Macon's Douglass Theatre

     In downtown Macon, Georgia, sits a beautifully restored building, the Douglass Theatre.  It was completed in 1921 by Charles H. Douglass, the son of a former slave who saw an opportunity to serve the entertainment needs of Macon's black population by providing a venue for premier movies and vaudeville acts.  Early performers included Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, and Butterbeans and Susie.  In the 1920's musicians Cab Calloway and Duke Ellington, among others, played here.  In the late 1950's local performers such as Otis Redding were part of a Saturday live broadcast talent show called "The Teenage Party."  In the 1960's Little Richard and James Brown took the stage.  After closing in 1972, the Douglass Theatre reopened on January 11, 1997, restored to its former grandeur and serving all of the Macon community as it hosts events, films, and live performances.

Douglass Theatre-- Macon, Georgia

Related Web Sites:

History of the Douglass Theatre

Harriet Tubman Museum

Georgia Music Hall of Fame

History of Macon

City of Macon Official Web Site

     Known as the "Empress of the Blues," Bessie Smith was born poor in Chattanooga, Tennessee.  While she began her singing career on street corners for coins, Smith went on to become the largest selling recording artist of her era.  Twice during her career she helped save Columbia Records from bankruptcy.  Guitarist Danny Barker has been quoted as saying:

Bessie Smith was a fabulous deal to watch.   She was a large, pretty woman and she dominated the stage.  You didn't turn your head when she went on.  You just watched Bessie….  She could bring about mass hypnotism.

"Bessie Smith," Contemporary Black Biography, (1993 ed.), III, 229-232.

     Born in Columbus, Georgia, the Mother of the Blues recorded more than ninety songs with country blues musicians and black jazz players before 1928 when she began traveling with her husband as a song and dance team.  The pair performed in southern American tent shows, levee camps, and cabarets.  Rainey also toured the South and the Midwest leading her own troupes which sometimes included Bessie Smith.  In 1933 Rainey retired from performing to own and operate two Georgia theaters.

Rainey, Ma, The New Encyclopedia Britannica (2002 ed.), IX, 906.

Other Links

Bessie Smith
Biography

Smith & Rainey Tour

Ma Rainey
Biography

New York Times Review of Black Bottom on
Broadway

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