Bessie
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Narrated by:
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Robertson Dean
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By:
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Chris Albertson
About this listen
Bessie Smith, the great singer known as the "Empress of the Blues", is considered by many to be the greatest blues singer of all time. She was also a successful vaudeville entertainer who became the highest-paid African American performer of the Roaring '20s. Chris Albertson's revised and expanded edition of the biography of this extraordinary artist debunks many of the myths that have circulated since her untimely death in 1937. Albertson writes with insight and candor about the singer's personal life and her career, supplementing his historical research with dozens of interviews with her relatives, friends, and associates, including Ruby Walker Smith, a niece by marriage who toured with Bessie for over a decade.
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- The Life of Sammy Davis, Jr.
- By: Wil Haygood
- Narrated by: Kevin Free
- Length: 23 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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This biography of entertainment legend Sammy Davis, Jr. is an enthralling portrait of one of the most recognizable figures from the golden age of American show business. Davis, a guarded man who protected his private life with great vigor, lived an extraordinary life in the limelight, while also forging new uncharted paths across racial lines.
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Sammy Plus
- By James Gordon on 07-02-06
By: Wil Haygood
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Tammy Wynette
- Tragic Country Queen
- By: Jimmy McDonough
- Narrated by: Robertson Dean
- Length: 15 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
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Best-selling biographer Jimmy McDonough tells the story of the small-town girl who grew up to be the woman behind the microphone, whose meteoric rise led to a decades-long career full of tragedy and triumph. Through a high-profile marriage and divorce, her dreadful battle with addiction and illness, and the struggle to compete in a rapidly evolving Nashville, Tammy Wynette turned a brave smile toward the world and churned out masterful hit songs though her life resembled the most heartbreaking among them.
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Loved It!
- By Eileen on 03-19-10
By: Jimmy McDonough
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The Ballad of Bob Dylan
- A Portrait
- By: Daniel Mark Epstein
- Narrated by: Bronson Pinchot
- Length: 15 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
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The Ballad of Bob Dylan is a vivid, full-bodied portrait of one of the most influential artists of the 20th-century - a man widely regarded as the most important lyricist America has ever produced. Acclaimed poet and biographer Daniel Mark Epstein frames Dylan against the backdrop of four seminal concerts - all of which he attended. Beautifully written, The Ballad of Bob Dylan is a unique, eye-opening portrait of an artist who has transformed generations and continues to inspire and surprise today.
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Excellent book, excellent narration
- By L chandler on 12-22-11
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Never a Dull Moment
- 1971 - the Year That Rock Exploded
- By: David Hepworth
- Narrated by: David Hepworth
- Length: 11 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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On New Year's Eve, 1970, Paul McCartney told his lawyers to issue the writ at the High Court in London, effectively ending The Beatles. You might say this was the last day of the pop era. The following day, which was a Friday, was 1971. You might say this was the first day of the rock era. And within the remaining 364 days of this monumental year, the world would hear Don McLean's "American Pie", The Rolling Stones' "Brown Sugar", The Who's "Baba O'Riley", Zeppelin's "Stairway to Heaven", and more.
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A blast from the past
- By Amazon Customer on 07-30-16
By: David Hepworth
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When Giants Walked the Earth
- A Biography of Led Zeppelin
- By: Mick Wall
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 18 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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They were the last great band of the '60s and the first great band of the '70s. They rose, somewhat unpromisingly, from the ashes of the Yardbirds to become one of the biggest-selling rock bands of all time - and eventually paid the price for it, with disaster, drug addiction, and death.
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Very annoying but tolerable for serious fans.
- By M. Allen on 08-14-19
By: Mick Wall
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Respect Yourself
- Stax Records and the Soul Explosion
- By: Robert Gordon
- Narrated by: Cassandra Campbell
- Length: 17 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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The story of Stax Records unfolds like a Greek tragedy. A white brother and sister build a record company that becomes a monument to racial harmony in 1960’s segregated south Memphis. Their success is startling, and Stax soon defines an international sound. Then, after losses both business and personal, the siblings part, and the brother allies with a visionary African-American partner. Under integrated leadership, Stax explodes as a national player until, Icarus-like, they fall from great heights to a tragic demise.
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Great narration
- By A. K. Moore on 10-29-14
By: Robert Gordon
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Paul McCartney
- A Life
- By: Peter Ames Carlin
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 13 hrs
- Unabridged
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The best-selling author of the definitive biography of former Beach Boy Brian Wilson offers new insight into the life and music of Paul McCartney, one of the world's most popular and influential musicians. Informed by new, exclusive interviews with friends, bandmates, and collaborators, the book describes McCartney's many triumphs as well as his failures, from the Beatles era through his decade with Wings and his subsequent solo career.
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Great...But
- By Diego on 05-02-10
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1965
- The Most Revolutionary Year in Music
- By: Andrew Grant Jackson
- Narrated by: Peter Berkrot
- Length: 11 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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During 12 unforgettable months in the middle of the turbulent '60s, America saw the rise of innovative new sounds that would change popular music as we knew it. In 1965: The Most Revolutionary Year in Music, music historian Andrew Grant Jackson (Still the Greatest: The Essential Songs of The Beatles' Solo Careers) chronicles a groundbreaking year of creativity fueled by rivalries between musicians and continents, sweeping social changes, and technological breakthroughs.
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Seems like a good overview
- By wylie smith on 01-12-23
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Shine Bright
- A Very Personal History of Black Women in Pop
- By: Danyel Smith
- Narrated by: Danyel Smith
- Length: 13 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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A weave of biography, criticism, and memoir, Shine Bright is Danyel Smith’s intimate history of Black women’s music as the foundational story of American pop. Smith has been writing this history for more than five years. But as a music fan, and then as an essayist, editor (Vibe, Billboard), and podcast host (Black Girl Songbook), she has been living this history since she was a latchkey kid listening to “Midnight Train to Georgia” on the family stereo.
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Ok might have been better reading the hard copy
- By cde on 06-18-22
By: Danyel Smith
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Keith Richards
- The Unauthorised Biography
- By: Victor Bockris
- Narrated by: Adrian Mulraney
- Length: 20 hrs and 19 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1992, Victor Bockris' celebrated biography was the first to recognize Richards' pivotal role in the legend of the Rolling Stones. Now that book on rock's most incredible survivor has been expanded. Here are the true facts behind Richards' battles with his demons: the women, the drugs and the love-hate relationship with Jagger. His struggle with heroin and his status as the rock star most likely to die in the 1970s. His scarcely believable rebirth as a family man in the 1980s. Illuminated with revealing quotes and thoughtful insights into the man behind the band that goes on forever.
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doesn't comapre to LIFE
- By A. Garofalo on 02-20-14
By: Victor Bockris
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Being John Lennon
- A Restless Life
- By: Ray Connolly
- Narrated by: Jonathan Keeble
- Length: 16 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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What was it like to be John Lennon? What was it like to be the castoff child, the clown at school, the middle-class suburban boy who pretended to be a working-class hero? How did it feel to have one of the most recognizable singing voices in the world but to dislike it so much he always wanted to disguise it? Being John Lennon is not about the whitewashed Prince of Peace of “Imagine” legend - because that was only a small part of him. The John Lennon depicted in this book is a much more kaleidoscopic figure, sometimes almost a collision of different characters.
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Stars taken off for inclusion of MDC’s story
- By rob on 12-09-22
By: Ray Connolly
What listeners say about Bessie
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- tru britty
- 07-07-15
First-rate bio of a first-rate blues legend
Wow. Chris Albertson's biography of blues legend Bessie Smith is one of those books I love because it has a good story, a great character and an author who cares deeply for his subject.
In 1947, author Chris Albertson was a boy living in Copenhagen when he first heard Bessie on the radio. He was hooked. Years later, he moved to the States and spent two years trying to convince Columbia, which owned the rights to her music, to put out an anthology.
Albertson's biography first appeared in 1972. This audio version is the revision, which includes new information, edits and a compelling afterword.
Following an author introduction, the book slams right into the tragic end of a beautiful, bold and bumpy life. Albertson takes us to 1937 and a train steaming into a Philadelphia station. Bessie is carried off in a coffin. On September 26, the car driven by her lover Richard Morgan had collided with a truck. Bessie's arm, which was probably hanging outside the window, had been severed at the elbow. That and other injuries contributed to her death the next morning.
Bessie's estranged husband, Jack Dee, made sure to meet the train, and to weep loudly for the press.
It's a good thing Albertson began his book in the 1970s. He was able to conduct interviews with many people who'd known Bessie, including Jack Dee and his niece Ruby, who'd toured with Bessie and knew her about as well as anyone.
The story chronicles Bessie's early life in Tennessee. Her parents died young. So she was brought up by an older sister who's meanness probably helped Bessie make up her mind to get out of there. She came into the orbit of Ma Rainey, a mentor to the aspiring singer.
Several big-name blues and jazz legends pass in and out of Bessie's story. She recorded "St. Louis Blues" with Louis Armstrong. She also recorded for John Hammond, the Columbia producer famous for "discovering" Billie Holiday, Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen and for putting together the From Spirituals to Swing concerts at Carnegie Hall in 1938.
Albertson was little impressed by Hammond, whom he also interviewed. He details a uncomfortable scene between Hammond and Bessie's niece Ruby in the 1970s. Hammond gives Ruby a ten spot and says, "I'll never see that again." If Hammond was a great promoter of black artists, Albertson also sees him as a Great White Father. (Audible has a biography of John Hammond, if you're interested in getting another perspective.)
What the author does best is bring Bessie Smith to life. She pops off the page with a loud voice, a huge heart and a lot of troubles. Man troubles, woman troubles--she liked both--not to mention troubles with music biz scoundrels.
There's one incredible scene in which Bessie and Jack Dee confront a guy who's refused to pay up. Maybe he was a concert promoter. Can't remember. Well, Bessie and Jack solve the problem. They beat him till he hits the floor and then beat him some more. Bessie got her money.
The singer was no victim, though racism, fraudulent businessmen and the Depression shoved her around. She liked her moonshine. She liked her good times. But she loved music, and Bessie Smith sang the blues to break your heart and breathe life into a too often cruel world.
I wasn't sure I wanted a white guy reading Bessie's story. But narrator Robertson Dean overcame my reservations. He seemed to enjoy pulling off Bessie's saucy putdowns. The woman could burn on and off the stage.
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- Peter Henderson III
- 07-10-15
Imperfect but worthwhile.
With little historical material to draw on the author relied heavily on second and third hand information. His writing was also heavily biased with his own opinions which I found often offputting. That said I would say it's still a worthwhile audiobook for people with an interest in Bessie Smith.
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- Malik Rowe
- 09-17-21
slow start
had a slow start to me where I stopped reading it but after picking it back up .it picked up steam
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- Gayle
- 07-07-15
Keeping it real for Bessie
Good story, even though it reads as a school text book.
This is perfect for research into early American music, Blues, Jazz, and female poplar singers, African American and otherwise. Bessie gives you a good understanding about how the music business and race relations interacted during the 20s and 30s. I highly recommend this book as a reality check for myths and legends and their failure to deliver a better story than the truth.
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- Danielle
- 10-19-15
Great read!. I saw the HBO mini series..and it was
awesome """""""""""""""""""""@@@@@@it was an awesome book and much richer than the HBO doc. great read.
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- D. Blackwell
- 06-13-21
The Quintessential Empress of the Blues Biography
This was an amazing read by Mr. Albertson. I am aware that he compiled more sources on the life and times of Bessie Smith than any other attempted biographer. Though Albertson's personal feelings on the artist gave slight direction to his portrayal of her, he attempted to make the events as objective as possible. It has always been a hard task to accurately document the life and legacy of Blacks in the earlier eras of the United States for many reasons including conflicting interests during their lives and a lack of written first-hand material from those same individuals after they have died. Many of these individuals were either illiterate (many were before the mid 1950s), or there was little that could be said for fear of retaliation. Albertson uses similar phenomena within the recording industry's powerful workings to illustrate their complete control over their artists' portrayal and expression. The fact that Albertson's work is not complete self-written works from the Empress herself, enough was known of her from several sources who worked and lived with her to bring rather opaque events into focus. Every biography can be scrutinized for relying on certain sources over others but that does not mean the story should not be told. Albertson merely uses Ruby Walker and Alberta Hunter as a timeline to place Bessie at a certain place at a certain time, he then relies on material and written review of the event to structure a more vivid picture of what patrons and friends/family would have known during the time the events actually happened. I have deduced that if Queen Victoria, one of the most prolific diarists of the 19th Century, can have conflicting or fabricating material (due to personal bias), other great biographies should be excused for at least offering people like Bessie Smith, who's voice defined so much of her life, a voice about the humanity of her essence in death.
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