Trixie Smith

Trixie Smith
Born 1895
Origin Atlanta, Georgia, United States
Died September 21, 1943 (age 48)
New York, United States
Genres Blues
Occupations Vocalist, actress
Years active 1920s – 1930s
Labels Black Swan
Paramount
Decca

Trixie Smith (1895 – September 21, 1943) was an African American blues singer, recording artist, vaudeville entertainer, and actress. She made four dozen recordings.

Contents

Biography

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, she came from a middle class-background.[1] She attended Selma University in Alabama before moving to New York around 1915.[2] Smith worked in minstrel shows and on the TOBA vaudeville circuit, before making her first recordings for the Black Swan label in 1922.

Amongst these were "My Man Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll)" (1922),[3] written by J. Berni Barbour, of historic interest as the first secular recording to reference the phrase "rock and roll".[4] Her record inspired various lyrical elaborations, such as "Rock That Thing" by Lil Johnson and "Rock Me Mama" by Ikey Robinson. Also in 1922, Trixie Smith won first place and a silver cup in a blues singing contest at the Inter-Manhattan Casino in New York, sponsored by dancer Irene Castle, with her song "Trixie's Blues," singing against Alice Carter, Daisy Martin and Lucille Hegamin.[5] She is most remembered for "Railroad Blues," (1925) a song that featured one of Smith's most inspired vocal performances on record, and "The World Is Jazz Crazy and So Am I" (1925). Both songs feature Louis Armstrong on cornet. A highly polished performer, her records include several outstanding examples of the blues on which she is accompanied by artists such as James P. Johnson, and Freddie Keppard.[6] She recorded with Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra for Paramount Records in 1924–1925.

As her career as a blues singer waned, mostly she sustained herself by performing in cabaret revues, and starring in musical revues such as New York Revue (1928) and Next Door Neighbors (1928) at the Lincoln Theatre in Harlem.[7] Smith also appeared in Mae West's short-lived 1931 Broadway effort, The Constant Sinner. Two years later, she was elevated to the stage of the Theatre Guild for its production of Louisiana.[8]

She appeared in four movies: God's Step Children (1938), Swing! (1938), Drums o' Voodoo (1934), and The Black King (1932). Two of these films were directed by Oscar Micheaux.[9] She appeared at John H. Hammond's "From Spirituals to Swing" concert in 1938, and recorded seven titles during 1938–1939. Most of her later recordings were with Sidney Bechet for Decca in 1938. In 1939 she cut "No Good Man" with a band including Red Allen and Barney Bigard.[10]

Trixie Smith died in New York in 1943, after a brief illness, aged 48.

Discography

Year Title Genre Label
1924 Trixie Smith: Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1922–1924) Blues European Document
1939 Trixie Smith: Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 2 (1925–1939) Blues European Document

References

  1. ^ Wintz, Cary D. Encyclopedia Of The Harlem Renaissance, Taylor & Francis (2004), page 1129 - ISBN 1579584586
  2. ^ Santelli, Robert. The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia (2001), pp. 430-431 - ISBN 0140159398
  3. ^ Song: "My Man Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll)"
  4. ^ Altschule, Glenn C. All Shook Up: How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America, Oxford Press (2003), page 23 - ISBN 0195139437
  5. ^ Oliver, Paul. The Story of the Blues, UPNE, page 77 - ISBN 155553354X
  6. ^ Larkin, Colin. The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Guinness (1995), page 3851 - ISBN 1561591769
  7. ^ Peterson, Bernard L. A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works, Greenwood Press (1993), page 250 - ISBN 0313266573
  8. ^ Cullen, Frank. Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America, Routledge (2006), page 1051 - ISBN 0415938538
  9. ^ Trixie Smith at the Internet Movie Database
  10. ^ All Music: Trixie Smith

External links