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Which singer paid for a headstone for blues singer Bessie Smith's grave?

Question #150189. Asked by Upstart3.
Last updated Nov 22 2023.
Originally posted Nov 22 2023 6:51 AM.

TriviaFan22 star
Answer has 1 vote
TriviaFan22 star
12 year member
155 replies

Answer has 1 vote.

Nov 22 2023, 7:49 AM
odo5435
Answer has 3 votes
Currently Best Answer
odo5435
12 year member
149 replies

Answer has 3 votes.

Currently voted the best answer.
When Bessie Smith died in 1937 her family couldn't afford a headstone. Somehow, this highly influential singer's grave remained unmarked until 1970 when Janis Joplin paid for one to be erected. John Hamman wrote the extremely fitting epitaph "The Greatest Blues Singer in the World Will Never Stop Singing."

Joplin, along with nurse Juanita Green (per The New York Times), paid for the gravestone,
link https://www.grunge.com/746463/why-janis-joplin-bought-a-headstone-for-bessie-smith/

Response last updated by odo5435 on Nov 22 2023.
Nov 22 2023, 7:51 AM
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