Mamie Robinson was born probably in Cincinnati, Ohio. When she was ten years old, she found work touring with a white act called the Four Dancing Mitchells. As a teenager, she danced in Salem Tutt Whitney's Smart Set. In 1913, she left the Tutt Brothers to sing in clubs in Harlem and married a waiter named William "Smitty" Smith.
On August 10, 1920, in New York City, Smith recorded a set of songs all written by the African American songwriter, Perry Bradford, including "Crazy Blues" and "It's Right Here For You (If You Don't Get It, 'Tain't No Fault of Mine)", on Okeh Records. It was the first recording of vocal blues by an African American artist and the record became a best seller, selling a million copies in less than a year. To the surprise of record companies, large numbers of the record were purchased by African Americans, and there was a sharp increase in the popularity of race records.
Because of the historical significance of "Crazy Blues", it was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1994, and in 2005, it was selected for permanent preservation in the National Recording Registry at the Library of Congress.
Although other African Americans had been recorded earlier, such as George W. Johnson in the 1890s, they were African American artists performing music which had a substantial following with European-American audiences. The success of Smith's record prompted record companies to seek to record other female blues singers and started the era of what is now known as classic female blues. It also opened up the music industry to recordings by, and for, African Americans in other genres.
Smith continued to make a series of popular recordings for Okeh throughout the 1920s. She also made some records for Victor. She toured the United States and Europe with her band "Mamie Smith & Her Jazz Hounds" as part of "Mamie Smith's Struttin' Along Review". She was billed as "The Queen of the Blues". This billing of Mamie Smith was soon one-upped by Bessie Smith, who called herself "The Empress of the Blues."
Mamie Smith appeared in an early sound film, Jail House Blues, in 1929. She retired from recording and performing in 1931. She returned to performing in 1939 to appear in the motion picture Paradise in Harlem produced by her husband Jack Goldberg. She appeared in further films, including Mystery in Swing, Sunday Sinners (1940), Stolen Paradise (1941), Murder on Lenox Avenue (1941), and Because I Love You (1943). She died in 1946, in New York.
Mamie Smith was cited by Connee Boswell of The Boswell Sisters as a major influence on Connee's singing style. The Boswell Sisters not only bought and imitated her recordings, but were taken regularly by their parents to the Lyric Theater, New Orleans' Black vaudeville house, to see her and other touring Black artists on the only day of the week that Whites were allowed to attend.
When you hear Connee, you can hear Mamie's influence. The remarkable thing is that later, Connee was cited by Ella Fitzgerald as Ella's only influence on her vocal style. This really illustrates the mixing of cultures that was such a part of the development of American popular music through the new media of the day, records and radio, as well as live performance.
Crazy Blues
Mamie Smith & Her Jazz Hounds Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can't eat a bite
'Cause the man I love
He don't treat me right
He makes me feel so blue
I don't know what to do
Sometime I sit and sigh
'Cause my best friend
Said his last goodbye
There's a change in the ocean
Change in the deep blue sea, my baby
I'll tell you folks, there ain't no change in me
My love for that man will always be
Now I can read his letters
I sure can't read his mind
I thought he's lovin' me
He's leavin' all the time
Now I see my poor love was blind
Now I got the crazy blues
Since my baby went away
I ain't got no time to lose
I must find him today
Now the doctor's gonna do all that he can
But what you're gonna need is an undertaker man
I ain't had nothin' but bad news
Now I got the crazy blues
The song Crazy Blues, performed by Mamie Smith, is about a woman who is heartbroken and unable to function properly since her lover left her. The first stanza emphasizes her grief, insomnia, and loss of appetite. The woman is convinced the man she loves does not care about her feelings, which is indicated when she sings, "He don't treat me right." The singer of the song becomes increasingly constricted with a feeling of hopelessness and desperation. She doesn't know how to deal with the situation, and she finds herself crying for hours, with nothing left but her painful memories of her departed lover. The next stanza speaks about the woman's loss of faith in love, following the attempted solace from her friend's goodbye. She indicates that there will be no change in her love for this man and no way to get her love back.
The last two stanzas speak directly to life and death, with the last line of the song being a metaphor for her predicament with the blues. Her hopelessness has reached a critical mass such that even though she seeks help from a doctor, his words can provide no relief. She has no hope for healing and is already thinking about death. The sense of powerlessness is obvious when she says, "Now I got the crazy blues." The singer has been shattered by the loss of her soulmate, and the blues is making her insane. The song leaves you with the dismal feeling that sometimes nothing in life can help you overcome your blues.
Line by Line Meaning
I can't sleep at night
I am unable to sleep at night due to the distress in my heart caused by my lover's misbehavior.
I can't eat a bite
I have no appetite and cannot eat anything because of the pain and anxiety I have been struggling with.
'Cause the man I love
The root of my grief is the man I love deeply.
He don't treat me right
My lover is treating me poorly, causing me immense emotional pain and sorrow.
He makes me feel so blue
My lover's actions are affecting me so much that I stay in a constant state of intense sadness and despair.
I don't know what to do
I am lost, confused and unsure about how to deal with the situation and move forward with my life.
Sometime I sit and sigh
I often find myself sitting and sighing, feeling incredibly sad about my circumstances.
And then begin to cry
My sadness sometimes reaches a point where I break down and cry uncontrollably.
'Cause my best friend
I am lamenting the fact that my best friend has left me alone and I feel very lonely and vulnerable.
Said his last goodbye
My lover has left me for good and my only support, my best friend, can no longer be there for me.
There's a change in the ocean
Even though the ocean and the natural world around me may change constantly, my love for my partner will always remain.
Change in the deep blue sea, my baby
The vast and deep ocean may change itself and its surroundings but my love for my baby remains constant.
I'll tell you folks, there ain't no change in me
I want the world to know that, despite the hardships and changes in my life, I am still the same person with the same love for my partner.
My love for that man will always be
My love for him is unwavering and will persist, no matter the circumstances.
Now I can read his letters
Even though my lover is physically gone, I can still find some solace in reading the letters he has sent me.
I sure can't read his mind
But, despite being able to read his words, I cannot know what he truly feels and thinks in his heart.
I thought he's lovin' me
I was under the impression that he loved me as much as I love him.
He's leavin' all the time
But now he has left me so many times that I cannot be sure of his love or his intentions anymore.
Now I see my poor love was blind
I now realize that my lover was unable to see the depth of my love and the pain he was causing me all along.
Now I got the crazy blues
My emotions are all over the place and I feel insane, unable to control my sadness, anger and confusion.
Since my baby went away
My entire world has turned upside down and nothing seems the same since my baby left me.
I ain't got no time to lose
I feel an urgent need to find my lover and figure out the situation before it's too late.
Now the doctor's gonna do all that he can
Although I am trying to solve my problems, the resources and help of a medical professional may also be necessary.
But what you're gonna need is an undertaker man
Despite all efforts put into solving things, sometimes the only solution is death.
I ain't had nothin' but bad news
All the news and circumstances in my life have been negative and disheartening.
Now I got the crazy blues
My current state of mind is one of utter despair and insanity caused by my difficult circumstances.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ARTHUR SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind