(1886-04-26)April 26, 1886 Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
Died
December 22, 1939(1939-12-22) (aged 53) Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
Genres
Blues
classic female blues
Occupation(s)
Singer
Years active
1899–1939
Labels
Paramount
Musical artist
Gertrude "Ma" Rainey (néePridgett; April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939)[1][2][3] was an American blues singer and influential early-blues recording artist.[4] Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of southern blues, influencing a generation of blues singers.[5] 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).[6]
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.[1] 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.
^ abCite error: The named reference OMO was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^s (December 18, 2020). "The True Story Of Ma Rainey From Netflix's 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'". Women's Health.
^Southern, Eileen (1997). The Music of Black Americans: A History (3rd ed.). W. W. Norton. ISBN 0-393-97141-4.
^Russonello, Giovanni (June 12, 2019). "Overlooked No More: Ma Rainey, the 'Mother of the Blues'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 6, 2020.
^Lieb, Sandra (1983). Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey (3rd ed.). University of Massachusetts Press. ISBN 0-87023-394-7.
Gertrude "Ma" Rainey (née Pridgett; April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939) was an American blues singer and influential early-blues recording artist. Dubbed...
continuing to act until his death in 2020 from the illness. His final film, MaRainey's Black Bottom, was released posthumously the same year to critical acclaim...
12-bar blues song that became a standard in several genres. Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was the first to record it on October 16, 1924, at Paramount Records in...
Look up -ma, Ma, ma, or ma- in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. Ma, MA, or mA may refer to: Master of Arts, a degree award Marin Academy, a high school...
Actress for playing a 1960s housemaid in The Help (2011) and MaRainey in the biopic MaRainey's Black Bottom (2020). She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting...
Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and August Wilson's play MaRainey's Black Bottom. She won a Tony Award as a producer of the musical Thoroughly...
street corners. She began touring and performed in a group that included MaRainey, and then went out on her own. Her successful recording career with Columbia...
Roll Morton, who said he first heard blues music in New Orleans in 1902; MaRainey, who remembered first hearing the blues in the same year in Missouri;...
14, 2016. Hipes, Patrick (February 4, 2021). "SAG Awards Nominations: 'MaRainey', 'Minari' Lead Film List; 'The Crown', 'Schitt's Creek' Top TV And 'Bridgerton'...
American sheriff MaRainey (1882–1939), American blues singer Matt Rainey, winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography Paul J. Rainey (1877–1923)...
comedy crime drama series Fargo, and starred in the 2020 Netflix film MaRainey's Black Bottom. Turman was born in New York City. According to a DNA analysis...
productions but gained fame later in life when she starred as MaRainey in MaRainey's Black Bottom, for which she earned a Tony Award nomination, and...
extremely radical at the time. MaRainey was also the first person to introduce blues music into vaudeville. Rainey's protégé, Bessie Smith, was another...
Martin Viola McCoy Hazel Meyers Josie Miles Lizzie Miles Monette Moore MaRainey Elzadie Robinson Bessie Smith Clara Smith Laura Smith Mamie Smith Ruby...
series Hit the Floor, Jean of the Joneses (2016), White Boy Rick (2018), MaRainey's Black Bottom (2020), and Boogie (2021). In 2022, Paige ventured into...
Salt-N-Pepa Selena Talking Heads 2022 Bonnie Raitt 2023 Bobby McFerrin Nirvana MaRainey Slick Rick Nile Rodgers The Supremes Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson 2024...
Nominations 2021: 'The Crown' Dominates TV, 'Minari' Scores for Film Alongside 'MaRainey'". IndieWire. Archived from the original on 5 February 2021. Retrieved...
pianists or small jazz ensembles and were the first blues to be recorded. MaRainey, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, and the other singers in this genre were...
Lesson (1990), both of which won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, as well as MaRainey's Black Bottom (1984) and Joe Turner's Come and Gone (1988). In 2006, Wilson...
debut in the ensemble of Ragtime in 2003. She was cast as MaRainey in August Wilson's MaRainey's Black Bottom at the Liverpool Playhouse in 2004. In 2004–2005...
Moon, Pete Townshend Early influences Louis Armstrong Charlie Christian MaRainey Non-performers (Ahmet Ertegun Award) Gerry Goffin and Carole King Holland–Dozier–Holland...
Mackie has performed in Broadway and Off-Broadway adaptations, including MaRainey's Black Bottom, Drowning Crow, McReele, A Soldier's Play and Carl Hancock...
Salt-N-Pepa Selena Talking Heads 2022 Bonnie Raitt 2023 Bobby McFerrin Nirvana MaRainey Slick Rick Nile Rodgers The Supremes Ann Wilson and Nancy Wilson 2024...
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