Chapter 01 — Today in music
On a day like today April 15
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1894
Bessie Smith is born, the Empress of the Blues
Bessie Smith was born in Chattanooga, the Empress of the Blues and the highest-paid Black artist of the twenties. Her enormous voice, recorded alongside Louis Armstrong, set the standard of power and emotional truth later inherited by Billie Holiday and Janis Joplin, who paid out of pocket for her gravestone.
Bessie Smith
1944
Dave Edmunds is born, the Welshman who kept classic rock and roll burning
Dave Edmunds was born in Cardiff, guitarist, producer and devotee of fifties rock and roll. "I Hear You Knocking" was a British number one in 1970, and with Rockpile, alongside Nick Lowe, he built the perfect link between Chuck Berry and new wave. A classicist in times of shifting fashion.
Dave Edmunds
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