Smith, Mabel (1924–1972)
Smith, Mabel (1924–1972)
African-American blues singer. Name variations: Big Maybelle. Born Mabel Louise Smith on May 1, 1924, in Jackson, Tennessee; died on January 23, 1972, in Cleveland, Ohio.
One of the few women blues singers after 1950, "Big Maybelle" Smith joined the ranks of Koko Taylor and Willie Mae (Big Mama) Thornton in keeping the jazz form alive. She was born Mabel Louise Smith in 1924 in Memphis, Tennessee, and developed her powerful vocal style singing in church, accompanying herself on the piano. After winning first prize in a Memphis talent show in 1932, she traveled the country with a number of bands before hooking up with Tiny Bradshaw in 1947. Life on the road was difficult for the singer, whose encounters with segregation and sexual harassment led to a drug problem. From 1947 on, in addition to touring, Smith recorded for King, Okeh, Savoy and Rojac, with several of her songs landing on the rhythm-and-blues charts. She also appeared in Jazz on a Summer Day, a film about the 1959 Newport Jazz Festival. During the 1960s, Smith performed regularly at the Harlem Savoy, but complications from diabetes kept her from public appearances after 1967. She died of the disease in 1972.
sources:
Clarke, Donald, ed. The Penguin Encyclopedia of Popular Music. NY: Viking, 1989.
Cohn, Lawrence. Nothing But the Blues. NY: Abbeville, 1993.
Barbara Morgan , Melrose, Massachusetts