Ma Rainey(1886-1939)
- Music Department
- Soundtrack
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 noted song-and-dance man in minstrel shows. They began performing together and traveled all over the South, both by themselves and as part of minstrel shows (Pa Rainey is reported to have met Bessie Smith while with the Rabbit Foot Minstreals, and gave her pointers on performing). In 1923 the pair signed a recording contract with Paramount Records, which billed her as "The Mother of the Blues". By the time she ended her recording career in late 1928, she had recorded approximately 100 songs, among them such classics as "C.C. Rider", "Jelly Bean Blues", "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and "Boll Weevil Blues". Many of her records and performances were backed by such musicians as Louis Armstrong, Coleman Hawkins and Buster Bailey.
She was noted for her flamboyant costumes while performing, often wearing gowns heavily laden with sequins, shiny headbands and necklaces made of gold coins. By the 1930s, however, her career began to fade, and she retired--a very wealthy woman--in 1933, returning to her home town of Columbus, where she died of a heart attack in 1939.
She was noted for her flamboyant costumes while performing, often wearing gowns heavily laden with sequins, shiny headbands and necklaces made of gold coins. By the 1930s, however, her career began to fade, and she retired--a very wealthy woman--in 1933, returning to her home town of Columbus, where she died of a heart attack in 1939.
