She’s born in the rural South, she is dark-skinned, which couldn’t have been easy. Following the death of her mother and sister, Rainey retired from the music business in 1935 and settled in Columbus. A progressive social reformer and activist, Jane Addams was on the frontline of the settlement house movement and was the first American woman to win a Nobel Peace Prize. Boseman died of colon cancer on August 28, 2020, and it was revealed that… Rainey signed a recording contract with Paramount Records in 1923, making her one of the earliest recorded blues musicians. In Black Pearls, Daphane Harrison praised Rainey as the first great blues stage singer: "The good-humored, rollicking Rainey loved life, loved love, and most of all loved her people. I was so excited when I found out we’d be getting August Wilson’s play centering Ma Rainey on the screen. Beyond that, the specific details of her early life remain murky to this day. It was a Broadway success and was recently adapted as a film. Her two-hour show usually began with jazz numbers by the band and a performance by a line of chorus girls. ", American singer and guitarist Muddy Waters may have been born in Mississippi, but he defined Chicago blues with songs like "I'm Your Hoochie Coochie Man. July 2, 2020. Her performances drew racially mixed (though still segregated) audiences, demonstrating her wide appeal. Obrecht, Jas. Ma Rainey often claimed that she was born on April 26, 1886, in Columbus, Georgia. If you see something that doesn't look right, contact us! 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 made her debut with the Bunch of Blackberries revue at the Springer Opera House in Columbus. https://www.biography.com/musician/ma-rainey. Durante generaciones, el movimiento feminista ha avanzado notablemente en la defensa de los derechos de las mujeres. Ma Rainey was the first popular stage entertainer to incorporate authentic blues into her song repertoire. The play's title comes from Ma Rainey's song of the same name, which refers to the Black … “Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey.” National Women’s History Museum. Life as a traveling entertainer was not easy for African Americans in the early decades of the twentieth century. Her artistry brings life to what in lesser hands would be a dull, elementary piece. When she was 18, she married William “Pa” Rainey, but the two later split. “'All they want is my voice': the real story of 'Mother of the Blues' Ma Rainey.” The Guardian. ", READ MORE: Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey Forged a Powerful Friendship That Helped Bring Blues to the Mainstream. Ma Rainey was the first generation born out of enslavement in her family. ", While performing with the Moses Stokes troupe in 1912, the Raineys were introduced to the show's newly recruited dancer, Bessie Smith. Following the deaths of her sister and mother, Rainey returned to Columbus, Georgia to live with her brother. Rainey’s strong voice and characteristic “moaning” style of singing also fueled her success. "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," the engulfing film version of the great play by August Wilson — the late Pulitzer Prize-winning "theater poet of black America" — means to shake you. Her first session, cut with Austin and Her Blue Serenaders, featured the traditional number "Bo-Weevil Blues." ", Unlike many other blues musicians, Rainey earned a reputation as a professional on stage and in business. Eight years Smith's senior, Rainey quickly befriended the young performer. She was a mentor to the legendary blues singer Bessie Smith, and the two were rumored to have had a romantic relationship. Ma Rainey was nothing if not a pioneer, especially for the 1920s. It was on the performance circuit that she met comedian, singer, and dancer Will “Pa” Rainey, and the two married in 1904. Rainey is credited with inspiring later singers such as Dinah Washington, Big Mama Thornton, and Janis Joplin. Rainey displayed a talent for singing at a young age and began performing as a teenager. Known for his flamboyant performances, Little Richard's hit songs from the mid-1950s were defining moments in the development of rock ‘n’ roll. She was in the spotlight. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom depicts this racist structure within the music industry, with the fictionalized Rainey railing against the financial exploitation and creative control of her white managers. Chicago – Brandman, Mariana. Though they shared an extraordinary command of the idiom, the two women delivered their messages in styles and voices that were dissimilar and manifestly personal. Between 1923 and 1928, she recorded almost 100 records, many of them national hits that are now part of the American musical canon. It was his final role. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is a 1982 play – one of the ten-play Pittsburgh Cycle by August Wilson – that chronicles the 20th-century African-American experience. 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. During her last sessions, held in 1928, she sang in the company of her former pianist Thomas "Georgia Tom" Dorsey and guitarist Hudson "Tampa Red" Whittaker, producing such numbers as "Black Eye Blues," "Runaway Blues" and "Sleep Talking Blues.". In 1927, Rainey cut sides such as "Black Cat, Hoot Owl Blues" with the Tub Jug Washboard Band. However, what we got was not the Ma Rainey we all deserved. But according to The New York Times, a census taken in 1900 lists her birthdate as September 1882 and her birthplace as Alabama. Also a songwriter, her lyrics and melodies reflected her experiences as an independent, openly bisexual African-American woman. Date accessed. She attracted large audiences of adoring fans across the South and Midwest. Thinking Historically: The Evolution of Women’s Athletic Wear, Chronicles of American Women: Your History Makers, Women Writing History: A Coronavirus Journaling Project, Learning Resources on Women's Political Participation, https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2020/07/ma-rainey/, https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/obituaries/ma-rainey-overlooked.html, https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/dec/15/ma-rainey-black-bottom-netflix-mother-of-the-blues, https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/gertrude-ma-rainey. "Ma Rainey probably did pass some of her singing experience on to Bessie," explained Chris Albertson in the liner notes to Giants of Jazz, "but the instruction must have been rudimentary. An’ Mobile town, When Ma hits. © 2021 Biography and the Biography logo are registered trademarks of A&E Television Networks, LLC. Ma Rainey, considered the mother of blues in many ways birthed a black female sexuality that is confined by neither respectability nor sexual depravity. “‘See See Rider Blues’ -- Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey (1924).” Library of Congress. When she lost her recording contract with Paramount (the company claimed her style of blues had fallen out of fashion) she resumed touring and performed at private parties. The renowned … 16.7k Followers, 15 Following, 158 Posts - See Instagram photos and videos from Ma Rainey (@maraineyfilm) When Ma Rainey. And does it ever, using humor, heartbreak, betrayal and sudden savagery to do it. Rainey, the “Mother of the Blues,” was influential for bridging the traditions of vaudeville and authentic Southern blues. Separated from her husband in 1916, Rainey subsequently toured with her own band, Madam Gertrude Ma Rainey and Her Georgia Smart Sets, featuring a chorus line and a Cotton Blossoms Show, and Donald McGregor's Carnival Show. That same year, Rainey recorded "See See Rider," a number that, as Arnold Shaw observed in Black Popular Music in America, emerged as "one of the most famous and recorded of all blues songs. Amherst: University of Massachusetts Press, 1981. The stylists Mia Neal and Jamika Wilson are the first Black women to win in this category. Ma Barker was the matriarch of the Barker-Karpis Gang, whose spree of kidnappings, murderers and bank robberies led to her and its members' violent deaths. Lieb, Sandra R. Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey. ", W.C. Ma Rainey is a hilarious film, and Boseman, through his coy smile, and displaying his full range, is equally hilarious in it. A vibrant stage presence, she was known for her gold teeth, flashy clothing and jewelry, and establishing a personal connection with her audiences. Singer Ma Rainey was the first popular stage entertainer to incorporate authentic blues into her song repertoire and became known as the "Mother of the Blues.". Ma do her stuff; Comes flivverin’ in, Or ridin’ mules, Or packed in trains, Picknickin’ fools. Rainey then created her own show: “Madame Gertrude Ma Rainey and Her Georgia Smart Set.”. Born Gertrude Pridgett, Ma Rainey (April 26, 1886 - December 22, 1939) was one of the first blues singers to record music. But amidst these difficulties, Rainey’s protagonists did not rely on male partners or submit to the rules society tried to inflict on them. Abrams is now one of the most prominent African American female politicians in the United States. That’s what it’s like, Fo’ miles on down, To New Orleans delta. Of course, the movie features the American blues singer “Ma” Rainey. She was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. "use strict";(function(){var insertion=document.getElementById("citation-access-date");var date=new Date().toLocaleDateString(undefined,{month:"long",day:"numeric",year:"numeric"});insertion.parentElement.replaceChild(document.createTextNode(date),insertion)})(); Subscribe to the Biography newsletter to receive stories about the people who shaped our world and the stories that shaped their lives. Rainey was born Gertrude Pridgett on April 26, 1886, in Columbus, Georgia, to minstrel troupers Thomas Pridgett, Sr. and Ella Allen-Pridgett. Ma Rainey's blues were simple, straightforward stories about heartbreak, promiscuity, drinking binges, the odyssey of travel, the workplace and the prison road gang, magic and superstition — in short, the southern landscape of African Americans in the Post-Reconstruction era.". Rainey’s cultural legacy is profound. Captive Africans passed them down through the generations while enslaved in the Western Hemisphere. Rainey made her home in Chicago for much of the 1920s and early 1930s. Around 1915, the Raineys toured with Fat Chappelle's Rabbit Foot Minstrels. ", In August 1924, Rainey — along with the 12 string guitar of Miles Pruitt and an unknown second guitar accompanist — recorded the eight-bar blues number "Shave 'Em Dry." Leslie Jones Will Do Anything for Ma Rainey Leslie Jones overcomes trouble with some local riffraff while completing an important errand for Ma Rainey in "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom." Described by African American poet Sterling Brown in Black Culture and Black Consciousness as "a person of the folk," Rainey recorded in various musical settings and exhibited the influence of genuine rural blues. Accessed Jan. 30, 2021. https://www.loc.gov/static/programs/national-recording-preservation-board/documents/Ma%20Rainey.pdf, Russonello, Giovanni. This you do not … “Overlooked No More: Ma Rainey, the ‘Mother of the Blues’.”, Tischler, Barbara L. "Rainey, Ma (26 April 1886–22 December 1939), vaudeville, blues, and jazz singer and self-proclaimed "Mother of the Blues". She owned and managed two theaters and was active in the Friendship Baptist Church, where her brother was a deacon. By: Mariana Brandman, NWHM Predoctoral Fellow in Women’s History | 2020-2022. Accessed Jan. 30, 2021. https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/obituaries/ma-rainey-overlooked.html, Smith, David. Redhotjazz.com was a pioneering website during the "Information wants to be Free" era of the 1990s. Accessed Jan. 30, 2021. https://blogs.loc.gov/headlinesandheroes/2020/07/ma-rainey/, Russonello, Giovanni. Dec. 15, 2020. Students will examine photographs and primary source accounts describing uniforms for women’s sports from the mid-19th century to the mid-20th century. Examine Zora Neale Hurston’s lifelong commitment to African American literature and cultural preservation. McNeil observed that the number "is typical of Rainey's output, a driving, unornamented vocal propelled along by an accompanist who plays the number straight. After about a dozen years of marriage, Rainey and her husband separated. ", https://www.anb.org/view/10.1093/anb/9780198606697.001.0001/anb-9780198606697-e-1802493. Billed as "Ma" and "Pa" Rainey the couple toured Southern tent shows and cabarets. Many eventually claimed that TOBA stood for “Tough on Black Artists.”, Still, Rainey was a star on the TOBA circuit. 05/16/2021 They formed a double act (“Ma and Pa Rainey”) and toured with various African-American minstrel troupes and vaudeville groups, most notably the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. James Brown, the "Godfather of Soul," was a prolific singer, songwriter and bandleader, as well as one of the most iconic figures in funk and soul music. As Dorsey recalled, in The Rise of Gospel Blues, "When she started singing, the gold in her teeth would sparkle. We strive for accuracy and fairness. Ma Rainey was a fat, queer, dark-skinned, blues-singing Black woman, also known as The Mother of the Blues. Tischler, Barbara L. "Rainey, Ma (26 April 1886–22 December 1939), vaudeville, blues, and jazz singer and self-proclaimed "Mother of the Blues"." Jazz and blues vocalist Bessie Smith's powerful, soulful voice won her countless fans and earned her the title "Empress of the Blues. Boseman, who had also scooped a posthumous Golden Globes award in February 2021, gained wide acclaim for his role alongside Viola Davis. MLA – Brandman, Mariana. As William Barlow explained, in Looking Up at Down, her songs were also "diverse, yet deeply rooted in day-to-day experiences of Black people from the South. In “Prove It on Me Blues,” Rainey boasts about her attraction to women and wearing men’s clothing. We never tried to put any swindles on her. Dubbed the "Mother of the Blues", she bridged earlier vaudeville and the authentic expression of southern blues, influencing a generation of blues singers. Her parents, Thomas and Ella (Allen) Pridgett, were minstrel performers. “Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey.” National Women’s History Museum, 2021. Tensions and temperatures rise over the course of an afternoon recording session in 1920s Chicago as a band of musicians await trailblazing performer, the legendary "Mother of the Blues," Ma Rainey (Academy Award® winner Viola Davis). 2004. Ma Rainey, née Gertrude Pridgett, (born April 26, 1886, Columbus, Georgia, U.S.—died December 22, 1939, Columbus), American singer who was known as the “mother of the blues” and who was recognized as the first great professional blues vocalist. She then began singing with traveling vaudeville acts in tent shows, honky-tonks, and carnivals. In 2020, Wilson's play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom came to the screen with Viola Davis starring as Rainey and Chadwick Boseman as trumpeter Levee. The glam team behind "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" made history at the 2021 Oscars.. Despite earlier historical accounts crediting Rainey as Smith's vocal coach, it has been generally agreed by modern scholars that Rainey played less of a role in the shaping of Smith's singing style. Afterward, they were billed as the "Assassinators of the Blues" with Tolliver's Circus and Musical Extravaganza. 2021. A very lean Chadwick Boseman plays Levee, the spotlight-stealing trumpeter who represents the younger, more commercially minded generation eager to fast-track to success. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom Official release poster Directed byGeorge C. Wolfe Produced by Denzel Washington Todd Black Dany Wolf Screenplay byRuben Santiago-Hudson Based onMa Rainey's Black Bottom by August Wilson Starring Rainey died in Rome, Georgia (some sources say Columbus) on December 22, 1939. The Theater Owners Booking Association (TOBA) arranged many of their performances. Late Chadwick Boseman won the Best Performance in a movie for his final role in ‘Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom’ at the 2021 edition of MTV Movie & TV Awards. With the success of her early recordings, Rainey took part in a Paramount promotional tour that featured a newly assembled back-up band. During Rainey's five-year recording career at Paramount, she cut nearly ninety sides, most of which dealt with the subjects of love and sexuality — bawdy themes that often earned her the billing of 'Madam Rainey.' June 12, 2019. . In 1924, pianist and arranger Thomas A. Dorsey recruited members for Rainey's touring band, The Wild Cats Jazz Band. 2021. https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/gertrude-ma-rainey. Her story inspired famed playwright August Wilson’s 1982 play Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, which takes its title from Rainey’s 1927 song of the same name (which in turn refers to the black bottom dance trend of the 1920s). The black woman faced not only racist and sexist hindrances over the course of her career, but it is also widely believed that she was bisexual. Often called the “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey was known for her deep-throated voice and mesmerizing stage presence that drew packed audiences and sold hit records in the early twentieth century. More recently, Alice Walker looked to Rainey's music as a cultural model of African American womanhood when she wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Color Purple. She is widely recognized as the first great female blues vocalist. Not like Ma. Ma Rainey is revered and feared by her manager Irvin (Jeremy Shamos) and band members, all but the youngest, the horn player. As scholar and activist Angela Davis wrote, the women in Rainey’s songs “explicitly celebrate their right to conduct themselves as expansively and even as undesirably as men.”. “Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey.” National Women’s History Museum. Nobody. Comes to town, Folks from anyplace. Rainey passed away from heart disease on December 22, 1939 at the age of 53. Other articles where Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is discussed: Chadwick Boseman: …and gifted musician Levee in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2020), based on the play by August Wilson, was a tour de force, for which he received a posthumous Academy Award nomination. 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. 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 Ma Rainey was born Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett in Columbus, Georgia on April 26, 1886. TOBA was well known for its exploitative working conditions and the low wages it paid African-American performers. She possessed listeners; they swayed, they rocked, they moaned and groaned, as they felt the blues with her. In 1994, a stamp depicting Rainey was a part of a series of stamps featuring Jazz and Blues singers. Famed author Louisa May Alcott created colorful relatable characters in 19th century novels. Accessed Jan. 30, 2021. https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/dec/15/ma-rainey-black-bottom-netflix-mother-of-the-blues. The blues descended from the call-and-response storytelling songs of West Africa. On February 2, 1904, Pridgett married comedy songster William "Pa" Rainey. Rainey's tour debut at Chicago's Grand Theater on State Street marked the first appearance of a "down home" blues artist at the famous southside venue. 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.". Yo-Yo Ma is an acclaimed cellist and songwriter who has produced dozens of albums and won 18 Grammy Awards. Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, born Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett, was most likely, and by her own account, born on April 26, 1886, in Columbus, Georgia. “Ma Rainey, 1886-1939.” Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture. from my original 78-rpm disk, not a CD.Deep Moaning Blues (1928) MA RAINEYacc. Ma Rainey was born Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett in Columbus, Georgia on April 26, 1886. Fellow blues singer, Victoria Spivey, later said of the recording, as quoted in The Devil's Music, "Ain't nobody in the world been able to holler 'Hey Boweevil' like her. Find ma rainey tracks, artists, and albums. The film also won the award for Best Costume Design. Yet, like its predecessor, the theatrical origins of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom weigh heavy on this film, directed with a stagey air by Tony award winner George C Wolfe. “‘See See Rider Blues’ -- Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey (1924).” Library of Congress. She performed during the first three decades of the 20th century and enjoyed mass popularity during the blues craze of the 1920s. See full bio ». Her 1924 recording of “See See Rider Blues” (for which she was accompanied by a young Louis Armstrong) was added to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry in 2004. According to Mayo Williams, as quoted in the liner notes to August Wilson's 1988 play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, "Ma Rainey was a shrewd businesswoman. Rainey's music has served as inspiration for such poets as Langston Hughes. 2004. II. After comedy routines and other acts, Rainey would make her grand entrance and dazzle the audience with songs like “I Ain’t Got Nobody,” “A Good Man is Hard to Find,” and her encore, “See See Rider Blues.”. "Her ability to capture the mood and essence of Black rural southern life of the 1920s," noted Daphane Harrison in Black Pearls: Blues Queens "quickly endeared her to throngs of followers throughout the South. . Accessed Jan. 30, 2021. https://nmaahc.si.edu/LGBTQ/ma-rainey, Obrecht, Jas. While many date the “first wave” of feminism to the Women’s Rights Convention held in 1848 in Seneca Falls, the origins of the feminism movement lay much earlier. Find the latest in ma rainey music at Last.fm. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom won the Oscar for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, making history at the 93rd Academy Awards. ", In 1923, Rainey also released "Moonshine Blues" with Lovie Austin, and "Yonder Comes the Blues" with Louis Armstrong. Presenter Yara Shahidi accepted the coveted award on the late actor’s behalf. With the help of Mayo "Ink" Williams, Rainey first recorded for the Paramount label in 1923 (three years after the first blues side recorded by Mamie Smith). Blues musician, with such songs as "Slave to the Blues," "Jelly Bean Blues," "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" , and "Bo Weevil Blues." Rainey’s songwriting was notable for its raw depiction of life from the perspective of a woman struggling with heartbreak, depression, and other maladies. But not much has … A great contributor to America's rich blues tradition, Rainey's music has served as inspiration for African American poets such as Hughes and Sterling Brown, the latter of whom paid tribute to the majestic singer in the poem "Ma Rainey," which appeared in his 1932 collection Southern Road. Singer Janis Joplin rose to fame in the late 1960s and was known for her powerful, blues-inspired vocals. In that spirit we are recovering the lost data from the now defunct site and sharing it with you. . “Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey in Newspapers.” Library of Congress.
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