The book is well edited with detailed notes on the women writers in question, among them Bessie Head, the South African novelist who died in 1986, and the Egyptian author, Nawal El Sadaawi. Some of the best material comes from the Maghreb.
Carrie Smith sang some of the songs Armstrong and Bessie Smith recorded.
When Bessie develops leukemia, she faces her illness with the same relentless cheeriness she displays when changing Marvin's soiled sheets.
Hammond, who produced such artists as Bob Dylan, Bessie Smith and Bruce Springsteen, called Franklin "an untutored genius."
Ms. Esterman plays the heroic Bessie as an amiable mouse with the soul of a tiger.
The Hall of Fame also honored three early influences on rock 'n' roll, the late blues singer Bessie Smith, the soft rhythm 'n' blues vocal quartet the Ink Spots and the gospel singers the Soul Stirrers.