She was fired from one minstrel show because as Manera explains, “Irvin C. Miller ‘the owner’ didn’t approve of Smith’s looks, since Bessie was a very dark skinned African American woman, and in those days, some felt that a darker complexion was not as beautiful as a lighter one (Manera 19). Also, Manera asserts, “discrimination did not stop Bessie Smith. She was hard at work and determined to become a success” (Manera 20). She refused to back down, she loved to stand up in people’s faces when they crossed her. And the song that most embodies that is the famous “Taint Nobody’s Bizness If I Do” where she said things like, “if I should take a notion.”
The Rise of Bessie Smith’s Career
As a top star for eight years, from 1923 until 1931, Smith’s popularity was unmatched. Friedwald indicates that, “Smith sang with a quality of harshness and at the same time with great passion but never with irony or sarcasm” (Friedwald 23). Her voice was unique in the world of blues and jazz by having a power like no other, and she had incredible control over it. Also, Manera claims that, “Smith’s music brought people together in a time of segregation” (Manera 20). She sang about love without a trace of sentiment, about independence and liberation, and of sex without guilt. She had a strong personality and did not shy away from talking openly about these topics. And as Friedwald confirms, “Smith had an amazing realistic attitude towards life and love and even in moments of heightened” (Friedwald 15).
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