Ma Rainey: The Mother of the Blues

(https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Rainey)

The legendary Ma Rainey, born Gertrude Pridgett, was from Russel county Alabama and born in 1882. She was born to a family of five and began performing when she was just 12, making her debut at a talent show in Columbus Georgia. Soon after, she began performing in minstrel shows which were travelling side shows usually comprised of white actors in black face or black actors being directed by an all white group and typically portraying the African-American actors as "simple" or "slow", thus providing one experience for Ma to draw from in her blues writing. Once a bit older, Ma Rainey, who got her name after marrying the dancer Pa Rainey, began to perform with her husband under the name Rainey and Rainey: Assassinators of the Blues. While wintering in New Orleans, Rainey met artists such as Louis Armstrong, making connections for the future. Once she was discovered and signed by Paramount Records, she went up to Chicago to record a record. After the largely successful first album, Ma Rainey released many more songs and even collaborated with Armstrong and other influential artists on a few of them.

(http://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/the-queer-black-woman- who-reinvented-the-blues)

She is considered the Mother of Blues music because there are few documented blues artists before her. Her music has a classic jazz vibe mixed in with the soul depth of the blues. Her experiences in life obviously contributed to her ability to create music with such passion and honesty, such as her time in the minstrel show was sure to have been a time of oppression and pain for her and all those African-American actors involved. Her song "Deep Moaning Blues" speaks of having to work and wake up to a "bell", but having "blues so bad, I sat right down on the floor". Her pain and blues reflect those of the black community who were still treated as slave workers, even though by law they were "free". The blues movement only further proves that the African- American struggle in America did not end with emancipation.

Deep Moaning Blues:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A-mRHNAeJXE

(https://taggmagazine.com/queer-black-history-ma-rainey/)

Her collaboration with Louis Armstrong on "See See Rider Blues" in 1924 was a big boost to her career and helped spread her new style of soul. Ma Rainey was not afraid to include controversial messages in her music either. In 1925, she was arrested on suspicion of being gay, and when she was freed, she came out with "Prove It On Me" which states that she does treat women like men and there is nothing anyone can do about it. This blatent act of rebellion and plug for equality made her the precursor to the 1970s LGBT movement in the industry.

See See Rider Blues:

https://youtu.be/SBkfUMRZa1A

Prove It On Me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AzsIk8z26tg