"Empress of the Blues" Bessie Smith scored hit records during the 1920s era of so-called "Classic Blues." By the Depression-era 1930s, she was seeking a comeback. While on tour, just north of Clarksdale, Mississippi, she was in a bad car accident and died shortly after at what is today the Riverside Hotel in Clarksdale. This "Very Best" album is indeed her very best — the songs that made her famous for all time. (For more on her untimely death and the Riverside Hotel, please check out my "MS Juke Joint Confidential" book available elsewhere on this website. - Roger Stolle (Cat Head).

180-gram vinyl with these stellar tracks:
 1. Nobody Knows You When You're Down and Out
  2. Downhearted Blues
  3. Gulf Coast Blues
  4. Gimme a Pigfoot (And a Bottle of Beer)
  5. Aggravatin' Papa
  6. Baby Won't You Please Come Home
  7. T'ain't Nobody's Biz-Ness If I Do
  8. Gin House Blues
  9. St. Louis Blues
  10. Alexander's Ragtime Band
  11. I Ain't Gonna Play No Second Fiddle
  12. Empty Bed Blues (Parts 1 & 2)
  13. After You've Gon
  14. Careless Love Blues
  15. A Good Man Is Hard to Find
  16. Hard Driving Papa