About the Author

Chris Albertson is the acknowledged authority on Bessie Smith. A long-time contributor to Stereo Review, Down Beat, Saturday Review, and other publications, he has written extensive liner notes for jazz and blues albums and has produced a wide array of recordings, radio, and television programmes.

Reviews

"The most devastating, provocative, and enlightening work of its kind ever contributed to the annals of jazz literature." Leonard Feather, Los Angeles Times "The first estimable full-length biography not only of Bessie Smith but of any black musician." Whitney Balliett, New Yorker