Bessie Smith (CD1, Tk2)
Lost Your Head Blues (1926)
Bessie Smith, vocal; Joe Smith, cornet; Fletcher Henderson, piano.

This performance is a classic example of city blues. It shows a higher level of sophistication than the country blues style of Robert Johnson. The performance demonstrates call and response between two performers. Joe Smith creates a dialogue with Bessie Smith that is typical of the blues. This interplay will continue through the early styles of jazz and into most of the styles of rock and roll. The response is nearly always improvised. Compare this example to the examples of Motown where the vocal groups were constantly in a texture of call and response. The cornet was more common than its relative the trumpet in the military marching bands at this time. The trumpet would soon replace the cornet in both jazz and rock