Carrie Smith

Carrie Louise Smith (August 25, 1925 – May 20, 2012) was an American blues and jazz singer born in Fort Gaines, Georgia. Though her domestic profile remained modest, she cultivated a dedicated following in Europe over the course of her career.

Smith's early musical life centered on church choir performance, and she was part of a choir that appeared at the 1957 Newport Jazz Festival. In the early 1960s, she was featured on TV Gospel Time, a television program directed at Black audiences. Her wider recognition began in the early 1970s when she sang alongside Big Tiny Little, and in 1974 she gained international attention by portraying Bessie Smith — to whom she bears no familial relation — in Dick Hyman's Satchmo Remembered at Carnegie Hall. That performance served as a launching point for a sustained solo career.

As a solo artist, Smith performed with the New York Jazz Repertory Orchestra, Tyree Glenn, Yank Lawson, and the World's Greatest Jazz Band. She also recorded extensively as a leader and co-leader, with albums including Do Your Duty (1976), When You're Down and Out (1977), Fine and Mellow (1983), and Only You Can Do It (1983). The latter's CD reissue featured liner notes with commentary from jazz critics Rex Reed, Leonard Feather, Richard Sudhalter, and John S. Wilson; the album was produced by Ben Arrigo for GPRT Records and comprised compositions by Gladys Shelley. Her recording output continued into the 2000s, with I've Got a Right to Sing the Blues, recorded with Roland Hanna, released in 2002.

On Broadway, Smith appeared in Blues in the Night and starred in the musical Black and Blue, which ran from 1989 to 1991. Her Broadway activity spanned the period from 1985 to 1989 according to verified performance records. In addition to her lead work, she contributed as a guest artist on recordings by Clark Terry, Wycliffe Gordon, Winard Harper, and others throughout her career.