SMITH, BESSIE. Blues singer ( in Chattanooga, Tennessee; near Clarksdale, Mississippi). She made her first stage appearance at the age of nine in a local theater. Soon thereafter she began to tour with professional companies; she was featured as a child singer with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels for several years. Later she toured on the T.O.B.A. circuit (Theater Owner's Booking Association) with groups and as a soloist. Some time during the years...