She began her career singing with musician Benny Sharp, recording as Little Miss Jessie, and became best known as one of the original Ikettes in the Ike & Tina Turner Revue.

[1] She was a member of the Belle Street Temple Church Of God In Christ, under the leadership of Superintendent R.J. Monroe, and sang gospel solos and with choirs as a teenager.

[1] After winning a local talent show at the age of 16, she occasionally sang background vocals for such visiting musicians as Albert King and Ike Turner.

Backed by Sharp and his band, Smith released the single, "My Baby Has Gone" / "St. Louis Sunset Twist," on Chicago's Mel-O Records under the name Little Miss Jessie in 1961.

[4] Smith along with Robbie Montgomery who she knew from St. Louis and Venetta Fields (a gospel singer from Buffalo, New York) formed the first official incarnation of the Ikettes.

[10] After they disbanded, Smith continued to record as a backing vocalist in the 1970s, with singers including Al Kooper, Bryan Ferry, and Jose Feliciano.