Bessie Smith / Jackie Kay.
| Author/creator | Kay, Jackie, 1961- |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | Bath, Somerset, England : Absolute ; New York, NY : Distributed in the USA and Canada by Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 1997. |
| Description | 160 pages : illustrations ; 19 cm. |
| Subjects |
| Series | Outlines Outlines (Bath, England) ^A411279 |
| Contents | In the house of the blues -- Chattanooga, 1894 -- In the Ma's footsteps -- The trunk and the no-good man -- Wax -- Ruby on the road -- Tales of the empress -- The blues -- Mississippi, 1937 -- Thumbnail sketch -- Blues map. |
| Abstract | As a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, the author found in Bessie Smith someone with whom she could identify and idolize. This book mixes fact and fiction, poetry and prose as she relates the tempestuous life of the great blues singer. The author takes us from Bessie's early years of poverty in Chattanooga, and her time spent with Ma and Pa Rainey in the Moses Stokes Travelling Show, through her rapid rise to fame and fortune, her disastrous marriage to Jack Gee, her many lesbian affairs, her raucous and wild lifestyle on the road in her famous yellow Pullman railroad car, to her slide from popularity during the depression years and her eventual tragic death in a car crash in Clarksdale, Mississippi in 1937. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliographical references (pages 152-153). |
| LCCN | 98148593 |
| ISBN | 1899791701 |
| ISBN | 1899791558 |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Music Stacks | ML420.S667 K39 1997 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |