Blues 'Empress' Bessie Smith dies after a car accident in Mississippi at age 43.
At a Glance
- Date
- 26 September 1937
- Location
- Clarksdale, Mississippi
- Key people
- Bessie Smith
- Category
- Music
- Source
- Recordings; biographical records · Britannica
What It Meant Then
She had been the most celebrated and highest-paid Black performer of the 1920s.
What It Means Now
Smith's recordings remain pillars of the blues tradition.
Cite this page
- MLA
- “Bessie Smith Dies.” Black-History.com, 30 Sept. 2026, https://black-history.com/on-this-day/bessie-smith-dies/.
- APA
- Black-History.com Editors. (2026, September 30). Bessie Smith Dies. Black-History.com. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/bessie-smith-dies/
- Chicago
- Black-History.com Editors. “Bessie Smith Dies.” Black-History.com. September 30, 2026. https://black-history.com/on-this-day/bessie-smith-dies/.
Editorial Note
By the Black-History.com editors. Last reviewed 30 September 2026. To suggest a primary source or a correction, write to editors@black-history.com or use our corrections form.