Bessie Smith - Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out (Official Audio)

[@surrealmadrid7971]

Janis Joplin paid for this ladies headstone...... RIP to both great ladies....

[@AndriaaLeoLove]

Yep. Jack Gee Should Have

[@sammy5674]

This woman from a 100yrs ago makes me feel things I don't even feel in the modern world. She is amazing and gives me total goosebumps ❤ i feel like ive lived a life long ago, some sort of connection. I couldnt honestly say.. its just a feeling i have ❤

[@ceeceetracey9839]

U may have been here before😊

[@djahchqawa7678]

Agrees

[@hazelrabun1396]

Things change in the world but not everything!!! Different scenario same feelings.❤

[@jeremyhennessee6604]

I call that feeling Spiritual Nostalgia Miss Sammy . And if you identify so deeply with that aspect of history, it's quite likely that your Soul was a Part of It.

[@BIG-BlueNation8569]

Nice comment ☝️

[@mristoworg]

Notably, this was released just 12 days *before* the 1929 stock market crash which started the Great Depression.

[@SnoopCatts]

Hmmmm , sounds like some ppl knew what to give the most popular singer at the time to make the most sales during a lot of suffering.... nothing's changed

[@Swede-js9jq]

I didn’t know that. Thanks for sharing.

[@Blisteryn]

Whoever you are and if you've been in there place or if you are in that place of hopeless, don't give up. You are worthy, just take your time. I wish you the best!😊

[@Patti-nt9jm]

Yes

[@mr.mhabvane6197]

The lady who originally sang blue suede shoes 👟

[@MonaeMalome-dq6ru]

❤ This is how I feel today without a job, living in a state where people came from who took my sons and lied to just get checks for us because they stole a baby girl, and had babies by teenage mother's..They used me and my children for finacial gain for 18 years..of their lives always playing games with my kids child support checks just to take care of a deadbeat with a familes who had my kids father ear shot off, and the lady who called the police grandson kidnapped..I lost my children, because I saved another mother for crying over a casket..My ex neighbor was the one who got my caller ID phone out of my house from my daughter..Everyone I love has been abused even my co workers were shot at..I am miserable do to my current situation..But my adopted brother did his best to prepare my for those who wanted to murder us..I'm happy it's the season of celebrating Jesus Christ. ❤ one of my favorite times of the year... as a child, I dreamed of a Christmas month wedding in my favorite park... December anniversaries ... Being stable was always my goal..I'm currently unemployed ❤😢❤. Not being able to communicate with others is very difficult for me.. My 2nd job took me away from being an introvert .. I had to depend on people to care for me pregnant with my firstborn daughter.. Her grandparents were the best. Her daddy really tried. He fell into depression after losing his job and his first child..We understood the pain of losing our children..so our daughter was my sunshine despite the evil she endured from my uterus...she's in her own lane and her ancestors are happy..It saddens me that my big brother never shared oneday in our lives..He was proud of her just by seeing her pictures..He was the only person I could share them with, besides my beautiful grandbabies. JESUS CHRIST, give HER a FAMILY..OTHER THAN HER GRANDPARENTS...SHE DOESN'T WANT ME IN HER LIFE..AND IT'S OKAY WE BOTH NEED TO HEAL FOR JESUS CHRIST..SHE LOST HER DADDY AND HER FAITH❤

[@ScarisGargoyle121]

The Bioshock games made me appreciate songs from the 30s 40s 50s

[@AllenIverson4MVP]

Lol this song is from '29

[@RecordCollector96]

adp.library.ucsb.edu/index.php/matrix/detail/2000038095/W148534-Nobody_knows_you_when_youre_down_and_out

[@Anna-ij9ue]

Mee too!! Right now i’m playing BIOSHOCK 2 and i have to say, that i can’t wait to play BIOSHOCK 1 and BIOSHOCK INFINITE!! BIOSHOCK REALLY IS ONE OF THE BEST GAMES!

[@ghostfaceparismusic]

literally started listening to more music like this because of bioshock

[@ghostfaceparismusic]

@@Anna-ij9ue LMFAO im currently playing bioshock 2 right now too hence how i found the song

[@JohnDonovanProductions]

With Bessie Smith , the blues became a major force in American popular music . On her first test in the studio , in 1922 , she was rejected as too coarse - supposedly because she broke off a take to say , " I gotta spit . " Her first release , " Down Hearted Blues , " recorded in February 1923 , was one of the biggest - selling records of the year , and despite the usually short - lived tastes of the record - buying public , she continued to be one of the major recording artists of the 1920s . She had learned some of her style from Ma Rainey , when she toured with her as a 20 - year - old with The Rabbit's Foot Minstrels , but when she began her recording career , she was in her late 20s and had matured , gaining a range of phrasing and expression that went beyond any of the other classic blues performers . Within a year , she was outselling every other blues artist . the early 1930s , despite the wear on her voice from overuse and too much alcohol , she did a last session - produced by John Hammond - with Benny Goodman and Jack Teagarden . Her career was richly productive , and some of her brooding presence was captured in the short film St. Louis Blues , where , after a raffish plot encumbered with most of the period's racial stereotypes , she is shown performing the song in a bar with the Fletcher Henderson Orchestra accompanying her and the Hall - Johnson choir joining in from the tables around her . It is an unforgettable glimpse of one of popular music's most significant performers . " Nobody Knows You When You're Down And Out " is one of her classic songs , done in the late 1920s when her voice had darkened , and it opens with an eloquent statement of the verse by cornetist Ed Allen , who was working with the Williams studio groups at this time . Her recording has been imitated by hundreds of other singers , but no one has caught the introspection and brooding power of Bessie's performance .

[@tasiad6208]

Thank you for sharing this.❤

[@wrkn4alvn2010]

Excellent critique.

[@JohnDonovanProductions]

@@wrkn4alvn2010 ty

[@lubielu5623]

I love these types of comments

[@noelfisher1829]

❤thanks ,teach!

[@kanjiwooowooo3202]

This song is nearly a 100 years old! At it's still soo good!

[@carminemurray6624]

It never gets old.

[@BlokkstarDe5_]

@@carminemurray6624 joke

[@christinecremen4151]

It always will be !

[@pleximanic]

Bessie Smith brought me here

[@johnking7008]

That song describes the Depression totally.

[@joyceterrell3969]

My Great Aunt Bessie ❤. Thanks for keeping her name alive.

[@stillstanding6031]

Bless you, child.

[@claussaunte2303]

So Much power in This voice, i doubt any modern Singer could sing half as good as Bessie did.

[@jessicahainesmusic]

Amy did.

[@surrealmadrid7971]

How about the lady who paid for Bessies gravestone....Janis Joplin..... She sure could sing the blues.... Although I do have to keep reminding myself that janis music is 50 years old now so probably not modern lol

[@cha5]

@@jessicahainesmusic Amy never had anything close to Bessie's rawness.

[@rileycoyote8275]

@@surrealmadrid7971 Janis' music is ageless.

[@ganymeade5151]

She was the real thing. She had so much depth. One modern singer who compares to her is Aretha Franklin.

[@aymeecharlotte714]

Glad I learned about her in history class. Her voice was so beautiful

[@triefnas524]

Yes you are totally right

[@ZombieslayRJacob]

I did a book report on Ms Smith back in high school 😭 her story was very inspirational for women to never give up what you like to do.

[@triefnas524]

Never give never back down

[@ΔήμητραΓυφτου]

Δεν υπάρχουν λόγια Τόση δύναμη!!!!!@

[@LuvSol427]

Thank You for the inspiration!

[@soysaucescumbag4310]

I'm actually doing something similar right now! I present tomorrow.

[@feel-the-rain85]

I just watched a documentary movie about Gianna Nannini. She also didn't give up. This song was in the movie. Very fitting 👌

[@musicola7371]

1929 and nobody has done it better ever.

[@a.leemorrisjr.9255]

Because of "Jim Crow," the wonderful Bessie left us W-A-Y too soon. But legends don't die. She lives on in her recordings!

[@koyabroderick8956]

Everything she sings about is relevant. I can relate to all of it. Human beings have not changed. Go ahead Bessie

[@venetianortrup8693]

Janis Joplin bought Bessie Smith a grave stone when she found out she was buried in an unmarked grave. RIP LADIES

[@jackd6881]

I found newfound respect for janis!

[@jeanettesmith765]

That was fabulous! I understand now why Janis Joplin admired her so much.

[@BillSmith-ed4jg]

Janis wasn't even half this good But it's nice to know she appreciated real talent

[@stefanipelaez8615]

i don't know this, is crazy!!

[@surrealmadrid7971]

@@BillSmith-ed4jg yes she was

[@lindaversil1121]

Janis thought she was a reincarnation of Bessie

[@BillSmith-ed4jg]

Janis was in denial She wasn't one tenth as good

[@yvonnebuheiry-thomas473]

Love her..almost 100 years ago...Bessie Smith super duper

[@Austin-dd5je]

Yvonne Buheriry, good morning how are you?

[@carlottafrattini1685]

She is always the greatest blues singer! Nobody has her voice!

[@triefnas524]

I like the reds

[@puddingpop3073]

Bessie Smith voice is so rich, full of soul and grit.❤️

[@johnking7008]

I love that song. Indeed, nobody knows you when you are out and down. I been there.

[@Vugen18]

Almost a century old and still a banger. Thats a true classic if i dare say.

[@josephmosikili1902]

True classic indeed...

[@quixotic4233]

It's not just that she has a gorgeous voice, it's that she understood it. She's so strong, but the "without a doubt" curl is vulnerable, almost desperate, and then it's back to her normal strong voice. Just spectacular. Janis Joplin was right, Ms. Smith had it all.

[@InchonDM]

Music has many Kings, and Queens. But there's only one Empress.

[@JohnSpawn1]

Once I lived the life of a millionaire Spending my money, I didn't care I carried my friends out for a good time Buying bootleg liquor, champagne and wine Then I began to fall so low I didn't have a friend, and no place to go So if I ever get my hand on a dollar again I'm gonna hold on to it till them eagle's grin Nobody knows you when you down and out In my pocket not one penny And my friends I haven't any But If I ever get on my feet again Then I'll meet my long lost friend It's mighty strange, without a doubt Nobody knows you when you down and out I mean when you down and out Mmm, when you're down and out Mmm, not one penny And my friends I haven't any Mmm, well I felt so low Nobody wants me round their door Mmm, without a doubt No man can use you wen you down and out I mean when you down and out

[@gregorychatman5316]

Rest in Paradise God bless your soul forever 🏆🙏🏿❤💛💙

[@jennzenn971]

thank you for this 🙂

[@JupitersKiss79]

This is relevant and true. Awesome.

[@anthony7490]

some things never change

[@lindaivison5843]

A women ahead of her time…..

[@brownkemosabe]

Bessie. The Queen of The Blues!

[@johnrosenbaum8730]

Could listen to that voice all day and night ❤.

[@amberjones7892]

I admit bioshock 2 introduced me to this timeless piece ✨️ but I'm loving it in my soul 💖 beautifully done Bessie what a classy lady 💖

[@andyzuleta5344]

I’m glad those early ads displayed the good oldies with Bioshock ! Replaying it again

[@anotheryou218]

A hundred years later, no one has equalled Bessie in the blues. Gawd, what a voice.

[@triefnas524]

This woman was crazy im not gonna lie!

[@RealTimEhn]

Definitely see what Mahalia Jackson saw in her!

[@gaspshichat]

i had to do an assignment for us history about a musician famous during the harlem renaissance so i looked up some random one. i came across bessie smith and looked up a song i could talk about. the title of this one intrigued me so i put it down for the assignment. now i'm listening to it for the first time and my god her voice is beautiful

[@ShamanNoodles]

Love this song. It's in Bioshock 2! That's how i found it.

[@BathysphereMechanic]

Same! I think the character Grace Holloway was heavily inspired by her in the game as well

[@tessajones1283]

Thank you, Ms. Smith, for being strong and fearless! I honor you, I salute you.....I love you.

[@triefnas524]

Thanks you too

[@RA-wx3rv]

What a rich voice. You can feel Bessie's emotions from her words and her way of singing.

[@sirtigalotwolfe2962]

I just made my way back from this state, this song is way too true... Sad but True...

[@hoddtoward]

Thankful I played BioShock 2 as a kid and got to hear this. Nostalgia is sweet.

[@mystiksc]

i love old music and im only 9 years old 2020 :)

[@anaangel5434]

❤❤❤

[@christiaandecosta]

good stuff kid, it had more soul back then, todays stuff is so vulgar, keep it up son

[@ne-mr2zd]

Listen to Bach

[@yuvals3796]

@@ne-mr2zd jascha heifetz

[@johnbelvin5216]

That's so cool!

[@spudbays5882]

Her singing gives me goosebumps. What an incredible, amazing voice.

[@johnrosenbaum8730]

She's amazing ❤

[@jamesfreeman2258]

Janis Joplin was a huge fan. She sang cover on Ms Smith's song in the coffee houses and rag-tag bars in the earliest stages of her career., and I think Ms Smith was her most favorite singer.

[@anthony7490]

Hell, she paid for her tombstone! That's class , honor, dignity, pretty much what both women possess endlessly

[@kernie5664]

You gotta love bioshock for adding songs like this

[@hippyelise1]

I love this one. They played it on Sanford and Son when Fred went to Vegas 💕

[@lottidabodi]

Yes! That’s why I’m here 😂

[@shawndaniels1691]

I was trying so hard to remember where I heard this first. Thank you lol

[@Odinandhisravens]

This the type of music where u get flashbacks from a life u didn’t even know u lived😭

[@lindagonzalezcantantecrist1910]

This is what I call music. Amazing vocals.

[@In3rdMillennium]

I didn't know who she was until the last few years. I was watching the movie Monterey Pop and Michelle Phillips likened Janis Joplin to Bessie Smith, so I had to research to find out more about her and loved what I discovered. So thanks to Michelle Phillips for turning me on to Bessie Smith.

[@kaecake9575]

Billie and Bessie has more soul than Billie Eyelash 😅

[@gregtbrown7]

I’m 51 years old and I’m almost ashamed to say that sanford and son brought me here! Love the song 🎵

[@mr.mhabvane6197]

Why u ashamed

[@johnnylapsick6826]

Nothing like the very old singers of the great songs. I can’t imagine being 21 & the 1920’s coming of age! 😊 Thank You!

[@LouCadle]

My grandmother was exactly the right age. She moved from small town Illinois to St Louis in 1922, went to clubs where she heard music like this and faster music, to which she danced the Black Bottom and Lindy Hop.

[@kirarasmom4274]

Janis Jopine brought me here. She liked here music.

[@JazzFlop212]

Joplin her

[@tordkarl]

And Janis Joplin arranged for a proper tomb stone for Bessie Smith.

[@excrono]

I haven’t had real friends in over 10 years, but came to value my own convictions and beliefs more than the superficial people who were only in it to take that I once knew.

[@304lyfedtw7]

This song is a life lesson…I feel it in my soul. Great lyrics, music and voice.

[@OleFanaego]

Guy Johnson’s book “Standing at the Scratch Line”, brought me here. Lmao damn I’m a 90’s baby from Chicago just reading an old school book, but man I appreciate Jazz music.. Shit so relaxing and soothing. And the concept of the song is so real, I feel that shit.. and many rap/hip hop songs have the same meaning

[@demetriuspowell29]

It’s blues

[@Potentialaj]

aww thank you for reminding me of his book! I think I read that a loooong time ago and loved it. He's so underrated, EXTREMELY talented

[@breadboy2712]

Perfect grit, another time. No one sounds like that nowadays Classic treasure

[@Dvjdh75]

Hearing this after sparing Grace Holloway was a true blessing. Really fits her character, I think. Someone who she hated showed her compassion unlike those closest to her. Thank you, Bioshock!

[@ANGELGAINES-w8d]

I enjoyed listening to the song. It gave me goosebumps, the power and emotion she carries in her voice is amazing!

[@johnrosenbaum8730]

Amazing she was, I only discovered her recent and I can't stop listening to everything she has done, even little movie clips. ❤

[@jojmeni]

Super!

[@musiclover9361]

I think that this might be the greatest vocal Blues performance in History.

[@stillstanding6031]

Could just be, sir/madam!!

[@cherylwall9686]

Water for Elephants brought me here. Great song!

[@pawelbyrski3896]

The legends live on through their sound which radiates throught body and mind . It is fine very fine.

[@lonelystreetcat2.53]

This song was ahead of it time

[@johnrosenbaum8730]

There is a good film about Bessie Smith starring Queen Latifah , very good too, shows what this woman went through, quite amazing really.🥰

[@Tutnese]

That voice! Lord! I've loved this woman for 20 years!

[@brittneybrisbin744]

What a voice💕

[@thomasellis8586]

Bessie was a phenomenal blues singer! Right up there with Aretha!

[@rileycoyote8275]

Far better than Aretha.

[@garywatson2964]

Listening to Bessie Smith almost 100 years after she recorded this song makes me wish that I had been born around 1910. That would be too young to be drafted into WW1, but old enough to enjoy hearing Bessie Smith, Enrico Caruso, and Geraldine Ferrar, and other great musicians from that time. Nobody else has ever even come close to the Empress of the Blues in singing the blues.

[@bellaferla6953]

This is the caliber of talent we may never see again

[@josephmosikili1902]

True, True, True...

[@samirmokdad6459]

The great Bessie Smith

[@renaward1580]

Thank you Empress for this song! You nailed it! RIP ❤😊

[@renaward1580]

I also love Billie Holidays rendition of this poiant song!

[@lakota_himself]

Absolute Legend

[@dani.1170]

stuff like this reminds me how young i am..

[@nathanielhensley4756]

As blues & jazz guitarist and vocalist I play this song at least dozen of times I just love the lyrics and chord patterns to this amazing masterpiece I sing & play this song everyday!

[@ssinssg]

Imagine hearing this in person, or a decent analog recording 30 or 40 years later.

[@XX-gy7ue]

THIS SONG AND HER WERE MEANT FOR EACH-OTHER , MAGNIFICENT !

[@kahanasam]

My Heaven above. So perfect. Wow - I have adored Bessie Smith for years. She could sing a phone book and blow you over. Good Lord!

[@CosmicTron]

Fred Sanford and Son brought me here, the Las Vegas episode. This song definitely rings true to life that's for sure.

[@genevaj6469]

Rest in peace 🕊️ you fought a good fight left a positive mark on the world

[@MrRockzilla86]

I feel like Fred Sanford in Las Vegas lol Amazing song.

[@favcey1329]

we're all the same. thank you bessie

[@carminemurray6624]

That verse was supposed to read: "bootleg liquor, Cocaine and 🍷 wine" that is why the money ran out so fast. But they couldn't say Cocaine in a song back then. Also listen to the version by Alberta Hunter, a Great Lady, She gives credit to Bessie Smith. I will always Love Alberta Hunter and Bessie Smith.

[@Aleakwe]

👑💜 Never forgotten Queen

[@Rosannasfriend]

She really saying with her heart on her sleeve.

[@laurametheny7567]

Her life relates to all women in all races and she was possibly the first wpman to give us rights in her way. love ya

[@ecwwwrasslin7663]

Superb song!

[@rainybaezz]

God bless her bro that voice was powerful and beautiful and elegant and i felt that in my soul i started to cry🥲❤

[@VR-guy-official]

I only know this song because it played in the loading screen for bioshock 2 paupers drop

[@annemariedimola1785]

Love you Bessie ❤!!!!!

[@teshthadon8431]

Born in 1994 and this is the best music to me... And i swear i know a lot of music❤😂

[@leonardnimoy7]

Karen Dalton brought me here. ❤ what a voice.

[@michelfrancis144]

Kelly Clarkson show on Cece Winans brought me here!!! My goodness! What a voice!! 💯🔥 beautiful!!

[@IAF844]

Sing it Bessie sing it.❤

[@josephmosikili1902]

Sing it Empress....

[@maximesteinebrunner9941]

She helped creating the GOAT singer, Janis Joplin! Man what a singer Bessie was

[@11REIGN11]

September 2024❤ Love me some Bessie!

[@noelfisher1829]

❤grateful to my gramma for sharing these records and these clubs with these gifted musicians. I'm not ever alone when I have these ❤❤❤❤

[@marlo700]

Sanford and son brought me here

[@annethompson4318]

So many men covered this.... She's amazing. I always repost. Love. Love. Love.

[@danielpoursac6931]

une voix du Jazz merveilleuse Bessie Smith qui a marquer ma jeunesse sublime que je ne peu oublier

[@diannepalmer3032]

Sandford and Son, Vegas Trip brought me here! LOVE IT!!!❤

[@sandrakenney567]

I Remember watching the true story film with Queen Lateifah acting as Her she played her very well.i never heard if her till i saw the film .But i know the song its been sang by many .Rest in Peace Bessie Godbless you Amen.🙏🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🕊🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🦋🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹🌹💐💐💐💐💐❤💫🕊

[@politivonsyt7010]

Classic Music

[@frankdisalvio7844]

The words say it aii cannot be more true

[@insomnia3201]

she is amazing, and we have her for ever xxx

[@oyikk]

I love it,... this is what I feel