Bessie Mary Elizabeth Jones, known as Bessie Jones, was born on February 8, 1902, in Smithville, Georgia. She grew up in a poor family of African American farmers and learned traditional songs from her grandfather, an ex-slave. Jones began performing with the Spiritual Singers Society of Coastal Georgia after moving to St. Simons Island in 1933. In 1963, she founded the Georgia Sea Island Singers, with whom she toured extensively throughout the 1960s, performing at venues such as Carnegie Hall and Central Park. Jones released her first solo album, So Glad I'm Here, in 1974, followed by Step It Down in 1975. Her work included notable songs like "Beggin' the Blues" (1961) and collaborations with folklorist Alan Lomax. Jones received several awards, including a National Heritage Fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts in 1982. The previously unheard 1965 live concert recording, The Complete Friends of Old Time Music Concert, was released by Smithsonian Folkways Recordings in 2024. She passed away on July 17, 1984, in Brunswick, Georgia.
