Benmont Tench
American musician
Gertrude “Ma” Rainey was an influential American blues singer who bridged vaudeville and southern blues, known for her powerful vocals, energetic stage presence, and pioneering recordings like “Bo-Weevil Blues” and “Moonshine Blues”. She toured extensively and collaborated with notable musicians, later becoming a theater impresario in her hometown until her death.
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About the Ma Rainey
Gertrude “Ma” Raineywas an American blues singer and influential early-blues recording artist. Dubbed the “Mother of the Blues”, she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of southern blues, influencing a generation of blues singers. Rainey was known for her powerful vocal abilities, energetic disposition, majestic phrasing, and a “moaning” style of singing. Her qualities are present and most evident in her early recordings “Bo-Weevil Blues” and “Moonshine Blues”.
Gertrude Pridgett began performing as a teenager and became known as “Ma” Rainey after her marriage to Will “Pa” Rainey in 1904. They toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and later formed their own group, Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues. Her first recording was made in 1923. In the following five years, she made over 100 recordings, including “Bo-Weevil Blues” (1923), “Moonshine Blues” (1923), “See See Rider Blues” (1925), the blues standard “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (1927), and “Soon This Morning” (1927).
Rainey also collaborated with Thomas Dorsey, Tampa Red, and Louis Armstrong, and toured and recorded with the Georgia Jazz Band. Touring until 1935, she then largely retired from performing and continued as a theater impresario in her hometown of Columbus, Georgia, until her death four years later. She has been posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame, as well as the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Rainey has been portrayed in several films including the 2020 Academy Award-winning film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. In 2023, she was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ma Rainey was an American blues singer and influential early-blues recording artist, known as the ,Mother of the Blues, for her powerful vocals and pioneering style that bridged vaudeville and southern blues.
Gertrude ,Ma, Rainey was born on April 26, 1886.
Some of Ma Rainey’s most famous recordings include ,Bo-Weevil Blues, (1923), ,Moonshine Blues, (1923), ,See See Rider Blues, (1925), ,Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, (1927), and ,Soon This Morning, (1927).
Ma Rainey collaborated with other notable musicians such as Thomas Dorsey, Tampa Red, and Louis Armstrong, and toured and recorded with the Georgia Jazz Band.
After retiring from performing in 1935, Ma Rainey continued as a theater impresario in her hometown of Columbus, Georgia, until her death in 1939.
Ma Rainey has been posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and her life and music have been portrayed in several films, including the 2020 Academy Award-winning film ,Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,.
In 2023, Ma Rainey was honored with the Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing her enduring impact on blues music and her influence on generations of artists.
2 Quotes by Ma Rainey
- 1.
They hear it come out, but they don’t know how it got there. They don’t understand that’s life’s way of talking. You don’t sing to feel better. You sing ’cause that’s a way of understanding life.
Ma RaineyAmerican blues singer (1886-1939)
- 2.
White folks hear the blues come out, but they don’t know how it got there.
Ma RaineyAmerican blues singer (1886-1939)