Ma Rainey: The Mother Of The Blues

Ma Rainey: The Mother Of The Blues

Although her recording career lasted just five years, blues singer Ma Rainey created a legacy that reaches far beyond music. But if there’s a simple way to sum up Ma Rainey’s importance, simply look to her nickname: “Mother of the Blues.” The daughter of minstrel performers, Ma Rainey (born Gertrude Pridgett) got her start as a singer and dancer in stage tent shows. Her star began to rise in 1900 at the age of 14, when she started to perform alo…

On This Gay Day | Blues singer Ma Rainey was born

Ma Rainey is acknowledged as one of the most influential blues singers of all time, part of the first generation to be recorded, she is often referred to as the ‘Mother of the Blues’. Born Gertrude Pridgett in 1886, she gained her name through marriage when she wed Will ‘Pa’ Rainey in 1904 and began touring with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, later the couple formed their own group. They toured around the USA until the separated in 1916. She made he…