I hate to see that evening sun go down
I hate to see that evening sun go down
‘Cause, my baby, he’s gone left this town

Released in 1929, St. Louis Blues is a short film featuring blues legend Bessie Smith and an all-African-American cast.  Songwriter W.C. Handy was the musical director of the film.  To my knowledge it is Bessie Smith’s only known film appearance.

Bessie Smith – St. Louis Blues (Smith’s performance):

The power and pure feeling  in her singing voice as she belts out the title track  of the movie St. Louis Blues is incredible.

Wikipedia:

“Saint Louis Blues” is a popular American song composed by W. C. Handy in the blues style. It remains a fundamental part of jazz musicians’ repertoire. It was also one of the first blues songs to succeed as a pop song. It has been performed by numerous musicians of all styles from Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith to Count Basie, Glenn Miller, Guy Lombardo, and the Boston Pops Orchestra. It has been called “the jazzman’s Hamlet“.  Published in September 1914 by Handy’s own company, it later gained such popularity that it inspired the dance step the “Foxtrot”.

The version with Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong on cornet was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1993.

The Movie, St. Louis Blues  (it’s a two-reel short).

Bessie Smith finds her gambler lover Jimmy messin’ with a pretty, younger woman.  He leaves and this makes Bessie to pour herself a drink and sing the title song.  It is a small but entertaining movie. Well worth your time.
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