Ma Rainey

From HitStory, the pop encyclopedia of School of Rock · Artist

Ma Rainey · Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey performed from the beginning of the twentieth century in minstrel and tent shows in the South and sang the blues there long before it reached records. She became known as the 'Mother of the Blues'. Between 1923 and 1928 she recorded almost a hundred songs for Paramount, with accompanists such as Louis Armstrong and the pianist Thomas Dorsey. Her voice was deep and powerful, and her lyrics were about love, infidelity and life on the road. In Prove It on Me Blues she sang openly about love between women. When the record market collapsed in the Depression, she went back to Columbus, Georgia, where she died in 1939.

Listening

• 
  See See Rider · Ma Rainey, 1924
• 
  Ma Rainey's Black Bottom · Ma Rainey, 1927
• 
  Prove It on Me Blues · Ma Rainey, 1928
• 
  See See Rider Blues · Ma Rainey, 1924
  Apple Music ↗

Works

• 1924See See Rider Blues
• 1927Ma Rainey's Black Bottom
• 1928Prove It on Me Blues

In School of Rock

The chapters, maps and magazine stories of School of Rock are currently available in Dutch only.

• Jazz Map^NL Map
• Mixtape 10: Women in Pop Music^NL Reader
• After Hours: Session 1^NL Reader
• Magazine: Van Bessie tot Ella^NL Magazine

See also

• Delta blues
• Vocal jazz
• Classic blues
• Bessie Smith