “I Ain’t Gonna Give Nobody None o’ This Jelly Roll,” 1922; “I’m Gonna Get You,” 1922; “Lonesome Mama Blues,” 1922; “Mean Daddy Blues,” 1922; “New Orleans,” 1922; “You Can Have Him, I Don’t Want Him, Didn’t Love Him Anyhow Blues,” 1922.

singles (with Mamie Smith and the Harlem Trio): “Kansas City Man Blues,” 1923; “Lady Luck Blues,” 1923.

Bibliography

Bourgeois, Anna Stong. Blueswomen: Profiles and Lyrics, 1920-1945. Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1996. This work contains a brief profile of Smith and the lyrics of twelve of her recorded songs.

Jackson, Buzzy. A Bad Woman Feeling Good: Blues and the Women Who Sing Them. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005. This book is a study of African American women in popular music. The opening chapter contains a study of first recordings and a fair discussion of Smith’s contributions.

Jones, Hettie. Big Star Fallin’ Mama: Five Women in Black Music. New York: Viking Press, 1974. Although not one of the women studied in the book, Smith is considered as far as her contribution to the careers of others and to the recording industry.

Lieb, Sandra R. Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1981. Although a study of Rainey, the work provides some interesting insights in a comparison of the styles of both singers.

Stewart-Baxter, Derrick. Ma Rainey and the Classic Blues Singers. London: Studio Vista, 1970. This work contains an informative section on the life and career of Smith. Includes photographs.