This most unlikely site has grabbed my attention for over an hour. Between 1865 and 1900, some 4,000 opera houses were built across America and singers and orchestras caught the touring bug.
A bit of adviceā¦ scroll through this webpage because this webpage has something for everyone.
music
snow plows in action
tenders being refilled from water troughs at speed
stories about opera singers shooting guns out of passenger cars
One piece of Railroadiana that we donāt have is a photo of is the personal coach of Besse Smith. Two stories, sleeps 4 (?8? 12?). It was pretty useful in segregated southern towns.
That article mentions other ladies who preferred a private RR car.
Regarding music and railroading, I remember reading that The Wreck of Old 97 sold more sheet music than any other song ever written. Later the New Kingston Trio used the same tune for The Man Who Never Returned.
All I know is I never heard of her before (honestly this time)!
WOW ā¦Iām surprised I have not, considering my love for āmusicā in general. Wikipedia is a hell of read in itself but have looked up more in the last 24hrsā¦WOWā¦
Trouble, trouble, Iāve had it all my days,
Trouble, trouble, Iāve had it all my days.
In his book āJazz Singing: Americaās Greatest Voices from Bessie Smith to Bebop and
Beyond,ā author Will Friedwald deconstructs Smith signature style:
Smith sings with a quality of harshness and at the same time with great passion but never
with irony or sarcasm. With Smith, the two seemingly incongruous attitudes are
compatible, a sort of tender invective. Smith sings about love without a trace of
sentiment, and of sex without guilt. She has an amazingly realistic attitude toward life
and love, and even in moments of heightened, not to say suicidal, despondency has a
sober, realistic view of life, devoid of self pity.
There is a fullness and robustness to Smithās singing, even in the most downtrodden of lyrics, a
quality that one later sees replicated in the work of Billie Holiday and Etta James.
Musician and music critic John Hammond once said of Smith, āTo my way of thinking, Bessie
Smith was the greatest artist American jazz every produced; in fact, Iām not sure that her art did
not reach beyond the limits of ājazz.ā She was one of those rare beings, a completely integrated
artist capable of projecting her whole personality into her music.ā
Bessie Smith was a big girl who became a big woman; she stood five feet, nine inches tall and
weighed over 200 pounds. She was known to be rough and forceful and a little bit crude.
Legends abound: that she once beat her husbandās mistress unconscious on the streets of Harlem,
that she once ordered a group of Klansmen picketing her concert to pack up and leave (and they
did). Smith had voracious appetitesāfor music, alcohol and sex. In regard to the latter,
throughout her life, she often openly carried on various tumultuous, far from discrete affairs with members of both sexes.
Smith also had a taste for luxury and high-living. At the height of her
popularity, āshe traveled the nation in her own custom-build railway carā.
End of QUOTE ā¦from the internet
This is all Bill and Peters fault!!
Honestly I bet there might be something on her custom pullman palace car out there on the internet but then again maybe not. However I bet there is something out there if you search for it internet or not.
Thereās probably an AI podcast tooā¦
especially now they know that this is a topic of special interest for Rooster. if you know what I mean, and I think you doā¦
Well, I honestly do not have an answer myself only guesses at this point. I have found reference to a 72ā or 78ā car that was yellow with green lettering and judging by the era Iām assuming itās probably a rebuilt pullman. However it could be an EX Chicago Northwestern car (quote)ā¦"Customization options were seemingly limitless. āThe Chicago and Northwestern railwayāanother company that produce private carsāengineered a special frame that created a sunken lounge area and a 15-foot-high ceiling,ā says Lettenberger. "
I do not think it was an honest two stories as some refer but only a duplex. It could not be too tall as it will not clear the tunnels on the east ( this is why Amtrak had the Viewliners built to this day). I also know that she purchased the car at suggestion of her brother Clarence in 1925 at the peak of her career but had to sell it in 1929 due to the depression and economy downturn.
I can say though that I have learned one hell of a biography with Bessie Smith and Iām not done learning! I never heard of the Green Book The Green Book - NYPL Digital Collections until this 7am today which sent me on a tyrant until past noon completely wasting a beautiful Saturday morning.
I RE PETE (pun intended) this is all Billās fault !
