Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl- Bessie Smith

I love a feisty woman. The first time I listened to Bessie Smith, Empress of the Blues, I thought this is a gal I could hang with. Bessie Smith is considered one of the greatest singers of her era (20's-30's). She was also the highest paid black entertainer at this time.

Smith was born in Tennessee and started her career as a dancer and working chorus lines. In 1923, Columbia Records signed her and she began her hit making career. Later that year, she married a security guard by the name of Jack Gee. They had a tumultuous marriage. It was said she was not afraid to use her fists or any weapon readily available (a frying pan just came to mind). Bessie liked to drink, party and brawl. She also had many affairs with both men and women.  Some accounts have her standing at 6 feet tall (others a bit shorter) and 200 lbs. She was a presence onstage with a lot of personality and always wearing the latest fashions. After she caught Gee financing a younger singer's (Gertrude Saunders) show with her money she left him but they never divorced.

Bessie continued her career and she never changed from the down home girl she was. She loved her moonshine and southern cooking. She took up with an old friend, Richard Morgan. He became her manager and they remained together until her death in 1937. Morgan and Smith were out driving when Morgan mistook the speed of a truck in front of him and crashed. Morgan was not injured. Bessie's arm was almost completely severed, the right side of her body crushed. She went into shock waiting at least a half hour for an ambulance. She died in the morning without regaining consciousness on September 26, 1937 at 43 years old. Her funeral was attended by about 7,000 people. Gee, her husband used the money raised for a tombstone more than once. She went without a headstone until 1970 when Janis Joplin (another great singer) and Juanita Green (did housework for Bessie as a girl) purchased one.

Bessie Smith has many classic hits and I considered using "Empty Bed Blues" one of her most popular tunes but I had to go with "Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl". This song is quite scandalous for 1931 and I love a good scandal. She's not speaking about sugar or a bowl. And if I have to explain any further you are probably not old enough to be reading this.

I need a little sugar in my bowl

I need a little hot dog on my roll

I can stand a bit of lovin', oh so bad

I feel so funny, I feel so sad