Clara Smith
Clara Smith (born around 1894 in Spartanburg County , South Carolina , † February 2, 1935 in Detroit , Michigan ) was a popular American blues singer. She was known as "the Queen of the Moaners".
From around 1910, Clara Smith worked in African American music theaters and tent shows. Before 1920 she was one of the train numbers in the Lyric Theater in New Orleans and on the TOBA circuit.
From 1923 she lived in New York City , where she appeared in cabarets and speakeasys . In the same year she made her first commercially successful recordings for Columbia Records . She worked with this record label until 1932. In 1924 she achieved her only top 30 success with the "Chicago Blues"; her teammates were Don Redman , Fletcher Henderson , Teddy Nixon, Elmer Chambers and Charlie Dixon . 122 recordings of Clara Smith have survived, often together with well-known colleagues, including Louis Armstrong , Bessie Smith , Lem Fowler and Lonnie Johnson .
In 1933 she moved to Detroit. There she worked in music theaters until she fell ill in early 1935. She died of heart failure in hospital shortly afterwards.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ See Gerhard Klußmeier : Jazz in the Charts. Another view on jazz history. Liner notes 3/100 and accompanying book of the 100 CD edition. Membrane International GmbH. ISBN 978-3-86735-062-4
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Smith, Clara |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Queen of the Moaners (nickname) |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American blues singer |
| DATE OF BIRTH | around 1894 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Spartanburg County , South Carolina |
| DATE OF DEATH | February 2, 1935 |
| Place of death | Detroit , Michigan |