{"product_id":"bessie-smith-a-radio-4-book-of-the-week","title":"Bessie Smith","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBessie Smith: singer, icon, pioneer. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eScotland's National Poet Jackie Kay brings to life the tempestuous story of the greatest blues singer who ever lived.\u003c\/strong\u003e \u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003c\/span\u003eBessie Smith was born in Tennessee in 1894.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eOrphaned by the age of nine, she sang on street corners before becoming a big name in travelling shows. In 1923 she made her first recording for a new start-up called Columbia Records. It sold 780,000 copies and made her a star.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eSmith's life was notoriously difficult: she drank pints of 'bathtub gin', got into violent fist fights, spent huge sums of money and had passionate love affairs with men and women. She once single-handedly fought off a cohort of the Ku Klux Klan. As a young black girl growing up in Glasgow, Jackie Kay found in Bessie someone with whom she could identify and who she could idolise.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cbr data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003e\u003cspan data-mce-fragment=\"1\"\u003eIn this remarkable book Kay mixes biography, fiction, poetry and prose to create an enthralling account of an extraordinary life.\u003c\/span\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Jackie Kay","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":40327695270050,"sku":"9780571362929","price":10.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0573\/8600\/8738\/files\/websitecovertemplate-2023-07-07T120656.437.png?v=1688728034","url":"https:\/\/rarebirdsbooks.live\/products\/bessie-smith-a-radio-4-book-of-the-week","provider":"Rare Birds Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}