Trixie Smith

Infobox musical artist
Name = Trixie Smith

---

Img_capt =
Img_size = 150
Landscape =
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name =
Alias =
Born = 1895
Died = September 21 1943, age 48
New York City, New York, USA
Origin = flagicon|USA Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Instrument =
Voice_type =
Genre = Blues
Occupation = Vocalist, Actress
Years_active = 1920s – 1930s
Label = Black Swan
Paramount
Decca
Associated_acts =
URL =
Current_members =
Past_members =
Notable_instruments =

Trixie Smith (born 1895, Atlanta, Georgia; died September 21 1943, New York City, New York), was an American blues singer, recording artist, vaudeville entertainer, and actress. She made four dozen recordings.

Biography

Born and raised in Atlanta, Georgia, coming from a middle class-background, [Wintz, Cary D. "Encyclopedia Of The Harlem Renaissance", Taylor & Francis (2004), page 1129 - ISBN 1579584586] attended Selma University in Alabama before moving to New York around 1915. [Santelli, Robert. "The Big Book of Blues: A Biographical Encyclopedia" (2001), pp. 430-431 - ISBN 0140159398] She worked in minstrel shows and on the TOBA vaudeville circuit, before making her first recordings for the Black Swan label in 1922. Among these were "My Man Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll)" (1922), [ [http://www.indiana.edu/~jah/teaching/2004_03/sources/ex2_myman.shtml Song: "My Man Rocks Me (With One Steady Roll)"] ] written by J. Berni Barbour, of historic interest as the first secular recording to reference the phrase "rock and roll". [Altschule, Glenn C. "All Shook Up: How Rock 'n' Roll Changed America", Oxford Press (2003), page 23 - ISBN 0195139437] Her record inspired various lyrical elaboration’s: "Rock That Thing" by Lil Johnson, "Rock Me Mama" by Ikey Robinson, and so on. Also in 1922, Trixie Smith won first place and a silver cup in a blues singing contest at the Inter-Manhattan Casino in New York, sponsored by dancer Irene Castle, with her song "Trixie's Blues," singing against Alice Carter, Daisy Martin and Lucille Hegamin. [Oliver, Paul. "The Story of the Blues", UPNE, page 77 - ISBN 155553354X] She is most remembered for "Railroad Blues," (1925) a song that featured one of Smith's most inspired vocal performances on record, and "The World Is Jazz Crazy and So Am I" (1925). Both songs feature Louis Armstrong on cornet. A highly polished performer, her records include several outstanding examples of the blues on which she is accompanied by artists such as James P. Johnson, and Freddie Keppard. [Larkin, Colin. "The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music", Guinness (1995), page 3851 - ISBN 1561591769] She recorded with Fletcher Henderson's Orchestra for Paramount Records in 1924-1925.

As her career as a blues singer waned, mostly she sustained herself by performing in cabaret revues, and starring in the musical revues such as "New York Revue" (1928) and "Next Door Neighbors" (1928) at the Lincoln Theatre in Harlem. [Peterson, Bernard L. "A Century of Musicals in Black and White: An Encyclopedia of Musical Stage Works", Greenwood Press (1993), page 250 - ISBN 0313266573] She appeared in Mae West's short-lived 1931 Broadway effort "The Constant Sinner." Two years later, she was elevated to the stage of the Theatre Guild for its production of "Louisiana", [Cullen, Frank. "Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America", Routledge (2006), page 1051 - ISBN 0415938538] She appeared in four movies, "God's Step Children" (1938), "Swing!" (1938), "Drums o' Voodoo" (1934), and "The Black King" (1932). Two of these movies were directed by the Oscar Micheaux. [imdb name|0810229|Trixie Smith] Her last recordings were with Sidney Bechet for Decca Records in 1938, in addition in 1939 she cut "No Good Man" with a band including Red Allen and Barney Bigard. [ [http://wc06.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll All Music: Trixie Smith] ] She appeared at John H. Hammond's Spiritual to Swing concert in 1938 and recording seven titles during 1938-1939.

She died in New York City in 1943, after a brief illness.

Discography

Footnotes

External links

* [http://www.redhotjazz.com/trixiesmith.html Trixie Smith on RedHotJazz site] with audio of some of her vintage recordings