1. Willie "The Lion" Smith described the background of these recordings in his autobiography Music on My Mind.
13 Facts About Mamie Smith
1. 2.
On February 14,1920, Mamie Smith recorded "That Thing Called Love" and "You Can't Keep a Good Man Down" for the Okeh label in New York City, after African-American songwriter and bandleader Perry Bradford persuaded Fred Hager to break the color barrier in black music recording.
3.
The success of Mamie Smith's record prompted record companies to seek to record other female blues singers and began the era of what is known as classic female blues.
4.
Mamie Smith continued to make popular recordings for Okeh throughout the 1920s.
5.
Mamie Smith was billed as "The Queen of the Blues", a billing soon one-upped by Bessie Smith, who was called "The Empress of the Blues".
6.
Mamie Smith found that the mass medium of radio provided a means of gaining additional fans, especially in cities with predominantly white audiences.
7.
Mamie Smith appeared in the early sound film Jailhouse Blues in 1929.
8.
Mamie Smith returned to performing in 1939 to appear in the movie Paradise in Harlem, produced by her husband, Jack Goldberg.
9.
Mamie Smith appeared in other films, including Mystery in Swing, Sunday Sinners, Stolen Paradise, Murder on Lenox Avenue, and Because I Love You.
10.
Mamie Smith died in 1946 in New York City, reportedly penniless.
11.
Mamie Smith was interred at Frederick Douglass Memorial Park on Staten Island, on ground which remained unmarked until 2013 when a monument was finally erected.
12.
Mamie Smith's re-interment was celebrated with a gala honoring the late singer on January 27,1964.
13.
However, according to the 2012 campaign website, Mamie Smith still was buried without a headstone 67 years after her death in 1946.