The late blues singer, Bessie Smith was an American blues singer widely renowned during the Jazz Age. Nicknamed the “Empress of the Blues”, she was the most popular female blues singer of the 1930s.
In 1923, Smith released her first record, “Down-Hearted Blues.” It sold nearly 800,000 copies and made her a superstar. In fact, by the end of the 1920s, Smith had made more money than any black performer ever had. She performed and recorded with luminaries like Clarence Williams, Louis Armstrong, and Fletcher Henderson’s band and she starred in the 1929 film “St. LouisBlues.”
Who is Bessie Smith’s husband Jack Gee?
Jack Gee, who was the husband of Bessie Smith, the late blues singer, died at his home in Philadelphia. He was 84 years old. Mr. Gee, a former policeman, married Miss Smith in 1923, the year her recording career began, and became her manager. Since their separation in 1930, he had been active in various business operations, according to Chris Al Robertson, Miss Smith’s biographer. He leaves an adopted son, Jack Gee Jr.
