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Gertrude "Ma" Rainey
Jazz and Blues
Scott #2859
September 17, 1994 in Greenville, MS
Designed by Julian Allen
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Gertrude Pridgett was born in Columbus Georgia on April 26,
1886. Both of her parents were former minstrel show performers and Gertrude
began performing while still quite young. Around 1900, when she was 14 years
old, she began performing with the Black vaudeville troupes that traveled
throughout the south.
Gertrude married another performer named William Pa
Rainey in 1904 and she changed her name to Ma Rainey. They
performed as Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues and
traveled throughout the south, performing with minstrel shows, circuses, and
tent shows. According to local stories, Ma Rainey taught Bessie
Smith how to sing the blues during this time.
Ma Rainey performed with such Bluesmen and Jazz Luminaries
as Tampa Red, Blind Blake, Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, and Fletcher Henderson.
During the early twenties, Ma Rainey was one of the star performers on the Theater
Owners' Booking Association circuit.
Ma had been singing for over 20 years before she made her
first recording with Paramount in 1923. She was 37 years old. Ma Rainey's
recording career only lasted six years, but during that short time she
recorded over a hundred songs and became known as the Mother of the
Blues.
Several of her songs have become blues classics such as See
See Rider and Bo-Weavil Blues.
Ma Rainey reached the height of her popularity in the mid to
late 1920s, but her career faltered during the 1930s as the blues became less
popular with black audiences. She returned to Columbus, Georgia in 1935
and retired from her singing career.
Mar Rainey died of a heart attack on December 22, 1939. She
was inducted into the Blues Foundation Hall of Fame in 1983 and
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1990.
Sources:
Encyclopedia Britannica
Encyclopedia
Africana
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