Recording Date: February 16, 1923 (along with B-side "Gulf Coast Blues")
"Down Hearted Blues", the lament of a mistreated woman, had been composed and recorded by fellow blues singer Alberta Hunter the year before, but Bessie Smith sang it with a passion and power as if it was her own song. The record sold more copies than any blues or jazz record had before (780,000 in the first six months after the release, #1 in the Billboard charts for 4 weeks), helped to save Columbia from imminent bankruptcy and made Bessie a star, although she could never repeat a million seller. The beautiful flipside, composed by the accompanying piano player Clarence Williams, became a big success in its own right some weeks later (#5).
Smith's recording was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2002. The board selects songs in an annual basis that are "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
It was also included in the list of Songs of the Century, by the Recording Industry of America and the National Endowment for the Arts in 2001 and is in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as one of the 500 songs that shaped rock. Smith's recording received a Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 2006.
They called Bessie Smith the “Empress of the Blues,” and for good reason. Like most female blues singer of the 1920s, Smith was more of a general songstress than a pure blues artist, and her accompaniment owed more to vaudeville than to traditional blues. But the emotion and power of her singing were pure blues through and through.
“Downhearted Blues” was her first hit and is considered by many to be the first authentic blues record. Listening to her sing, it is easy to forget that this was still a purely acoustic recording, without the benefit of an electronic microphone. Her voice is measured, even reserved, as is fitting for the subject matter, and yet such is the power of that voice that no subtleties are lost in the delivery. It is a moving and beautiful performance.