The amazing award winning Queen Latifah stars as legendary blues singer Bessie Smith in HBO Films drama BESSIE, debuting tonight, SATURDAY, MAY 16 from 8:00–10:00 p.m. ET/PM.
The film focuses on Smith’s transformation from a struggling young singer into “The Empress of the Blues,” one of the most successful recording artists of the 1920s and an enduring icon today.
The Oscar nominated actress talked with HBO Films, here’s a bit:
Q: How did you get involved in BESSIE?
“It came to me through the Zanuck Company more than 20 years ago. I auditioned for the role at the time and I’ve been attached to it since then. It’s been a long time, but it was a story worth telling and a character worth sticking with. It’s been satisfying to finally see it happen. I’m looking forward to people finding out who Bessie Smith is if they don’t know about her already.
I didn’t know who Bessie was when this movie came to me in my early 20s. I did some homework and realized how influential she was and what amazing things she accomplished.”
Q: Bessie’s relationship with her husband, Jack (played by Michael K. Williams), exposed her vulnerable side.
“Bessie needed a man who would fight for her and protect her, and she saw that in him. Things didn’t always go smoothly between them, but I do think they loved each other.”
Q: Did you know Michael K. Williams before shooting BESSIE?
“We’ve known each other since we were teenagers, and we’ve watched each other go from being kids just hanging out to successful actors, but this was the first time we’ve worked together. It was a blast for us.”
Q: In singing Bessie’s songs, did you try to find a balance between your own style as a vocalist and hers? You obviously aren’t trying to imitate her.
“Absolutely. I tried to draw on her style in different ways, whether it’s her vibrato or the way she said certain words. Listening to Bessie as a musician is amazing because she does something I like to do, which is bounce around the tempos, go from 4/4 to thirds, then swing something and jump back. In one song she can go from gospel to jazz to straight blues.
Bessie’s style was unlike anyone else’s. She was a real powerhouse and had a lot of grit in her voice. You could hear when she was partying really hard and when she wasn’t. I just tried to find enough similarities of what she does in my own voice.
I wish she had lived long enough to go into jazz because she was headed that way. Bessie would have been one of the most incredible jazz singers ever to walk the face of the planet, because she was such a damn good singer.”