Bessie Smith was a fabulous deal to watch. She was a pretty large woman and she could sing the blues. She had a church deal mixed up with it. She dominated a stage. You didn't turn your head when she went on. You just watched Bessie. […] She was unconscious of her surroundings. She never paid anybody any mind. When you went to see Bessie and she came out, that was it. If you had any church background, like people who came from the South as I did, you would recognise a similarity between what she was doing and what those preachers and evangelists did, and how they moved people. The South had fabulous preachers and evangelists. Some would stand on corners and move the crowds from there. Bessie did the same thing on stage. […] Bessie was in a class with those people. She could bring about mass hypnotism. When she was performing, you could hear a pin drop.