In the liner notes to Unlike many other blues musicians, Rainey earned a reputation as a professional on stage and in business. Though she did not hear blues in Columbus, Rainey's extensive travels had, by 1905, brought her into contact with authentic country blues, which she worked into her song repertoire. She became a leading attraction on the Theater Owners Booking Association circuit. Although most of Rainey's songs that mention sexuality refer to love affairs with men, some of her lyrics contain references to lesbianism or bisexuality,According to the website queerculturalcenter.org, the lyrics refer to an incident in 1925 in which Rainey was "arrested for taking part in an orgy at [her] home involving women in her chorus. American blues singer Ma Rainey was born Gertrude Pridgett on the 26 April 1882 in Columbus, Georgia.
For the next several years, she devoted her time to the ownership of two entertainment venues—the Lyric Theater and the Airdome—as well as activities in the Friendship Baptist Church. In 1924, pianist and arranger Thomas A. Dorsey recruited members for Rainey's touring band, The Wild Cats Jazz Band. - IMDb Mini Biography By: pvtkeyser@yahoo.com Born Gertrude Pridgett in Columbus, GA, in 1886, Ma Rainey is widely regarded as among the best of the early 20th-century blues singers.
She was born into a family of minstrel performers and first appeared onstage when she was 14, and at age 18 married William "Pa" Rainey, a … Ma Rainey began performing as a preteen when she appeared in a talent show in Columbus, Georgia.
There, she dedicated herself to managing two theaters she had purchased, and doing charity work and inspirational performances for the Friendship Baptist Church. Handy was an African American composer and a leader in popularizing blues music in the early 20th century, with hits like "Memphis Blues" and "St. Louis Blues. Following the death of her mother and sister, Rainey retired from the music business in 1935 and settled in Columbus.
https://www.biography.com/video/ma-rainey-mini-biography-2079142454 Rainey was a self-possessed, dynamic, and generous woman who served as a model for many who followed. She began performing as a teenager and became known as Ma Rainey after her marriage to Will Rainey, in 1904. Born Gertrude Pridgett in Columbus, GA, in 1886, Ma Rainey is widely regarded as among the best of the early 20th-century blues singers. Ma Rainey Biography, Life, Interesting Facts Childhood And Early Life . Often called the “Mother of the Blues,” Rainey is credited with the rise in popularity of blues music at the beginning of the 20th century. "The first annual Ma Rainey International Blues Festival was held in April 2016 in In 2017, the Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts opened in Columbus, Georgia, named in honor of Rainey and author In 1981 Sandra Lieb wrote the first full-length book about Rainey, This sortable table presents all 94 titles recorded by Rainey.Sources are unclear on the exact date and circumstances under which Rainey and Smith met, but it was probably sometime between 1912 and 1916.1900 Census for Columbus Ward 5, Muscogee, Georgia, District 4, Enumeration district 91, Sheet 16A, line 20, 'Prigett, Gertrude, Sept 1882, 17.Dixon, Robert M. W.; Godrich, John; and Rye, Howard W. (compilers) (1997). Rainey’s first side was the traditional “Bo Weevil Blues.” In that same year, she also recorded “Moonshine Blues” and “Yonder Comes the Blues,” followed by the first recorded version of one of the all-time blues classics, “See See Rider.” As had been the case with her live performances, she would continue to sing with simple jug bands and washboard accompaniment, in addition to more sophisticated groups.During her brief five-year recording career at Paramount, it became a leading record company, driven by sales of her sides. She performed during the first three decades of the 20th century and enjoyed mass popularity during the blues craze of the 1920s. 1886-1939 Ma Rainey was the first known minstrel and variety performer to incorporate the “country blues” style in her singing, fueling an explosion in the genre’s popularity. Other singers also adopted the style. Fellow blues singer, Victoria Spivey, later said of the recording, as quoted in In 1923, Rainey also released "Moonshine Blues" with Lovie Austin, and "Yonder Comes the Blues" with Louis Armstrong. Rainey’s deep, gravelly contralto voice captured it perfectly, and her entirely black audiences responded enthusiastically. Blues musician, with such songs as "Slave to the Blues," "Jelly Bean Blues," "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" , and "Bo Weevil Blues." She was born into a family of minstrel performers and first appeared onstage when she was 14, and at age 18 married William "Pa" Rainey, a noted song-and-dance man in minstrel shows. They toured with the Rainey was known for her powerful vocal abilities, energetic disposition, majestic phrasing, and a "moaning" style of singing. This led to her own work with a traveling minstrel group beginning in 1900.
That year, after Dorsey left the band, she recorded with various musicians on the Paramount label—often under the name of Ma Rainey and her Georgia Jazz Band which, on various occasions, included musicians such as pianists Fletcher Henderson, Claude Hopkins and Willie the Lion Smith; reed players Don Redman, Buster Bailey and Coleman Hawkins; and trumpeters Louis Armstrong and Tommy Ladnier.
She continued performing on the vaudeville circuits for a few years, but when her mother and sister died in 1935, she retired to Columbus.
Nicknamed the “Mother of the Blues,” she recorded more than 100 singles, including the hits “Prove it on Me Blues,” “See See Rider Blues,” and “Don’t Fish in My Sea.” Fast Facts: Ma Rainey 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 largely responsible for the explosive surge in popularity for the emerging blues and jazz genres at the beginning of the 20th century, which would gain even more momentum with the advent of recordings and radio.After some 25 years of hugely successful live performances, Rainey recorded for the first time in 1923 for the young Paramount label.