Bessie Smith-"Nobody knows you when you're down and out"

[YugiohfanVSP]

Bessie was awesome. I just discovered her recently for an assignment. I now know how wrong the people today are. Bessie Smith is really worthy of her title. She is one tough competitor!

[TheSolaris810]

Listen to the young Adele and you can hear snatches of Bessies influence which is good, but

the new generation of African American Artists need to own back or at least pay homage by sampling the music that gave birth to Rock & Roll, Rock, Soul, Rap, Hip-Hop, Jazz and R&B. Time to give Bessie & the other Blues Warriors some long overdue royalties if not in money (since most waivered royalties for a quick buck to put food on the table) then in recognition for the twitter generation.

[NelsonStJames]

Funny how songs about basic human nature are as relevant today as they were when written.

[hendrix2918]

sorry maddona,

[TheNekoman123]

This song i heard in bioshock and its a sad but good song its music with the incredible soul

[albybaraldi]

chissa' se ha ringraziato i DOTTORI BIANCHI per non averla accettata in ospedale.....

[jeanhartely]

Thank you. This is wonderful, and of course so much of the beauty lies in the band. I know Garvin Bushell from his clarinet with Wilbur DeParis after Omer Simeon died. Didn't know he was the one on the sax here. You learn something new every day!

[myToolisBigger]

@Alisterzaid Exactly same situation/feeling. I was born 120 years too late; I always' thought at least.

[june4783]

If you look at people in America to day are we returning to this era people living in cars empty towns, scary. Bessie was great and thank goodness some of us can still appreciate her.

Take care all of you

[luckyp84]

Great song. Sang beautifully.

[2blakandbold]

That's the truth .........Ruth!

[sosweetsarah1]

I'm just answering questions about her for homework so i just decided to search her up l.o.l kid though

[manwhassup1]

"mmmmmmmmmmmmmm..... Nobody knows u when you're down and out" Bessie nailed it. Plus, thats exactly how I been feeling lately. Seriously tho' 1929? Wow!

[xxcrossed]

love the song ! i sub and twittered the song !

[bigmarty11288]

Great song, but at the risk of being crucified by her other fans, am I the only one who thinks she looks a little like Biz Markie?

[auggiekennedy]

I love Bessie Smith, and this is one of her best. I've heard so many lame covers of this classic, but never one that was equal to Bessie's version. The other one I love by Bessie is "Give Me a Pig Foot and a Bottle of Beer." Oh, so fine!

[Jmellon15]

You want music? listen to the vaccines mate

[Alisterzaid]

Being a 21 year old guy living in a emotionally deprived world..this song brings me to tears when I listen to it...how I wish that I could have lived in the same era as Smith or Holiday..or even Reinhardt...when music was felt...not manufactured...this inspires me

[willpn100]

The honking melody of rock and roll music has a clearly defined ancestry in jazz going back to Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith of 85 years ago. Bessie Smith was ahead of her time.

[xyzllii]

Good ol' Bessie...what a singer..!

[vparonto]

Found Bessie's music about 20 years ago and fell in love with it. Lyrics are so true, then and now.

[OGDonJuan]

dayum homegirl got soul

[IsCumaFut2]

this is my party piece on guitar

[27boof]

I LOVE what you wrote in your "more info" section - you are FUNNY!!! My mum also was born in 1929 - wish she were still with us. Thx so much for posting this, I needed to reference the tune & you helped me out by putting it up here :)

Peace

[skateallday115]

I'm only 14 and this song is something I really like 1920's was the place I always wanted to go and when I play this song it makes my grandmaw have alot of memories :)

[DutchKalhoun]

This song still applies today. Refer to God Bless The Child (Billie Holiday). When you have money, people come out of the woodwork for a touch. But, when the money goes, your so-called "friends" go with it. The Empress of the Blues captured the core of this song perfectly.

Rest Peacefully

BESSIE SMITH (1894-1937)

[RedNemesis42]

I love how all the highest rated comments are modern music bashing. Clearly, none of you realize that Bessie had a range of ONE OCTAVE.

Please, try to justify how that's better than the plethora of great singers that exist today.

[musiclover9361]

@RedNemesis42 ONE OCTAVE? Really? I think you either need to adjust your speakers or educate your ears. There are surely 3 octaves in this one song alone. Listen to the filmed footage of her singing St Louis Blues in 1929, available here on youtube, then wash your mouth out! ONE OCTAVE? Pah!!

[allenshepard]

ive heard of bessie through ronnie gilbert and now i have so much more respect for ronni and bessi

[peacedragonflly1]

I love bessie,and billy holiday,and led belly,and of course my girl janis joplin, I grew up with them,But i love dancing to tecno-the beat is nuts, and i dance to rap. I know that most music made today is manafactured, and digital, but I say let your freak flag fly! I have all of the above on my I pod and my kids are into billy and janis to we share music with eachother.

[judygrell]

What an interesting piece of information about Janis Joplin donating money for a tombstone for Bessie Smith! Both of these women sang their hearts and souls out and I admire both.

[JustinAZ420]

used to hav it now i dont everything i hav is in the yard for sale. god what a ride...

[KiittyCupcake]

???

[glennadelaware66]

too many youth dont know anything about these strong sisters from our past....all throaty and emotion-filled voices from the past, telling stories...

[PunkRockFreak09]

@glennadelaware66 I am fifteen and I love Bessie Smith. I think this is incredible music and society, as a whole, would be much better off with it.

[securitycat11]

the true first Lady of all music she departed way to earley in her life thank god for that voice .

[DreamGyrl360]

I am so depressed. So I came here.

I have this album. Probably in the car.

When I'm sad I listen to this and some raw Billie Holiday -- not any concerts of hers but the ones where she's high and can barely sing because her words are running together...

love it.

[benignbarbarity]

Listen to this and then listen to something by one of the modern soulless Disney pop princesses. Then weep for humanity.

[MonsieurMajestic]

Thx for sharing that old song.(very very good quality,no scratches on the old record).

Must be very valuable...around $5000 at least. :D

[498332]

Bessie is no skinny little waif bemoaning her angst at her fate like so many "stars" today; Bessie was a WOMAN who put everything she had into her songs! They should gain some life experience (and a little bulk to be able to belt it out...)

[MoleDFigg]

@498332

I'm with you there, Bob!! (and thanks for subscribing)

Clive.

[mexican0boi]

@MoleDFigg Fuck you hoe. Old friend.

[almosnow]

hehe my grandma is around 80 too, what a different world you've seen. I can't wait to see how is it going to be when I'm 80 myself :)

[bumblebash]

It's actually like she foretold the great depression (it only started later that year after the wall street crash)

[psychoactivepaper]

I just happened to want to listen to this song, and didn't have it since I am traveling. Never did I think searching a song I already have would lead me to a gold mine such as your user page good sir!! Thank you for all these splendid toons ^.^ And don't worry, there are young cats out there who get what real music is, listen to it, and plan to make it. You're talking to one of them....

Thank you deeply for this archive!

[robinmadison100]

I love it. especially in today's economy this song is great! Janis Joplin did not do this song justice.

[KiittyCupcake]

Janis did do this song justice, as did Bessie.

[2emeraldeyes]

One great thing about technology is that we can get access to all of these great classic artists and songs, live footage, etc... I don't even listen to modern music. anymore, I can actually say musically and in many ways, I live in the 1920's - 40's. I haven't listened to anything later than that in about 12 years. i don't understand why anyone would when we can have the real good classic stuff like this.

[uroshima]

ok i'll admit i heard this on bioshock 2 and i fell in love with this song. i'll be the first to say that i don't really go for todays music. which is saying a lot considering my age. i mean i would rather listen to bobby womack and now bessie smith rather than well.... a rather extinsive list of so called music artists that flood the radio waves now. she definatly had a beautiful voice. now i'm left to wonder about her history. time to do some research!

[adpettif]

fantastic

[VivienLadyO]

I'd hate to give the impression I have no time for much recent music - I hugely admire and enjoy the material of lots of singer/songwriters dating back from the 1960's to today - Dylan, Jackson Browne, Abba (shame about the clothes!), Joni Mitchell, Paul Simon, etc, and I like unashamed, unpretentious pop, rock, soul, country - Boy George, Vandross, Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Snow Patrol - it's the self-promoting talent vacuums who excel only at believing in their own ludicrous myths I despise.

[MoleDFigg]

@VivienLadyO

Pass !!

[mexican0boi]

@MoleDFigg STFU you bitch.

[charlotte4112]

@VivienLadyO You are right, the indestry has become to pretentious, ignoring the talent (wich is the base of the singing career). Although popular music today may seem like that, there is still "underground music", harder to find but still attached to the roots of real music.

[VivienLadyO]

What a superlative artist Bessie was - she just stood up and sang, full throated and from the heart, no rubbishy "costumes" that make you look like a camp, fancy dress cockatoo, or ludicrous so-called dance routines with posturing half-naked moronic posers wiggling about in the background, or electronic trickery that passes for music. Just her, and her talent. I'd have wished her a longer life, and a happier one, if I could have.

[MoleDFigg]

@VivienLadyO

Thanks for your appreciative comment, Vivien. I share your view of what "passes for music" and presentation these days! what HAS happened to melody, lyrics, mastery of instruments and vocal skills? Or am I missing something?

Best regards, Clive.

[mexican0boi]

@MoleDFigg Best regards? HOPE YOU GO TO HELL BITCH!

[benny266698]

awesome voice

[luna2nz]

this was my dad's favorite song, used to sing it to me every chance he had, rest in peace dad... 02-28-10. thank you for having this video here.

[theJaydog]

so awesome! I was checking out Lena and spotted this. Thanks friend

[FatTonyCologino]

u wer born in 1929 that means your like 81 and using youtube lol thanks for the upload !

[MoleDFigg]

@FatTonyCologino No, I'm still 80, read my notes and do the maths! And why did you 'laugh out loud'? It was a Brit. from my generation that gave you (free!!) the web in the first place, did you think we have all lost our marbles? Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed my posting.

[FatTonyCologino]

@MoleDFigg oopss wen i looked at the posting date i just looked at the year whooops anyway yeh my grandparents dont even know how to double click and dont really care to learn either...so i think that u uploading onto youtube is really awesome! thanks again !

[TheCow500]

@MoleDFigg Thanks for uploading.

[deltatangofoxtot]

@MoleDFigg Amazing co-incidences...I'm so very impressed that you learned this silly contraption. I hear you when you see this nation of amateurs and folks who really know no history.. I hate "lol" myself...born in 1961, I was part of the last literate, history loving, era. Our culture has digressed into tech. language. lol has become the equivalent of "um" or a way of filling empty space. I like LQTM: Laughing Quietly To Myself...not in the case of this video, though. Thank you so much for you.

[piromaniac9999]

@MoleDFigg are you really 80?

There are a lot of liars.

I came here because i heard this version of bessie smiths nobody knows you in a videogame.

I heard it and i thought::WOAH!!! this is the original song that eric clapton later does 50 years later or 40 years later.

[alanvaliant]

a treasure for sure.

[UniQueLyEviL]

Omg this song is SO true!!

[jennivega2001]

Amazing...what a voice

[ruotze]

FANTABULOUSNESS !!

[zozoann]

The BEST VOICE...ever.

[biomagno]

i totally agree with u man!!!!

[bill3murr]

the more things change, the more they stay the same......thanks for this fine post.