Born Today- Ma Rainey

Ma Rainey

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Ma Rainey
Background information
Birth name	Gertrude Pridgett
Born	c. April 26, 1886 Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
Died	December 22, 1939 (aged 53) Rome, Georgia, U.S.
Genres	Blues
Occupations	Vocalist
Years active	1899–1933
Labels	Paramount
Associated acts	Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues, Rabbit Foot Minstrels, Bessie Smith, Louis Armstrong

Ma Rainey (born Gertrude Pridgett; c. April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939)^[1] was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record.^[2] She was billed as The Mother of the Blues.
She began performing as a young teenager (between the ages of 12 and 14), and recorded under the name Ma Rainey after she and Will Rainey were married in 1904. They toured with F.S. Wolcott's Rabbit Foot Minstrels and later formed their own group called Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues. From the time of her first recording in 1923 to five years later, Ma Rainey made over 100 recordings, including "Bo-weevil Blues" (1923), "Moonshine Blues" (1923), "See See Rider" (1924), "Black Bottom" (1927), and "Soon This Morning" (1927).^[3]
Ma Rainey was known for her very powerful vocal abilities, energetic disposition, majestic phrasing, and a ‘moaning’ style of singing similar to folk tradition. Her powerful voice was never adequately captured on her records, due to her recording exclusively for Paramount, which was at the time known for its below-average recording techniques and poor shellac quality. However, Rainey's other qualities are present and most evident in her early recordings, Bo-weevil Blues and Moonshine Blues.
Rainey recorded with Louis Armstrong in addition to touring and recording with the Georgia Jazz Band. She continued to tour until 1935 when she retired to her hometown.^[1]

Contents

• 1 Biography
• 2 Death
• 3 Legacy
• 4 Recordings
• 5 Notes
• 6 References
  • 6.1 Footnotes
  • 6.2 Sources
• 7 External links

Biography

Gertrude Pridgett claimed to have been born on April 26, 1886 in Columbus, Georgia.^[4] (This can be questioned, however, as the 1900 census listing indicates she may have been born in September 1882 in Alabama.^[5]) She was the second of five children of Thomas and Ella (née Allen) Pridgett, from Alabama. She had at least two brothers and a sister named Malissa, with whom Gertrude was later confused in some sources.^[4]
She came onto the performance scene at a talent show in Columbus, Georgia when she was 12–14 years old.^[1][6] A member of the First African Baptist Church, she began performing in show tents. They sang and danced together in Black minstrel shows, and for several years toured with F.S. Wolcott's Rabbit Foot Minstrels.^[1] Around 1902 she was first exposed to blues music. From 1914, the Raineys were billed as Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues. Wintering in New Orleans, she met musicians including Joe "King" Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet and Pops Foster. Blues music increased in popularity and Ma Rainey became well known.^[7]
Around this time, Rainey met Bessie Smith, a young blues singer who was also making a name for herself.^[A] A story later developed that Rainey kidnapped Smith, making her join the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, and teaching her to sing the blues. This was disputed by Smith's sister-in-law Maud Smith.^[8] From the late 1910s, there was an increasing demand for recordings by black musicians.^[9] In 1920, Mamie Smith was the first black woman to record a record.^[10] In 1923, Rainey was discovered by Paramount Records producer J. Mayo Williams. She signed a recording contract with Paramount, and in December she made her first eight recordings in Chicago.^[11] These included the songs "Bad Luck Blues", "Bo-Weevil Blues" and "Moonshine Blues". She made more than 100 more over the next five years, which brought her fame beyond the South.^[1][12]
Paramount marketed her extensively, calling her "the Mother of the Blues", "the Songbird of the South", "the Gold-Neck Woman of the Blues" and "the Paramount Wildcat".^[13] In 1924 she made some recordings with Louis Armstrong, including "Jelly Bean Blues", "Countin' the Blues" and "See, See Rider".^[14] In 1924 she embarked on a tour of the Theater Owners Booking Association (TOBA) throughout the South and Midwestern United States, singing both for black and white audiences.^[15] She was accompanied by bandleader and pianist Thomas Dorsey, and the band he assembled called the Wildcats Jazz Band.^[16] They began their tour with an appearance in Chicago in April 1924 and continued, on and off, until 1928.^[17] Dorsey left the group in 1926 due to ill health and was replaced as pianist by Lillian Hardaway Henderson, the wife of Rainey's cornetist Fletcher Henderson, who became the band's leader.^[18]
Some of Rainey's lyrics contain open references to lesbianism or bisexuality. For example, a 1928 song, "Prove It on Me", states:

They said I do it, ain't nobody caught me. Sure got to prove it on me. Went out last night with a crowd of my friends. They must've been women, cause I don't like no men.^[19]

According to the website queerculturalcenter.org, the lyrics refer to an incident in 1925 in which Rainey was "arrested for taking part in an orgy at [her] home involving women in her chorus."^[20] "Prove It on Me" further alludes to presumed lesbian behavior, "It's true I wear a collar and a tie... Talk to the gals just like any old man."^[21]
Political activist and scholar Angela Y. Davis notes: "'Prove It on Me' is a cultural precursor to the lesbian cultural movement of the 1970s, which began to crystallize around the performance and recording of lesbian-affirming songs."^[22] Towards the end of the 1920s, live vaudeville went into decline, being replaced by radio and recordings.^[18] Her career was not immediately affected and continued recording with Paramount and earned enough money touring to buy a bus with her name on it.^[23] In 1928, she worked with Dorsey again and recording 20 songs, before Paramount finished her contract.^[24] Her style of blues was no longer considered fashionable by the label.^[25]

Death

In 1935 Rainey returned to her hometown, Columbus, Georgia, where she ran two theaters, "The Lyric" and "The Airdrome",^[26] until her death from a heart attack in 1939 at age 53.^[27] in Rome, Georgia.^[28]

Legacy

In 1983, Rainey was inducted into the Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.^[29]
Bob Dylan refers to Rainey in the song "Tombstone Blues" on his 1965 album, Highway 61 Revisited in which she is intimate with Beethoven ("Ma Rainey and Beethoven once unwrapped their bedroll").^{[citation needed]}
In 1981 Sandra Lieb wrote the first full-length book about Rainey, Mother of the Blues: a Study of Ma Rainey.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, August Wilson's 1982 play, took its title from her song of the same name recorded in December 1927, which ostensibly refers to the "Black Bottom" (a dance of the time).
In 1994, the U.S. Post Office issued a Rainey 29-cent commemorative postage stamp.
In 2004, "See See Rider Blues" (written in 1925) was inducted in the Grammy Hall of Fame, and was included by the National Recording Preservation Board in the Library of Congress' National Recording Registry in 2004.^[30]

Recordings

This sortable table presents all 94 titles recorded by Ma Rainey.^[31]

• The recording dates are approximate.
• The Classification by Sandra Lieb is almost entirely by form. Blues songs which are only partly of twelve-bar structure as classified as "Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms". Blues songs without any twelve-bar or eight-bar structure are classified as "Non-blues".^[32]
• The JSP and DOCD columns refer to the two complete CD reissues^[33][34]
• Click any label to sort. To return to chronological order, click #.

#	Matrix	Recording date	Title	Accompaniment	Paramount Issue No.	Sandra Lieb Classification	JSP 77933	Document DOCD	Notes
01	1596	1923/12	Bad Luck Blues	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12081	Twelve-Bar Blues	A	5581
02	1597	1923/12	Bo-Weavil Blues	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12080	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	A	5581	another take on both JSP & DOCD
03	1598	1923/12	Barrel House Blues	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12082	Twelve-Bar Blues	A	5581
04	1599	1923/12	Those All Night Long Blues	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12081	Non-blues	A	5581	another take on both JSP & DOCD
05	1608	1923/12	Moonshine Blues	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12083	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	A	5581
06	1609	1923/12	Last Minute Blues	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12080	Twelve-Bar Blues	A	5581
07	1612	1923/12	Southern Blues	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12083	Twelve-Bar Blues	A	5581
08	1613	1923/12	Walking Blues	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12082	Twelve-Bar Blues	A	5581
09	1698	1924/03	Lost Wandering Blues	Pruit Twins	12098	Twelve-Bar Blues	A	5581
10	1699	1924/03	Dream Blues	Pruit Twins	12098	Twelve-Bar Blues	A	5581
11	1701	1924/03	Honey Where You Been So Long?	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12200	Non-blues	A	5581
12	1702	1924/03	Ya-Da-Do	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12257	Non-blues	A	5581	another take on both JSP & DOCD
13	1703	1924/03	Those Dogs of Mine (Famous Cornfield Blues)	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12215	Non-blues	A	5581
14	1704	1924/03	Lucky Rock Blues	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12215	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	A	5581
15	1741	1924/04	South Bound Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12227	Non-blues	A	5581
16	1758	1924/05	Lawd Send Me A Man Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12227	Non-blues	A	5581
17	1759	1924/05	Ma Rainey's Mystery Record	Lovie Austin Blues Serenaders	12200	Twelve-Bar Blues	A	5581
18	1824	1924/08	Shave 'Em Dry Blues	two unknown guitars	12222	Eight-Bar Blues	B	5581
19	1825	1924/08	Farewell Daddy Blues	unknown guitar	12222	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5581
20	1922	1924/10	Booze And Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12242	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5582
21	1923	1924/10	Toad Frog Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12242	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5582
22	1924	1924/10	Jealous Hearted Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12252	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5582
23	1925	1924/10	See See Rider Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12252	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	B	5582	with Louis Armstrong, another take on both JSP & DOCD
24	1926	1924/10	Jelly Bean Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12238	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	B	5582	with Louis Armstrong
25	1927	1924/10	Countin' The Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12238	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5582	with Louis Armstrong, another take on both JSP & DOCD
26	10001	1924/11	Cell Bound Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12257	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	B	5582
27	2136	1925/05	Army Camp Harmony Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12284	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5582	another take on both JSP & DOCD
28	2137	1925/05	Explaining The Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12284	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5582	another take on both JSP & DOCD
29	2138	1925/05	Louisiana Hoo Doo Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12290	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5582
30	2138	1925/05	Goodbye Daddy Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12290	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	B	5582
31	2209	1925/05	Stormy Seas Blues	Her Georgia Band	12295	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5582	another take on DOCD5625
32	2210	1925/08	Rough And Tumble Blues	Her Georgia Band	12311	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5582
33	2211	1925/08	Night Time Blues	Her Georgia Band	12303	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5582	another take on both JSP & DOCD
34	2212	1925/08	Levee Camp Moan	Her Georgia Band	12295	Non-blues	B	5582
35	2213	1925/08	Four Day Honorary Scat	Her Georgia Band	12303	Non-blues	B	5582	misprint for 'Fore Day, another take on both JSP & DOCD
36	2214	1925/08	Memphis Bound Blues	Her Georgia Band	12311	Twelve-Bar Blues	B	5582
37	2369	1925/12	Slave To The Blues	Her Georgia Band	12332	Twelve-Bar Blues	C	5583
38	2370	1925/12	Yonder Come The Blues	Her Georgia Band	12357	Non-blues	C	5583
39	2371	1925/12	Titanic Man Blues	Her Georgia Band	12374	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	C	5583	another take on both JSP & DOCD
40	2372	1925/12	Chain Gang Blues	Her Georgia Band	12338	Twelve-Bar Blues	C	5583
41	2373	1925/12	Bessemer Bound Blues	Her Georgia Jazz Band	12332	Twelve-Bar Blues	C	5583	another take on both JSP & DOCD
42	2374	1925/12	Oh My Babe Blues	Her Georgia Band	12374	Non-blues	C	5583
43	2375	1925/12	Wringing And Twisting Blues	Her Georgia Band	12338	Non-blues	C	5583
44	2369	1925/12	Stack O'Lee Blues	Her Georgia Band	12357	Ballad	C	5583
45	2448	1926/03	Broken Hearted Blues	Her Georgia Band	12364	Twelve-Bar Blues	C	5583	another take on DOCD5625
46	2451	1926/03	Jealousy Blues	Her Georgia Band	12364	Non-blues	C	5583	another take on DOCD5660
47	2452	1926/03	Seeking Blues	Her Georgia Band	12352	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	C	5583	another take on both JSP & DOCD
48	2466	1926/03	Mountain Jack Blues	Jimmy Blythe (piano)	12352	Twelve-Bar Blues	C	5583	another take on both JSP & DOCD
49	2627	1926/06	Down In The Basement	Her Georgia Band	12395	Non-blues	C	5583
50	2628	1926/06	Sissy Blues	Her Georgia Band	12384	Twelve-Bar Blues	C	5583
51	2629	1926/06	Broken Soul Blues	Her Georgia Band	12384	Non-blues	C	5583
52	2631	1926/06	Trust No Man	Lillian Henderson (piano)	12395	Non-blues	C	5583
53	405	1926/11	Morning Hour Blues	Jimmy Blythe (piano) Blind Blake (guitar)	12455	Twelve-Bar Blues	D	5584
54	407	1926/11	Weepin' Woman Blues	Her Georgia Boys	12455	Twelve-Bar Blues	D	5584
55	408	1926/11	Soon This Morning	Her Georgia Band	12438	Twelve-Bar Blues	D	5584
56	4019	1926/12	Little Low Mamma Blues	Blind Blake (guitar) poss Leroy Picket (violin)	12419	Twelve-Bar Blues	D	5584
57	4020	1926/12	Grievin Hearted Blues	Blind Blake (guitar) poss Leroy Picket (violin)	12419	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	D	5584
58	4021	1926/12	Don't Fish In My Sea	Jimmy Blythe (piano)	12438	Twelve-Bar Blues	D	5584
59	4082	1927/08	Big Boy Blues	Her Georgia Band	12548	Twelve-Bar Blues	D	5584
60	4083	1927/08	Blues Oh Blues	Her Georgia Band	12566	Non-Blues	D	5584
61	4090	1927/08	Damper Down Blues	Her Georgia Band	12548	Twelve-Bar Blues	D	5584
62	4091	1927/08	Gone Daddy Blues	Her Georgia Band	12526	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	D	5584
63	4092	1927/08	Oh Papa Blues	Her Georgia Band	12566	Non-blues	D	5584
64	4707	1927/08	Misery Blues	Her Georgia Band	12508	Non-blues	D	5584
65	4708	1927/08	Dead Drunk Blues	Her Georgia Band	12508	Twelve-Bar Blues	D	5584
66	4709	1927/08	Slow Driving Moan	Her Georgia Band	12526	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	D	5584
67	20228	1927/12	Blues The World Forgot — Part 1	Her Georgia Band	12647	Comedy	D	5584
68	20229	1927/12	Ma Rainey's Black Bottom	Her Georgia Band	12590	Non-blues	D	5584
69	20230	1927/12	Blues The World Forgot — Part 2	Her Georgia Band	12647	Comedy	D	5584
70	20231	1927/12	Hellish Rag	Her Georgia Band	12612	Non-blues	D	5584
71	20232	1927/12	Georgia Cake Walk	Her Georgia Band	12590	Comedy	D	5584
72	20233	1927/12	New Bo-Weavil Blues	Her Georgia Band	12603	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	D	5584
73	20232	1927/12	Moonshine Blues	Her Georgia Band	12603	Mixture of Blues and Popular Song Forms	D	5584
74	20233	1927/12	Ice Bag Papa	Her Georgia Band	12612	Non-blues	D	5584
75	20661	1928/06	Black Cat Hoot Owl Blues	Her Tub Jug Washboard Band	12687	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156	band led by Georgia Tom
76	20662	1928/06	Log Camp Blues	Her Tub Jug Washboard Band	12804	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156	band led by Georgia Tom
77	20663	1928/06	Hear Me Talking To You	Her Tub Jug Washboard Band	12668	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156	band led by Georgia Tom
78	20664	1928/06	Hustlin' Blues	Her Tub Jug Washboard Band	12804	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156	band led by Georgia Tom
79	20665	1928/06	Prove It On Me Blues	Her Tub Jug Washboard Band	12668	Non-blues	E	5156	band led by Georgia Tom
80	20666	1928/06	Victim Of The Blues	Her Tub Jug Washboard Band	12687	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156	band led by Georgia Tom
81	20667	1928/06	Traveling Blues	Her Tub Jug Washboard Band	12707	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156	band led by Georgia Tom another take on JSP and on DOCD5216
82	20668	1928/06	Deep Moaning Blues Blues	Her Tub Jug Washboard Band	12707	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156	band led by Georgia Tom another take on both JSP & DOCD
83	20878	1928/09	Daddy Goodbye Blues	Georgia Tom Dorsey (piano) Tampa Red (guitar)	12963	Eight-Bar Blues	E	5156
84	20879	1928/09	Sleep Talking Blues	Georgia Tom Dorsey (piano) Tampa Red (guitar)	12760	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156	another take on both JSP & DOCD
85	20880	1928/09	Tough Luck Blues	Georgia Tom Dorsey (piano) Tampa Red (guitar)	12735	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156
86	20881	1928/09	Blame It On The Blues	Georgia Tom Dorsey (piano) Tampa Red (guitar)	12760	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156
87	20882	1928/09	Sweet Rough Man	Georgia Tom Dorsey (piano) Tampa Red (guitar)	12926	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156
88	20883	1928/09	Runaway Blues	Georgia Tom Dorsey (piano) Tampa Red (guitar)	12902	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156
89	20885	1928/09	Screech Owl Blues	Eddie Miller (piano)	12735	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156
90	20886	1928/09	Black Dust Blues	Eddie Miller (piano)	12926	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156
91	20897	1928/09	Leaving This Morning	Georgia Tom Dorsey (piano) Tampa Red (guitar)	12902	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156
92	20898	1928/09	Black Eye Blues	Georgia Tom Dorsey (piano) Tampa Red (guitar)	12963	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156	another take on both JSP & DOCD
93	20921	1928/10	Ma And Pa Poorhouse Blues	Papa Charlie Jackson (duet & Banjo)	12718	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156
94	20144	1928/10	Big Feeling Blues	Papa Charlie Jackson (duet & Banjo)	12718	Twelve-Bar Blues	E	5156

Notes

1. ^ Sources are unclear on the exact date and circumstances under which Rainey and Smith met, although it was probably some time between 1912 and 1916.^[8]