Gertrude “Ma” Rainey

Gertrude “Ma” Rainey was born Gertrude Pridgett on April 26, 1886 (some sources say 1882). Pridgett began her career as a performer at a talent show in Columbus, Georgia, when she was a young teenager. A member of the First African Baptist Church, she began performing in black minstrel shows. She later claimed that she was first exposed to blues music around 1902.

She became known as “Ma” Rainey after her marriage to Will “Pa” Rainey in 1904. They toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels and, beginning in 1914, the Raineys were billed as Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues. Wintering in New Orleans, she met numerous musicians, including Joe “King” Oliver, Louis Armstrong, Sidney Bechet, and Pops Foster. As the popularity of blues music increased, she became well known. Around this time, she met Bessie Smith, a young blues singer who was also making a name for herself.

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, including “Bad Luck Blues,” “Bo-Weevil Blues,” and “Moonshine Blues.” She made more than 100 other recordings over the next five years, which brought her fame beyond the South.

In 1924, Rainey recorded with Louis Armstrong, including on “Jelly Bean Blues,” “Countin’ the Blues,” and “See, See Rider.” In the same year, she embarked on a tour of the South and Midwest of the United States, singing for black and white audiences. She was accompanied by bandleader and pianist Thomas Dorsey and the Wildcats Jazz Band. They began their tour with an appearance in Chicago in April 1924 and continued, on and off, until 1928.

Throughout the 1920s, Ma Rainey was the most dynamic performers in the United States owing to her songwriting, showmanship, and voice. Her most famous works include “Moonshine Blues” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” which would become blues standards.

Touring until 1935, Rainey then largely retired from performing and continued as a theater impresario in her hometown of Columbus, Georgia, for the rest of her life. Gertrude “Ma” Rainey died of a heart attack on December 22, 1939. – adapted from Wikipedia

Also Read: Why are Ma Rainey’s recordings so important to the history of music?