Bessie Smith (singing)
Trombone by Charlie Green

Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and other singers were trained on the minstrel circuits. Sadly, many African American minstrels were copies of white minstrels. They were truly imitations of imitations, and their performances often did not reveal the artistry they were capable of. As Ma Rainey was called The Mother of the Blues, her pupil Bessie Smith was called The Empress of the Blues. 