Empty Bed Blues

"Empty Bed Blues" is a 1928 "dirty blues" song written by J. C. Johnson and first recorded by Bessie Smith.

"Empty Bed Blues"
Single by Bessie Smith
Recorded	March 20, 1928
Genre	Blues
Length	6:19 (Parts 1 & 2)
Label	Columbia
Songwriter(s)	J. C. Johnson

Bessie Smith recorded the song in New York on March 20, 1928. The accompanying musicians were Porter Grainger (piano) and Charlie Green (trombone). The recording was issued by Columbia Records.^[1] In 1983, Smith's recording was inducted to the Grammy Hall of Fame.^[2]

The song was "the most notorious recording of [Smith's] career".^[3] The lyrics are "full of sexual innuendos",^[3] and contain numerous oblique references to penetrative sex, in its references to "grinding" coffee, as well as to "bacon" and "cabbage"; and to cunnilingus ("He's a deep-sea diver, with a stroke that can't go wrong/ He can touch the bottom, and his wind holds out so long").

The song was later recorded by artists including Della Reese (1959), Judy Henske (1963), Bette Midler (1977), and Maria Muldaur (2007).^{[importance?]}

The original lyrics and music of the song entered the public domain in the United States in 2024.^[4]

References

1. Columbia matrix W145785. Empty bed blues, Discography of American Historical Recordings. Retrieved 9 November 2022
2. "Empty Bed Blues", Grammy Hall of Fame. Retrieved 9 November 2022
3. Marybeth Hamilton, “Sexuality, Authenticity and the Making of the Blues Tradition.” Past & Present, no. 169, 2000, pp. 132–60. Retrieved 9 November 2022
4. "Public Domain Day 2024 | Duke University School of Law". web.law.duke.edu.