Bessie Smith was the most popular female blues singer of the 1920s and 30s. Known as the 'Empress of the Blues,' she possessed a powerful, commanding voice that didn't need a microphone to fill a large hall. Her first recording, 'Downhearted Blues' (1923), was a massive hit and saved Columbia Records from bankruptcy. Smith was a major influence on jazz vocalists like Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin. She was also one of the highest-paid Black performers of her time, touring in her own custom-built railroad car to avoid the indignities of segregation. Her songs often dealt with themes of poverty, oppression, and female independence. Tragically, she died in a car accident in 1937, but her recordings remain a testament to the raw emotional power of the classic blues era.