Difference between revisions of "Ma Rainey" - New World Encyclopedia

Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey
	;
Background information
Birth name	Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett
Born	26 April 1886; Alabama, USA
Died	December 22, 1939 (age 53); Rome, Georgia, USA
Genre(s)	Blues, jazz
Occupation(s)	Vocalist
Label(s)	Paramount
Associated acts	Rainey & Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues; Rabbit Foot Minstrels

Revision as of 02:55, 31 May 2008

Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett Rainey, better known as Ma Rainey (April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939), was one of the earliest known professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record their music.^[1] She was known as the "Mother of the Blues." Rainey did much to develop and popularize the blues genre and was an important influence on younger blues women, such as Bessie Smith, and their careers.

Biography

Born in Georgia or possibly Alabama as Gertrude Pridget, Ma Rainey may have later changed her birthday to make herself appear three and a half years younger than she actually was. The 1900 census states her birth as being September, 1882. However, her biographies usually give her birth as April, 1886, in Columbus, Georgia where she was raised. She first appeared on stage in Columbus, Georgia in "A Bunch of Blackberries" at the age of 14. She then joined a traveling vaudeville troupe, the Rabbit Foot Minstrels.

After hearing a blues song sung by a local girl in 1902 at a theater in St. Louis, Missouri, she started performing in a blues style. She claimed that she was the one who coined the name "blues" for the style in which she specialized. However, other musicians and singers performed in the style deny this, affirming that the genre had always been know as the blues. Nevertheless, by blues historians confirm that she was the first woman known to incorporate blues into vaudeville, minstrel, and tent shows.

Rainey married fellow vaudeville singer William "Pa" Rainey in 1904, billing herself from that point as "Ma" Rainey. The pair toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels as "Rainey & Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues," singing a mix of blues and popular songs. In 1912, she brought the young Bessie Smith into the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, trained her, and worked with her until Smith left in 1915.

Ma Rainey was already a veteran performer with decades of touring in African-American shows in the U.S. Southern States when she made her first recordings in 1923, at the age of 38. She signed with Paramount Records and, between 1923 and 1928, she recorded 100 songs. She was sometimes accompanied such jazz notables as Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, Fletcher Henderson, and others, billed as her "Georgia Jazz Band." Most of her recordings thus display a Dixieland flavor, with trumpets and clarinets providing a counterpoint to her more countrified blues singing. On these recordings, Rainey showed herself to have a huge voice, but also a sensitive quality to bring home the poignant passion of the blues genre. However, many find her at her best when on those few recordings where she is accompanied by a simple jug band ("Deep Moaning Blues") or slide guitarist ("Sleep Talking Blues").

As one of the earliest blues recording artists, Rainey was highly influential on later performers such as Charley Patton, Son House, Blind Lemon, Robert Johnson, Howlin' Wolf, Blind Blake and Willie Dixon, and of course, Bessie Smith. A number of the songs she recorded have become blues standards, such as "See See Rider Blues," "Walking Blues," "Gone Daddy Blues," and the popular dance tune, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom."

Rainey was extremely popular among southern blacks in the 1920s, but the Great Depression and changing tastes ended her career by 1933, as the blues faded from popularity. Rainey returned to her Georgia hometown, where she reportedly manged two theaters after her retirement. Ma Rainey died of a heart attack in 1939.

Legacy

Rainey was outspoken on women's issues and a role model for future women entertainers who took control of their own careers.

American singer/songwriter Bob Dylan refers to Ma Rainey in the song "Tombstone Blues" on his 1965 album, "Highway 61 Revisited."

The 1982 August Wilson play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom was based on her career and took its title from her song of the same name recorded before 1928 which ostensibly refers to the Black Bottom dance of the time.

1990: Ma Rainey is inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

↑ Southern, Eileen (1997). The Music of Black Americans: A History, 3rd edition, W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-97141-4.

Lieb, Sandra (1981). Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey. Univ. of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 0870233343.
Davis, Angela Y. (1998). Blues Legacies and Black Feminism. Pantheon. ISBN 067945005X.

External links

Gertrude “Ma” Rainey African American Registry
Gertrude “Ma” Rainey at All Music Guide
Gertrude Pridgett “Ma” Rainey at Paramount Records
Gertrude “Ma” Rainey at the New Georgia Encyclopedia
http://www.bluesimages.com/images/museum_images/poster_ma_rainey_FULL.jpg

Credits

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Ma Rainey ^history

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[southern-1] Southern, Eileen (1997). The Music of Black Americans: A History, 3rd edition, W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-393-97141-4.

[1]

@@ Line 18: / Line 18: @@
 ==Biography==
-Born in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] or possibly [[Alabama]], Ma Rainey may have changed her birthday to make herself appear three and a half years younger than she actually was. The 1900 census states her birth as being September, 1882. However, her biographies usually give her birth as April, 1886, in Columbus, Georgia where she was raised. She first appeared on stage in Columbus, Georgia in "A Bunch of Blackberries" at the age of 14. She then joined a traveling [[vaudeville]] troupe, the [[Rabbit Foot Minstrels]].
+Born in [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]] or possibly [[Alabama]] as Gertrude Pridget, Ma Rainey may have later changed her birthday to make herself appear three and a half years younger than she actually was. The 1900 census states her birth as being September, 1882. However, her biographies usually give her birth as April, 1886, in Columbus, Georgia where she was raised. She first appeared on stage in Columbus, Georgia in "A Bunch of Blackberries" at the age of 14. She then joined a traveling [[vaudeville]] troupe, the [[Rabbit Foot Minstrels]].
 After hearing a blues song sung by a local girl in 1902 at a theater in [[St. Louis, Missouri]], she started performing in a blues style. She claimed that she was the one who coined the name "blues" for the style in which she specialized. However, other musicians and singers performed in the style deny this, affirming that the genre had always been know as the blues. Nevertheless, by blues historians confirm that she was the first woman known to incorporate blues into [[vaudeville]], [[minstrel]], and tent shows.
@@ Line 30: / Line 30: @@
 Rainey was extremely popular among southern blacks in the 1920s, but the [[Great Depression]] and changing tastes ended her career by 1933, as the blues faded from popularity. Rainey returned to her Georgia hometown, where she reportedly manged two theaters after her retirement. Ma Rainey died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in 1939.
 ==Legacy==