Today's playlist. For the 12th time, it's the blues artist "Bessie Smith."
I bought it at my favorite record store in Shimokitazawa, "Flash Disc Ranch."
I've been going to this record store since shortly after I started living in Setagaya. They have a popular point card system where if you collect 50 stamps, you can buy any number of records under 15,000 yen for half price, which is an amazing deal that's valid as long as the store exists.
Shimokitazawa is a place where I suddenly want to get off the train on my way home on the Odakyu Line.
Whenever I get off at Shimokita, I always stop by here, buy a few records, and then head home.
I've been repeating this for about five years now.
Bessie Smith was one of the singers who was active mainly from the 1920s to the 1930s.
She achieved great success as a Black singer at the time and was known as the "Empress of the Blues" or "Queen of the Blues." She captivated audiences with her overwhelming vocal power, capable of "shaking buildings," and her rich, emotional singing. Her popularity and fame as a great blues singer continue to be told even today.
However, her end was something unimaginable in today's world.
In 1937, Smith was involved in an unfortunate car accident where her car was rear-ended by a truck. She was transported to a nearby hospital, but was stubbornly refused admission because it was a whites-only hospital. After being moved from place to place, she was finally transferred to a hospital for Black people in Clarksdale, Mississippi. However, Smith passed away shortly after. She was 43 years old.
I bought a record at a record store I just happened to wander into. Today, I wondered what kind of artist's record I had bought. When I looked it up, I realized a history I never expected.
Perhaps this also has some meaning.
At WAITER-U, we not only select camping gear but also music, books, and movies.
We also create playlists on Spotify, so if you'd like, please listen to them in the car on your way to camping.
