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Watch Valerie Simpson Perform A Tribute To Bessie Smith

Valerie Simpson burns it all down performing "Send Me To the 'Lectric Chair," a signature song of Bessie Smith, during the 2019 NPR Music Turning the Tables opening concert at Lincoln Center.

Watch the full Turning the Tables tribute to 8 Women Who Invented Popular Music, recorded live at Lincoln Center's Damrosch Park and read more about the series.

Copyright 2021 NPR. To see more, visit https://www.npr.org.

Ann Powers is NPR Music's critic and correspondent. She writes for NPR's music news blog, The Record, and she can be heard on NPR's newsmagazines and music programs.