Mamie Smith

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Mamie Smith was born in 1891 as Mamie Robinson in Cincinnati, Ohio. Around the age of ten she was already touring with a dance troupe, and as a teenager she danced in a travelling show. In 1913 she began singing in the clubs of Harlem in New York. She was a vaudeville singer who mastered various styles, from jazz to blues.

Music and breakthrough

In February 1920 she recorded two songs for the label Okeh. The black songwriter and bandleader Perry Bradford had persuaded the label's boss to record a black singer, despite threats of a boycott. The record sold well. In August 1920 Crazy Blues followed, also written by Bradford. Within a year a million copies had passed over the counter, often bought by African Americans. It was the first recording by a black singer to sing the blues. Record companies then went in search of more black female singers, and sales of so-called race records, records for a black audience, took off.

Influence

Smith toured the United States and Europe with her band, the Jazz Hounds. The band included, among others, the young saxophonist Coleman Hawkins. She was billed as the Queen of the Blues, but was soon overshadowed by Bessie Smith. Even so, Mamie Smith opened the door to the classic women's blues of the 1920s. She also appeared in a few films and died in 1946.

Listening

• 
  Crazy Blues · Mamie Smith, 1920
  Apple Music ↗

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Mixtape 10: Women in Pop Music^NL Reader
• After Hours: Session 1^NL Reader
• Magazine: Waarom Harlem^NL Magazine

See also

• Classic blues