SINGER

Bessie Smith

1894 - 1937

Photo of Bessie Smith

Icon of person Bessie Smith

Bessie Smith (April 15, 1894 – September 26, 1937) was an African-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. Read more on Wikipedia

Since 2007, the English Wikipedia page of Bessie Smith has received more than 4,438,503 page views. Her biography is available in 51 different languages on Wikipedia (up from 49 in 2019). Bessie Smith is the 246th most popular singer (down from 239th in 2019), the 1,488th most popular biography from United States (up from 1,575th in 2019) and the 80th most popular American Singer.

Bessie Smith was an African-American blues singer who is most famous for her song "Downhearted Blues."

Memorability Metrics

  • 4.4M

    Page Views (PV)

  • 60.04

    Historical Popularity Index (HPI)

  • 51

    Languages Editions (L)

  • 3.93

    Effective Languages (L*)

  • 4.89

    Coefficient of Variation (CV)

Among SINGERS

Among singers, Bessie Smith ranks 246 out of 4,381. Before her are DJ Khaled, Tereza Kesovija, Nena, The Singing Nun, Corry Brokken, and Milva. After her are Lepa Brena, Sam Cooke, F. R. David, Debbie Harry, Shane MacGowan, and Sade.

Most Popular Singers in Wikipedia

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Contemporaries

Among people born in 1894, Bessie Smith ranks 52. Before her are Dimitri Tiomkin, Lothar von Richthofen, V. V. Giri, Walter Brennan, André Kertész, and Friedrich-Wilhelm Krüger. After her are Ernst Lindemann, Percy Spencer, Leo Kanner, Ásgeir Ásgeirsson, Américo Tomás, and Walter Warlimont. Among people deceased in 1937, Bessie Smith ranks 41. Before her are Albert Roussel, Edith Wharton, Pavel Florensky, Ray Ewry, Wallace Carothers, and Walter Simons. After her are Yeghishe Charents, Chūya Nakahara, Louis Vierne, Hugo Meisl, Georgy Pyatakov, and Vincenzo Lancia.

Others Born in 1894

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Others Deceased in 1937

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In United States

Among people born in United States, Bessie Smith ranks 1,488 out of 20,380. Before her are Michael Madsen (1957), Larry Flynt (1942), Clive Cussler (1931), Red Cloud (1822), Michael Rooker (1955), and J. J. Cale (1938). After her are W. Eugene Smith (1918), Kelly Preston (1962), David McClelland (1917), Thomas J. Sargent (1943), Stonewall Jackson (1824), and William Nordhaus (1941).

Others born in United States

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Among SINGERS In United States

Among singers born in United States, Bessie Smith ranks 80. Before her are George Benson (1943), George Strait (1952), Neil Diamond (1941), Phil Ochs (1940), Kim Carnes (1945), and DJ Khaled (1975). After her are Sam Cooke (1931), Debbie Harry (1945), Lil Wayne (1982), Chris Cornell (1964), Beyoncé (1981), and Mariah Carey (1969).

American born Singers

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