17 of 1001 Songs: Bessie Smith's Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl

Bessie Smith has one of the strongest voices you'll hear in music, and she is a woman highly associated as the voice of blues. If there is a reason to listen to blues it can be defined by Bessie Smith. Need a Little Sugar In My Bowl is a highly sexy song straight the 30's, and even though it never directly refers to the act there I can only assume what a bowl and the roll to the hot dog is.

History: Bessie Smith had just made a hit with St. Louis Blues, but she was still an undiscovered herself. She wouldn't get her break till the 30's when she would burst into the swing era. But Smith would fit more into the blues sound, which was where she ended up landing. She was a hit with her music, and Need A Little Sugar In My Bowl is apart of hits from the time. Her influence has been noted by other blues artists like Billie Holiday.

3 of 1001 Songs: Bessie Smith's St. Louis Blues

The jazz age is just a fascinating age, it seems like during this time many countries had some sort common group that all had this one persona of interest tie them together. The music had a sound that also was cool and laid back. Today much of that music still maintains it's coolness, including Bessie Smith's St. Louis Blues. Smith's voice is so distinctive to the 20's and 30's making her one of the most famous and influential jazz artists from that time.

History: Bessie Smith starred in a short film called St. Louis Blues. W.C. Handy published the standard for the song in 1914, and produced the movie that Smith would later star in. It's one of the earliest movies using sound. Bessie Smith covered the song in the movie. In 1993, the version featuring Bessie Smith and Louis Armstrong playing the cornet would be inducted into the Hall of Fame. The song continues to have many covers made of it, particularly those who are also jazz artists. Tragically, Bessie Smith died less than a decade after this song was released in a horrific car accident.