Bessie Smith - St. Louis Blues

Malcolm McLaren ended up forging a slight but interesting second career as a musician in his own right. As someone who latched on to whatever looked to be the hot new thing, he naturally drifted into hip-hop after the dissolution of the Pistols - this song was a minor hit and, more famously, formed the basis for Mariah Carey's "Honey". But this is about him sampling, not being sampled. "About Her" shows up near the end of Kill Bill, it's basically a combination of "She's Not There" by the Zombies and this song, Bessie Smith's version of "St. Louis Blues," featured in the short film of the same name. It's a fascinating little slice of early sound cinema - mostly just an excuse to get Bessie Smith on film, there's some genuine craftsmanship on display, along with some genuine amateurism.

Dinah Washington - Send Me to the Electric Chair

Covering Bessie Smith. (For you non-OGL readers, sucks to your death penalty.)