See all 4 pictures

Ma Rainey

67,177 plays (14,631 listeners)
In your library (0 plays)

Add to my Library Share

Gertrude Pridgett Rainey, better known as Ma Rainey (Columbus, Georgia, April 26, 1886 – Columbus, Georgia, December 22, 1939), was one of the earliest known professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. She was billed as The Mother of the Blues. She did much to develop and popularize the form and was an important influence on younger blues women, such as Bessie Smith, and their careers.

She first appeared on stage in Columbus 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 at a theater in St. Louis sung by a local girl in 1902, she started performing in a blues style. She claimed at that time that she was the one who coined the name “blues” for the style that she specialized in. Musicians and singers who had sang and played in the style said there were no such origins and that the blues had always been. A pioneer in the style, Bunk Johnson said that in the 1880s the blues had already been developed.

She married fellow vaudeville singer William ‘Pa’ Rainey in 1904, changing her name to 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 took the young Bessie Smith into the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, trained her, and worked with her until Smith left in 1915.

Tagged as:

blues, jazz, female vocalists, classic blues, jazz divas
See more…

Similar Artists

Top Albums

Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
Ma Rainey
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $7.99
- 7digital $9.99
- iTunes $9.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $17.98
- eBay Search
Ma Rainey Vol. 1 (1923-1924)
Ma Rainey
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $8.99
- 7digital $7.77
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon Search
- eBay Search
Ma Rainey
Ma Rainey
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 $9.49
- 7digital $12.99
- iTunes $11.99
- Buy Album
- Amazon $8.35
- eBay Search
Complete Recorded Works: 1928 Sessions
Ma Rainey
Buy
- Download Album
- Amazon MP3 Search
- 7digital Search
- iTunes Search
- Buy Album
- Amazon $16.98
- eBay Search

Top Tracks

1	Booze and Blues full track	47
2	See See Rider Blues full track	27
2	Ma Rainey's Black Bottom full track	27
4	"Ma" Rainey's Black Bottom full track	21
5	Black Eye Blues full track	20
5	Daddy Goodbye Blues full track	20
7	Lucky Rock Blues full track	18
8	Farewell Daddy Blues full track	17
8	Shave 'Em Dry Blues full track	17
10	Jealous Hearted Blues full track	13
11	Toad Frog Blues full track	9
12	Jelly Bean Blues full track	8
12	Stack O' Lee Blues full track	8
12	Blues Oh Blues full track	8
15	Oh Papa Blues full track	7

Shoutbox

Leave a comment. Log in to Last.fm or sign up (it’s free).

Con-John wrote:
September 2009

I downloaded a compilation of Ma Rainey's Blues, but all the recordings sound a bit weird. Well OK, I know that they were recorded back at 1924 - 1928 but does anyone know if there is a possibility of finding better recordings?

View Profile | Leave Con-John a shout
bcwilliamson wrote:
June 2009

great blues. you might want to check out B.C. Williamson, who is a fictional blues artist with an endlessly complicated backstory, spanning over 60 years. and now he has a 22-track compilation album coming out. "The Greatest Blues Singer Who Never Lived."

View Profile | Leave bcwilliamson a shout
iliveonaclock wrote:
May 2009

mmmm

View Profile | Leave iliveonaclock a shout
BlackMath77 wrote:
April 2009

"Jazz" my ass!

View Profile | Leave BlackMath77 a shout
BlackMath77 wrote:
April 2009

I didn't know she covered Shave 'Em Dry. Is it a Lucille Bogan mistag?

View Profile | Leave BlackMath77 a shout
afiya8 wrote:
February 2009

I love this woman.

View Profile | Leave afiya8 a shout
wendell3 wrote:
January 2009

Are there any Ma Rainey compilations that don't sound like absolute crap? This reissue trend of "removing all crackles" at the expense of dynamics really drives me mad.

View Profile | Leave wendell3 a shout
rigbytripper wrote:
October 2008

I just found out about Ma Rainey from an Augus Wilson play, enchanting and stirs me.

View Profile | Leave rigbytripper a shout
godwand wrote:
July 2008

Black Bottom is such a fun song

View Profile | Leave godwand a shout
heyletsgetknown wrote:
September 2007

it's also used on a Ma Rainey comp, so that's probably how it got put up for the artist page.

View Profile | Leave heyletsgetknown a shout
thymian wrote:
October 2006

I noticed that too. That's a pretty well-known of Bessie Smith, which makes it all the more puzzling.

View Profile | Leave thymian a shout
Cardeira wrote:
September 2006

To whom it may concern kind of thing: the picture of Ma Rainey is actually one of Bessie Smith - and nobody can possibly say that they were very alike! What the hell happened here? The picture is even used on the cover of Bessie Smith compilations! WTF?

View Profile | Leave Cardeira a shout