If Bessie Smith were alive today, she’d likely be singing the blues about North Carolina. A state advisory panel has recommended against approval of a highway historical marker for the night the blues ...

Smith was barnstorming the South, performing her act under a canvas tent for Black audiences or in segregated theaters. One sweltering night in July, it took her to the heart of Concord’s Black ...

Bessie Smith was influenced by Ma Rainey and eventually auditioned for the show but was hired as a “chorine,” or a chorus girl, because the show already had its blues singer in Ma Rainey. New Orleans ...