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Bessie Smith was known as the “Empress of the Blues,” so it’s only fitting that her mentor and senior, Ma Rainey, should be forever remembered as “The Mother of the Blues.” Ma Rainey was born Gertrude Pridgett in Columbus , Georgia
Rainey began performing music when she was 12-years-old, and she and her husband eventually became members of the legendary touring ensemble, F.S. Walcott’s Rabbit’s Foot Minstrels. From 1914, the Raineys became known as “Rainey and Rainey, Assassins of the Blues.” Ma Rainey eventually met Bessie Smith, and she acted as a mentor for the younger singer.
Mamie Smith became the first African-American woman to make a blues Record in 1920, and the sensation that her recording, “Crazy Blues,” stirred led to record companies searching out other African-American blues singers. Paramount Chicago
Rainey would record over 100 sides for Paramount
As the Thirties approached, Rainey’s brand of Vaudeville blues was beginning to lose popularity, and Paramount Rome , Georgia
Ma Rainey’s best recordings can be found on the following compilations: “Ma Rainey” (1974), “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (1975), and “The Best of Gertrude “Ma” Rainey-Mother of the Blues” (2004).
