Ma Rainey was one of the first blues singers and recorded over 100 songs from 1923 to 1928, influencing many singers who came after her. She was known as the “Mother of the Blues” and was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Her music has endured and inspired artists like Bob Dylan.
In the history of blues performers, Gertrude Pridgett, more commonly known as Ma Rainey, deserves a very special place. She was one of the first blues singers and one of the first to record her own music. About her She is cited by many singers who came after her as her inspiration and had a direct influence on the blues singer, Bessie Smith, with whom she worked and trained.
Ma Rainey was born in 1886 in Georgia. There is some controversy as to her age, and she may actually have been born in 1882 according to the United States Census. She first heard a blues singer perform in 1902, although the name “blues” had not yet been invented. But she Rainey claims to have invented the name blues although the matter remains controversial. The performance she attended Rainey convinced her that she could also sing the blues, rightly so, and she quickly changed her style of being a blues singer.
In 1904, William Rainey, a member of the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, married young Gertrude and convinced her to join the vaudeville troupe. Together the two were known as Pa and Ma Rainey, and often performed together. Although many people saw the show, what really cemented Ma’s fame was her decision to record over 100 songs from 1923 to 1928. These recordings feature other well-known names in jazz and blues such as Louis Armstrong.
The Rainey couple’s music became increasingly popular, until shortly after the onset of the Great Depression. Although Ma Rainey proved to be an adaptable performer, her musical style lost popularity, mainly because the audiences she listened to preferred male singers. This was not an adjustment Rainey could make and she retired in 1933. She died six years later, and though her career was short, her music has endured.
Some of her best and most famous songs can still be found in Blues CD collections and Ma Rainey-only CDs. Some quite notable songs in his career include Jealous Hearted Blues, Yonder Come the Blues, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and Don’t Fish in My Sea. There are many others that are inspiring and have particularly influenced folk artists like Bob Dylan long after Rainey’s death.
Rainey has earned the title of “Mother of the Blues” and her protégé, Bessie Smith, has often been called “the Empress of the Blues.” In the 1980s, she was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame, and in 1990, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame honored her with an induction, as the blues directly influenced the development of rock. She also appeared on a 1994 US postage stamp.
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