SMITH, CLARA

SMITH, CLARA. Blues singer (1894 in Spartanburg, South Carolina; 2 February 1935 in Detroit, Michigan). Little is known of her early life. She became established as an entertainer at an early age and was featured as a star on the T.O.B.A. (Theater Owners' Booking Association) circuit as early as 1918. She recorded extensively during the years 1923-32; on two early records she sang duets with Bessie Smith. Like other women blues singers of the period, she used jazzmen...