The Resume

(April 15, 1894-September 26, 1937)
Died in Clarksdale, Mississippi
Albums include 'Masters,' 'Together,' 'Empty Bed Blues,' 'Sings The Blues' and 'Any Woman's Blues'
Songs include 'A Good Man Is Hard To Find,' 'Baby Have Pity On Me,' 'Hard Time Blues,' 'Hateful Blues,' 'Haunted House Blues,' 'Jail House Blues' and 'House Rent Blues'
Acted in 'St. Louis Blues (1929),' 'Bessie Smith (1969),' 'That's Black Entertainment (1990)' and 'Bluesland: A Portrait In American Music (1993)'

Why she might be annoying:

She and her seven siblings were orphaned at young ages.
Her nickname was 'Empress of the Blues.'
She heavily abused alcohol.
She has been described as crude and violent.
She started her career as a street musician.
She joined a traveling show, as a singer and dancer.
People that enjoy playing the race card (despite proven facts), still spread rumors that she bled to death from a car wreck because she was taken to 'a white hospital,' therefore she was neglected.
A majority of her song/album titles include the word 'Blues' as if she needed to constantly remind people of the type of music she sang.

Why she might not be annoying:

She was part of the vaudeville circuit.
She rose above poverty with her singing.
Her singing included 'scoops, slides and blue notes.'
Rumors of her being neglected after her wreck have been proven wrong considering it was declared she died at the scene of her accident, rather than at the hospital.
She was considered one of the best blues singers of the 20's.
She ranked #26 on VH1's Top 100 Women of Rock 'n Roll.
She was inducted into the Big Band and Jazz Hall of Fame (1981).
She was inducted into the National Women's Hall of Fame (1984).
She was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1989).

Credit: Skunk Butt

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• B.O. and B.S.
• Blues Musicians
• Born on Tax Day [April 15th] (Ranked: 1894)
• Ebony Magazine's 10 Most Unforgettable Black Women [1990]
• Ebony Magazine's 100 Most Fascinating Black Women of the 20th Century [March 1999]
• Entertainers Loved by Lesbians
• Fag Hags [Women Loved by Gay Men]
• Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (Ranked: 1989)
• I am on a U.S. Postage Stamp [R-T]
• I Am Vaudeville [M-Z]
• I Covered 'Frankie and Johnny'
• I Died in 1937 (Ranked: 43)
• I Died in a Car
• I Sing About Spiders
• Jazz Artists
• Lesbians
• Mae West Dissed Me
• My Song is on Rhino's 'Say It Loud: A Celebration of Black Music in America'
• My Song is on Sony's 'Soundtrack for a Century'
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1993)
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1983)
• My Song was Inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (Ranked: 2006)
• National Women's Hall of Fame (Ranked: 1984)
• Profiles 7001-7250 (Ranked: 7044)
• Q Magazine's 100 Women Who Rock the World (Ranked: 68)
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Members (Ranked: 1989)
• Rolling Stone’s 200 Greatest Singers of All Time [1-100] (Ranked: 33)
• Salon's 19 Greatest Double-Entendre Songs
• Skunk Butt/Rebecca's Profiles [Series 4]
• Smith Versus Jones
• The My Hero Project
• Time’s 100 Women of the Year [1920-2020] (Ranked: 1923)
• VH-1's 100 Greatest Women of Rock [July 1999] (Ranked: 26)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 5 Votes: 20.0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 4 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 10 Votes: 30.0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 13 Votes: 46.15% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 10 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 4 Votes: 75.00% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 5 Votes: 80.0% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 17 Votes: 52.94% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 25 Votes: 64.00% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 9 Votes: 55.56% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 15 Votes: 53.33% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 36 Votes: 63.89% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 42 Votes: 45.24% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 38 Votes: 42.11% Annoying
In 2007, Out of 95 Votes: 57.89% Annoying
In 2006, Out of 119 Votes: 48.74% Annoying
In 2005, Out of 230 Votes: 42.17% Annoying
In 2004, Out of 247 Votes: 46.56% Annoying
In 2003, Out of 512 Votes: 46.09% Annoying