American Society and its Music

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American Society and Its Music
Ma Rainey Biography
Not many artists can be labeled the “Mother of the Blues,” a title that Ma Rainey held during a blues career. She was renowned for her deep-throated voice and mesmeric stage presence that saw her perform to packed audiences and sold hit records. This essay will present a biography of Ma Rainey, which outlines her early life, education, career, and achievements.
Ma Rainey’s birth name was Gertrude Pridgett. She was born on April 26, 1886, and died on December 22, 1939 (Nittle). However, some records indicate that she was born on September 1882 in Russel County, Alabama, and not 1886 in Columbus, Ga. She was the second child born to Thomas and Ella Pridgett, minstrel show performers. Other details of her early years are missing up to when she started her performing career. Ma Rainey displayed a singing talent at a young age, and her career began when she was still a teenager. Her debut was the Bunch of Blackberries revue at the Springer Opera House, Columbus (Brandman). M Rainey then started singing with traveling vaudeville acts in honky-tonks, carnivals, and tent shows.
During her travels and performance circuits, Ma Rainey met a comedian, dancer, and singer named Will “Pa” Rainey. The two got married in 1904. Additionally, they performed a double act dubbed “Ma and Pa Rainey” and toured multiple African-American vaudeville and minstrel groups. The couple separated about a dozen years after their marriage, after which Ma Rainey created a show called Madame Gertrude Ma Rainey and Her Georgia Smart Set (Brandman). Ma Rainey is considered the “Mother of Blues,” as she was influential in bridging authentic Southern blues with the traditions of vaudeville. The blues are regarded as descendants of call-and-response songs emanating from West Africa. This tradition was passed down from the captive Africans to the enslaved generations in the Western Hemisphere. In other words, the blues combined the African-American spirituals with certain customs of the African musical (Nittle). Ma Rainey enjoyed continued musical success into the 1910s.
It is also important to summarize a few of Ma Rainey’s successes, especially with Paramount Records. She cut several songs in 1923 with this producer, including such hits as Bo-Weavil Blues, Bad Luck Blues, Those All Night Long Blues, and Moonshine Blues. Ma Rainey was quite prolific as she recorded over 100 blues tracks, the most popular being Dead Drunk Blues (Nittle). Her success in the South led her to begin a tour of the North, where she performed with several talented musicians, including Louis Armstrong. Her career started to slow down around 1928 as her type of blues began to get out f fashion.
Even with her success, it is prudent to highlight a few of her life challenges. These include exploitative working conditions of the early decades of the 20th century from the Theatre Owners Booking Association (TOBA) (Brandman). She also had to hide her sexual orientation until she discussed it later in life towards the end of her career. Despite the challenges, Ma Rainey’s contributions and impacts will remain significant. This inc...