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{{Use American English|date=November 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2022}}
{{Short description|American blues singer (1886–1939)}}
{{For|"Maw Raney"|Della H. Raney}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Ma Rainey
| image = MaRainey.jpg
| caption = Rainey in 1917
| birth_name = Gertrude Pridgett
| birth_date = {{birth date|1886|4|26}}
| birth_place = [[Columbus, Georgia]], U.S.
| death_date = {{death date and age|1939|12|22|1886|4|26}}
| death_place = Columbus, Georgia, U.S.
| genre = {{flatlist|
* [[Blues]]
* [[classic female blues]]
}}
| years_active = 1899–1939
| occupation = Singer
| label = [[Paramount Records|Paramount]]
}}
'''Gertrude''' "'''Ma'''" '''Rainey''' ({{nee}} '''Pridgett'''; April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939)<ref name=OMO/><ref name="auto2">{{Cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ma-Rainey|title=Ma Rainey | Biography, Songs, & Facts|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|date=April 22, 2023 }}</ref><ref name="auto1">{{Cite web|url=https://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/a34946066/ma-rainey-real-person-true-story/|title=The True Story Of Ma Rainey From Netflix's 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'|author=<!--Staff writer(s); no by-line.-->s|date=December 18, 2020|website=Women's Health}}</ref> was an American [[blues]] singer and influential early-blues recording artist.<ref name=southern>{{cite book|last=Southern|first=Eileen|author-link=Eileen Southern|year=1997|title=The Music of Black Americans: A History|edition=3rd|publisher=W. W. Norton|isbn=0-393-97141-4}}</ref> Dubbed the "[[Honorific nicknames in popular music|Mother of the Blues]]", she bridged earlier [[vaudeville]] and the authentic expression of southern blues, influencing a generation of blues singers.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Russonello |first=Giovanni |date=June 12, 2019 |title=Overlooked No More: Ma Rainey, the 'Mother of the Blues' |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/obituaries/ma-rainey-overlooked.html |access-date=September 6, 2020 |issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Rainey was known for her powerful vocal abilities, energetic disposition, majestic phrasing, and a "moaning" style of singing. Her qualities are present and most evident in her early recordings "Bo-Weevil Blues" and "Moonshine Blues".
Gertrude Pridgett began performing as a teenager and became known as "Ma" Rainey after her marriage to Will "Pa" Rainey in 1904. They toured with the [[The Rabbit's Foot Company|Rabbit Foot Minstrels]] and later formed their own group, ''Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues''. Her first recording was made in 1923. In the following five years, she made over 100 recordings, including "[[Boll Weevil (song)|Bo-Weevil Blues]]" (1923), "Moonshine Blues" (1923), "[[See See Rider|See See Rider Blues]]" (1925), the [[List of blues standards|blues standard]] "Ma Rainey's [[Black Bottom (dance)|Black Bottom]]" (1927), and "Soon This Morning" (1927).<ref name=Lieb>{{cite book|last=Lieb|first=Sandra|year=1983|title=Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey|edition=3rd|publisher=University of Massachusetts Press|isbn=0-87023-394-7}}</ref>
Rainey also collaborated with [[Thomas A. Dorsey|Thomas Dorsey]], [[Tampa Red]], and [[Louis Armstrong]], and toured and recorded with the Georgia Jazz Band. Touring until 1935, she then largely retired from performing and continued as a theater impresario in her hometown of [[Columbus, Georgia]], until her death four years later.<ref name="OMO" /> She has been posthumously inducted into the [[Blues Hall of Fame]], as well as the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]]. Rainey has been portrayed in several films including the 2020 [[Academy Awards|Academy Award]]-winning film [[Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)|''Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'']]. In 2023, she was honored with the [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]].
==Early life==
There is uncertainty about the birth date of Gertrude Pridgett. Some sources indicate that she was born in 1882, while most sources assert that she was born on April 26, 1886.<ref name="auto2"/> Pridgett claimed to have been born on April 26, 1886 (beginning with the 1910 census, taken April 25, 1910), in [[Columbus, Georgia]].<ref name=Lieb2/> However, the 1900 census indicates that she was born in September 1882 in [[Alabama]], and researchers Bob Eagle and Eric LeBlanc suggest that her birthplace was in [[Russell County, Alabama]].<ref name="bare">{{cite book| first1= Bob| last1= Eagle| first2= Eric S.| last2= LeBlanc| year= 2013| title= Blues: A Regional Experience| publisher= Praeger Publishers| ___location= Santa Barbara, California| pages=87 | isbn= 978-0313344237}}</ref><ref name=1900Census/> She was the second of five children of Thomas and Ella (née Allen) Pridgett, from Alabama. She had at least two brothers and a sister, Malissa Pridgett Nix.<ref name=Lieb2/>
In February 1904, Ma Rainey married William "Pa" Rainey.<ref name="auto">[https://www.encyclopedia.com/women/encyclopedias-almanacs-transcripts-and-maps/rainey-ma-1886-1939 "Ma Rainey"]. ''Women in World History: A Biographical Encyclopedia''. Encyclopedia.com. Updated 2020. Retrieved November 22, 2020.</ref> She took on the stage name "Ma Rainey", which was "a play on her husband's nickname, 'Pa{{'"}}.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.thejaxsonmag.com/article/ma-rainey-the-mother-of-the-blues/|title=Ma Rainey: The Mother of the Blues|first=The|last=Jaxson|website=www.thejaxsonmag.com}}</ref>
==Early career==
Pridgett began her career as a performer at a talent show in Columbus, Georgia, when she was approximately 12 to 14 years old.<ref name=OMO/><ref name=Lieb3/> A member of the [[First African Baptist Church (Columbus, Georgia)|First African Baptist Church]], she began performing in black [[minstrel show]]s. She later claimed that she was first exposed to blues music around 1902.<ref>{{cite book|title=Deep Blues|author=Robert Palmer|year=1981|author-link=Robert Palmer (American writer)|publisher=[[Penguin Books]]|page=[https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm/page/44 44]|isbn=978-0-14-006223-6|url=https://archive.org/details/deepblues00palm/page/44}}</ref> She formed the Alabama Fun Makers Company with her husband, Will Rainey, but in 1906 they both joined [[Pat Chappelle]]'s much larger and more popular [[The Rabbit's Foot Company|Rabbit's Foot Company]], where they were billed together as "Black Face Song and Dance Comedians, Jubilee Singers [and] Cake Walkers".<ref name=abbott>[https://books.google.com/books?id=u4rc-BKNCyoC&dq=%22Pat+Chappelle%22&pg=PA248 Abbott, Lynn; Seroff, Doug (2009). ''Ragged but Right: Black Traveling Shows, Coon Songs, and the Dark Pathway to Blues and Jazz'']. University Press of Mississippi. p. 261.</ref> In 1910, she was described as "Mrs. Gertrude Rainey, our [[Coon song|coon shouter]]".<ref name=abbott/> She continued with the Rabbit's Foot Company after it was taken over by a new owner, [[F. S. Wolcott]], in 1912.<ref name=OMO/>
Rainey said she found "Blues Music" when she was in Missouri one night performing, and a girl introduced her to a sad song about a man leaving a woman. Rainey said she learned the lyrics of the song and added it to her performances.
Rainey claimed she created the term "blues" when asked what kind of song she was singing.<ref name="auto"/>
Beginning in 1914, the Raineys were billed as ''Rainey and Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues''. Wintering in [[New Orleans]], she met numerous musicians, including [[King Oliver|Joe "King" Oliver]], [[Louis Armstrong]], [[Sidney Bechet]] and [[Pops Foster]]. As the popularity of blues music increased, she became well known.<ref name=Lieb5/> Around this time, she met [[Bessie Smith]], a young blues singer who was also making a name for herself.{{Cref2|A}} A story later developed that Rainey kidnapped Smith, forced her to join the Rabbit's Foot Minstrels, and taught her to sing the blues; the story was disputed by Smith's sister-in-law Maud Smith.<ref name=Lieb15/>
==Recording career==
[[File:Ma Rainey, 1923.jpg|thumb|Rainey and the band]]
From the late 1910s, there was an increasing demand for recordings by black musicians.<ref name=Lieb19/> In 1920, [[Mamie Smith]] was the first black woman to be recorded.<ref name=Lieb20/> In 1923, Rainey was discovered by [[Paramount Records]] producer [[J. Mayo Williams]]. She signed a recording contract with Paramount, and in December she made her first eight recordings in [[Chicago, Illinois|Chicago]],<ref name=Lieb21/> including "Bad Luck Blues", "Bo-Weevil Blues" and "Moonshine Blues". She made more than 100 other recordings over the next five years, which brought her fame beyond the South.<ref name=OMO/><ref name=Lieb23/> Paramount marketed her extensively, calling her the "Mother of the Blues", the "Songbird of the South", the "Gold-Neck Woman of the Blues" and the "Paramount Wildcat".<ref name=Lieb25/>
In 1924, Rainey recorded with Louis Armstrong, including on "Jelly Bean Blues", "Countin' the Blues" and "See, See Rider".<ref name=Lieb26/> In the same year, she embarked on a tour of the [[Theatre Owners Booking Association|Theater Owners Booking Association]] (TOBA) in the South and [[Midwestern United States|Midwest]] of the United States, singing for black and white audiences.<ref name=Lieb27/> She was accompanied by the bandleader and pianist [[Thomas A. Dorsey|Thomas Dorsey]] and the band he assembled, the Wildcats Jazz Band.<ref name=Lieb28/> They began their tour with an appearance in Chicago in April 1924 and continued, on and off, until 1928.<ref name=Lieb35/> Dorsey left the group in 1926 because of ill health and was replaced as pianist by Lillian Hardaway Henderson, the wife of Rainey's [[cornet]]ist Fuller Henderson, who became the band's leader.<ref name=Lieb37/>
Although most of Rainey's songs that mention sexuality refer to love affairs with men, some of her lyrics contain references to [[Lesbian|lesbianism]] or [[bisexuality]],<ref>{{cite magazine|last1=Friederich|first1=Brandon|title=Ma Rainey's Lesbian Lyrics: 5 Times She Expressed Her Queerness in Song|url=http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/pride/7824784/ma-rainey-lesbian-lyrics|magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]|date=June 7, 2017|access-date=June 9, 2017}}</ref> such as the 1928 song "Prove It on Me":
<blockquote><poem>They said I do it, ain't nobody caught me.
Sure got to prove it on me.
Went out last night with a crowd of my friends.
They must've been women, 'cause I don't like no men.
It's true I wear a collar and tie.
Makes the wind blow all the while.<ref>{{cite book|editor1-last=Ellison|editor1-first=Marvin M.|editor2-last=Brown Douglas|editor2-first=Kelly|title=Sexuality and the Sacred: Sources for Theological Reflection|date=2010|publisher=[[Westminster John Knox|Westminster John Knox Press]]|isbn=978-0664233662|page=54|edition=2nd}}</ref></poem></blockquote>
According to the [[Queer Cultural Center]]'s website, the lyrics refer to an incident in 1925 in which Rainey was "arrested for taking part in an [[orgy]] at [her] home involving women in her chorus".<ref name=queercc>{{cite web|url=http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Bentley/QueersinJazz.html|publisher=queerculturalcenter.org|title=Gladys Bentley|access-date=December 22, 2013|archive-date=November 10, 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110051946/http://www.queerculturalcenter.org/Pages/Bentley/QueersinJazz.html|url-status=dead}}</ref> The political activist and scholar [[Angela Y. Davis]] noted that {{"'}}Prove It on Me' is a cultural precursor to the [[Lesbian feminism|lesbian cultural movement]] of the 1970s, which began to crystallize around the performance and recording of lesbian-affirming songs."<ref name=Davis>{{cite book|last=Davis|first=Angela Y.|title=Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday|year=1999|publisher=Vintage|isbn=978-0679771265|pages=40, 238|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mhQTLAkXFo4C&q=%22prove+it+on+me+blues%22+angela+davis&pg=PA40}}</ref> At the time, an ad for the song embraced the [[Gender bender|genderbending]] outlined in the lyrics and featured Rainey in a three-piece suit, mingling with women while a police officer lurks nearby.<ref name="Time">{{Cite magazine|title=Ma Rainey Is Best Known as a Pioneer of the Blues. But She Broke More Than Musical Barriers|url=https://time.com/5923096/ma-rainey-true-story/|date=December 18, 2020 |access-date=December 23, 2020|magazine=Time|first= Andrew R. |last=Chow}}</ref>
Unlike many blues singers of her day, Rainey wrote at least a third of the songs she sang including many of her most famous works such as "Moonshine Blues" and "Ma Rainey's [[Black Bottom (dance)|Black Bottom]]" which would become standards of the "classic blues" genre.<ref name="Time"/>
Throughout the 1920s, Ma Rainey had a reputation for being one of the most dynamic performers in the United States due in large part to her songwriting, showmanship and voice.<ref name="Time"/> She and her band could fetch earnings of $350 a week on tour with the [[Theatre Owners Booking Association|Theater Owners Booking Association]], which was double that of [[George Williams and Bessie Brown|Bessie Brown and George Williams]] while a little over half what [[Bessie Smith]] would ultimately command.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Abbott|first=Lynn|title=The Original Blues: The Emergence of the Blues in African American Vaudeville|publisher=University Press of Mississippi|year=2017|isbn=9781496810038}}</ref>
Toward the end of the 1920s, live [[vaudeville]] went into decline, being replaced by radio and recordings.<ref name="Lieb37" /> Ma Rainey and Pa Rainey adopted a son named Danny who later joined his parents' musical act. Rainey developed a relationship with [[Bessie Smith]]. They became so close that rumors circulated that their relationship was possibly also romantic in nature.<ref name="auto"/> It was also rumored that Smith once bailed Ma Rainey out of jail.<ref name=queercc/>
The Raineys separated in 1916.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.etonline.com/who-is-ma-rainey-how-the-mother-of-the-blues-became-an-icon-157871|title=Who Is Ma Rainey? How the 'Mother of the Blues' Became an Icon|website=Entertainment Tonight|first=Latifah |last=Muhammad|date=December 18, 2020 }}</ref><ref name="auto1"/>
In 1930, Rainey released her hit single "Black Eye Blues," which recounted the fictional story of Miss Nancy, a woman who was brutalized by her husband's violence and infidelity.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Miller |first=Channon S. |date=2021-07-03 |title=A Black Women's History of the United States: by Daina Ramey Berry and Kali Nicole Gross. Boston: Beacon Press, 2020. $27.95, hardcover. 273 pages. |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/00064246.2021.1929043 |journal=The Black Scholar |language=en |volume=51 |issue=3 |pages=83–86 |doi=10.1080/00064246.2021.1929043 |issn=0006-4246|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Rainey was well known for defying heteronormativity helping to create spaces where different sexual identities could openly be themselves.
In 1935, Rainey returned to her home town, Columbus, Georgia, and became the proprietress<ref>{{Cite news|date=June 12, 2019|title=Overlooked No More: Ma Rainey, the 'Mother of the Blues'|language=en-US|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/06/12/obituaries/ma-rainey-overlooked.html|access-date=March 4, 2021|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> of three theaters, the Liberty in Columbus, and the Lyric and the Airdrome in [[Rome, Georgia]],<ref name=Lieb1/> until her death. She died of a [[myocardial infarction|heart attack]] in 1939.<ref>Santelli, Robert. ''The Big Book of Blues''. Penguin Books. p. 387.</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/489922/Ma-Rainey|title=Ma Rainey |publisher=Britannica.com|date=December 22, 1939|access-date=December 30, 2011}}</ref><ref name="auto1"/>
==Legacy and honors==
Ma Rainey created what is now known as "classic blues" while also portraying black life like never before. As a musical innovator she built on the minstrelsy and vaudeville performative traditions with comedic timing and a hybrid of American blues traditions she encountered in her vast tours across the country. She helped to pioneer a genre that appealed to North and South, rural and urban audiences.<ref name="Time"/>
Her signature low and gravelly voice sung with Rainey's gusto and authoritative style inspired imitators from [[Louis Armstrong]], [[Janis Joplin]] and [[Bonnie Raitt]] among others.<ref name="Time"/>
In her lyrics, Rainey portrayed the black female experience like few others of the time reflecting a wide range of emotions and experiences. In her 1999 book ''Blues Legacies and Black Feminism'', [[Angela Davis]] wrote that Rainey's songs are full of women who "explicitly celebrate their right to conduct themselves as expansively and even as undesirably as men".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Davis|first=Angela|title=Blues Legacies and Black Feminism: Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, Bessie Smith, and Billie Holiday|publisher=Penguin Random House|year=2011|isbn=978-0679450054}}</ref> In her songs, she and other black women sleep around for revenge, drink and party all night and generally live lives that "transgressed these ideas of white middle class female respectability".<ref>{{Cite book|last=Mack|first=Kimberly|title=Fictional Blues: Narrative Self-Invention from Bessie Smith to Jack White|publisher=University of Massachusetts Press|year=2020|isbn=9781625345493}}</ref> The portrayals of black female sexuality, including those bucking heteronormative standards, fought ideas of what a woman should be and inspired [[Alice Walker]] in developing her characters for ''[[The Color Purple]]''.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Freedman|first=Samuel G.|date=October 14, 1984|title=What Black Writers Owe to Music|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/14/theater/what-black-writers-owe-to-music.html|access-date=December 23, 2020|issn=0362-4331}}</ref> Bragging about sexual escapades was popular in men's songs at the time but her use of these themes in her works established her as both fiercely independent and fearless and many have drawn connections between her use of these themes and their modern use in Hip-Hop.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Jones|first=DaLyah|date=August 23, 2020|title="Let's Have A Sex Talk": The Eras of Sex Talk By Black Women In Hip-Hop|url=https://www.okayplayer.com/originals/sex-rap-songs-90s-female-rappers-cardi-b-wap.html|access-date=December 23, 2020|website=Okayplayer|language=en-US}}</ref>
Rainey was also a fashion icon who pioneered flashy, expensive costuming in her performances, wearing ostrich plumes, satin gowns, sequins, gold necklaces, diamond tiaras, and gold teeth.<ref name="Time"/>
Rainey was inducted into the [[Blues Hall of Fame|Blues Foundation's Hall of Fame]] in 1983 and the [[Rock and Roll Hall of Fame]] in 1990.<ref>[http://www.rockhall.com/inductees/ma-rainey Ma Rainey Induction Year: 1990]. Rockhall.com. Accessed February 26, 2014.</ref> In 1994, the [[List of people on stamps of the United States|U.S. Post Office]] issued a 29-cent commemorative postage stamp honoring her. In 2004, "[[See See Rider Blues]]" (performed in 1924) was inducted into the [[List of Grammy Hall of Fame Award recipients Q-Z|Grammy Hall of Fame]] and was added to the [[List of recordings preserved in the United States National Recording Registry|National Recording Registry]] by the [[National Recording Preservation Board]] of the [[Library of Congress]].<ref>[https://www.loc.gov/rr/record/nrpb/nrpb-2004reg.html 2004 National Recording Registry Choices]. Loc.gov/rr. A ccessed February 26, 2014.</ref>
There was also a small museum opened in Columbus in 2007 to honor Ma Rainey's legacy. It is in the very house that she had built for her mother and later lived in from 1935 until her death in 1939.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Ma Rainey {{!}} Biography, Songs, & Facts|url=https://www.britannica.com/biography/Ma-Rainey|access-date=March 4, 2021|website=Encyclopedia Britannica|language=en}}</ref>
The first annual Ma Rainey International Blues Festival was held in April 2016 in Columbus, Georgia, near the home that Rainey owned and lived in at the time of her death.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://maraineyinternationalbluesfestival.com/|title=Ma Rainey International Blues Festival - Mad About Ma Blues Society|access-date=July 6, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://maraineyinternationalbluesfestival.com/index.php|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160129145143/http://maraineyinternationalbluesfestival.com/index.php|url-status=dead|archive-date=January 29, 2016|title=Ma Rainey International Blues Festival|date=January 29, 2016|access-date=July 6, 2018}}</ref> In 2017, the Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts opened in Columbus, Georgia, named in honor of Rainey and author [[Carson McCullers]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.ledger-enquirer.com/news/local/education/article165821017.html|title=Rainey-McCullers School of the Arts opens as 2017-18 classes begin|website=Ledger-enquirer.com|access-date=July 6, 2018}}</ref>
In 2023, she was awarded a posthumous [[Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award]]. The announcement noted her "deep voice and mesmerizing stage presence" and that she, "recorded almost 100 records, many of them national hits that are now part of the American musical canon".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Frazer |first=Nina |date=2023-01-05 |title=The Recording Academy Announces 2023 Special Merit Awards Honorees |url=https://www.grammy.com/news/2023-grammys-special-merit-awards-recipients-lifetime-achievement-technical-trustees-honorees |access-date=2023-02-06 |website=Grammy Awards}}</ref>
== In popular culture==
[[Sterling A. Brown]] wrote the poem "Ma Rainey" in 1932, about how "When Ma Rainey / comes to town" people everywhere would hear her sing. In 1981, Sandra Lieb wrote the first full-length book about Rainey, ''Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey''.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lieb|first=Sandra|title=Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey|publisher=University of Massachusetts|year=1981|isbn=9780870233340}}</ref>
''[[Ma Rainey's Black Bottom]]'', a 1982 play by [[August Wilson]], is a fictionalized account of a recording of her song of the same title set in 1927. [[Theresa Merritt]] and [[Whoopi Goldberg]] starred as Rainey in the Original and Revival Broadway productions, respectively. [[Viola Davis]] portrayed Rainey in the [[Ma Rainey's Black Bottom (film)|2020 film adaptation]] of the play and was nominated for the [[Academy Award for Best Actress]].<ref name="Grdn">{{cite news |last1=Lee |first1=Benjamin |title=Netflix releases trailer for Chadwick Boseman's final movie |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/oct/19/chadwick-boseman-final-movie-trailer-netflix |access-date=October 24, 2020 |work=The Guardian |date=October 18, 2020}}</ref>
[[Mo'Nique]] played Rainey in the 2015 television film ''[[Bessie (film)|Bessie]]'' about the life of Bessie Smith, for which she earned a nomination for [[Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie]].<ref>{{Cite web|date=July 16, 2015|title=Mo'Nique on Emmy Nomination for 'Bessie,' Lee Daniels' 'Empire' Snub: 'What You Put Out Is What You Get Back'|url=https://www.thewrap.com/monique-on-emmy-nomination-for-bessie-lee-daniels-empire-snub-what-you-put-out-is-what-you-get-back/|access-date=December 4, 2020|website=The Wrap|language=en-US}}</ref>
== Discography ==
* 1923-28 - ''Mother Of The Blues'' (5xCD) (JSP, 2007)
* 1923-24 - ''Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Vol.1'' (Document Recs, 1997)
* 1924-25 - ''Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Vol.2'' (Document Recs, 1997)
* 1925-26 - ''Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Vol.3'' (Document Recs, 1997)
* 1926-27 - ''Complete Recorded Works In Chronological Order Vol.4'' (Document Recs, 1997)
* 1928-00 - ''Complete 1928 Sessions Chronological Order Vol.4'' (Document Recs, 1993<ref>Ma Rainey. ''Mother of the Blues''. 5-CD box set. JSP Records JSP7793 (A–E).</ref><ref>Ma Rainey. ''Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order'', vol. 1: December 1923 to c. August 1924, Document Records DOCD5581. ''Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order'', vol. 2: c. October 15, 1924, to c. August 1925, Document DOCD5582. ''Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order'', vol. 3: c. December 1925 to c. June 1926, Document DOCD5583. ''Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order'', vol. 4: c. November 1925 to c. December 1927, Document DOCD5584. ''The Complete 1928 Sessions in Chronological Order'', Document DOCD5156. ''Too Late, Too Late'', vol. 2: 1897–1935, Document DOCD5216. ''Too Late, Too Late'', vol. 11: 1924–1939, Document DOCD5625. ''Too Late, Too Late'', vol. 13: 1921–1940, Document DOCD5660.</ref>
This sortable table presents all 94 titles recorded by Rainey.<ref>Dixon, Robert M. W.; Godrich, John; and Rye, Howard W. (compilers) (1997). ''Blues and Gospel Records 1890–1943''. Oxford University Press. {{ISBN|978-0198162391}}.</ref>
* The recording dates are approximated.
* The classification, by Sandra Lieb, is almost entirely by form. Blues songs which are only partly of twelve-bar structure are classified as mixtures of blues and popular song forms. Songs without any twelve-bar or eight-bar structure are classified as non-blues.<ref>Lieb, pp. 189–191.</ref>
* Click any label to sort. To return to chronological order, click '''#'''.
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! # || Matrix !! Recording<br />date !! Title || Accompaniment || Paramount<br />issue no. ||Sandra Lieb<br />classification || JSP<br />77933 || Document<br />DOCD || Notes
|-
| 01|| 1596 || 1923/12 || "Bad Luck Blues" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders|| 12081 || Twelve-bar blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 02|| 1597 || 1923/12 || "[[Boll Weevil (song)|Bo-Weavil Blues]]" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders|| 12080 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms || A || 5581 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-Kelly Brown
| 03|| 1598 || 1923/12 || "Barrel House Blues" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders|| 12082 || Twelve-bar blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 04|| 1599 || 1923/12 || "Those All Night Long Blues" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders|| 12081 || Non-blues || A || 5581 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 05|| 1608 || 1923/12 || "Moonshine Blues" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders|| 12083 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 06|| 1609 || 1923/12 || "Last Minute Blues" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders|| 12080 || Twelve-bar blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 07|| 1612 || 1923/12 || "Southern Blues" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders|| 12083 || Twelve-bar blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 08|| 1613 || 1923/12 || "Walking Blues" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders|| 12082 || Twelve-bar blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 09|| 1698 || 1924/03 || "Lost Wandering Blues" || [[The Pruitt Twins]]|| 12098 || Twelve-bar blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 10|| 1699 || 1924/03 || "Dream Blues" || [[The Pruitt Twins]]|| 12098 || Twelve-bar blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 11|| 1701 || 1924/03 || "Honey Where You Been So Long?" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders|| 12200|| Non-blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 12|| 1702 || 1924/03 || "Ya-Da-Do" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12257 || Non-blues || A || 5581 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 13|| 1703 || 1924/03 || "Those Dogs of Mine"<br />"(Famous Cornfield Blues)" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders || 12215 || Non-blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 14|| 1704 || 1924/03 || "Lucky Rock Blues" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders || 12215 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 15|| 1741 || 1924/04 || "South Bound Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12227 || Non-blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 16|| 1758 || 1924/05 || "Lawd Send Me a Man Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12227 || Non-blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 17|| 1759 || 1924/05 || "Ma Rainey's Mystery Record" || [[Lovie Austin]]<br />Blues Serenaders || 12200 || Twelve-bar blues || A || 5581 ||
|-
| 18 || 1824 || 1924/08 || "[[Shave 'Em Dry|Shave 'Em Dry Blues]]" || [[The Pruitt Twins]]<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CcJL93JgiPMC&dq=%22miles+pruitt%22.+%22blues%22.+%22Guitar%22&pg=PA181|title=The Untold Stories of Excellence: From a Life of Despair and Uncertainty to One that Offers Hope and a New Beginning|first=Charles E.|last=Shaw|page=181|date=July 14, 2011|publisher=[[Xlibris]]|isbn=9781462849079 |access-date=November 18, 2022|via=Google Books}}</ref> || 12222 || Eight-bar blues || B || 5581 ||
|-
| 19|| 1825 || 1924/08 || "Farewell Daddy Blues" || [[The Pruitt Twins]]<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/complete-recorded-works-vol-1-1923-1924-mw0000664854|title=Ma Rainey - Complete Recorded Works, Vol. 1 (1923-1924) Album Reviews, Songs & More |website=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=November 18, 2022}}</ref> || 12222 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5581 ||
|-
| 20 || 1922 || 1924/10 || "Booze and Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12242 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5582||
|-
| 21|| 1923 || 1924/10 || "Toad Frog Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12242 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5582 ||
|-
| 22|| 1924 || 1924/10 || "Jealous Hearted Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12252 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5582
|-
| 23|| 1925 || 1924/10 || "[[See See Rider|See See Rider Blues]]" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12252 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms || B || 5582 || With [[Louis Armstrong]]; another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 24|| 1926 || 1924/10 || "Jelly Bean Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12238 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms || B || 5582 || With [[Louis Armstrong]]
|-
| 25|| 1927 || 1924/10 || "Countin' the Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12238 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5582 || With [[Louis Armstrong]]; another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 26|| 10001 || 1924/11 || "Cell Bound Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12257 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms || B || 5582 ||
|-
| 27|| 2136 ||1925/05 || "Army Camp Harmony Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12284 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5582 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 28|| 2137 ||1925/05 || "Explaining the Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12284 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5582 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 29|| 2138 ||1925/05 || "Louisiana Hoo Doo Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12290 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5582 ||
|-
| 30|| 2138 ||1925/05 || "Goodbye Daddy Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12290 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms || B || 5582 ||
|-
| 31|| 2209 ||1925/05 || "Stormy Seas Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12295 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5582 || Another take on DOCD5625
|-
| 32|| 2210 ||1925/08 || "Rough and Tumble Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12311 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5582 ||
|-
| 33|| 2211 ||1925/08 || "Night Time Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12303 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5582 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 34|| 2212 ||1925/08 || "Levee Camp Moan" || Her Georgia Band || 12295 || Non-blues || B || 5582 ||
|-
| 35|| 2213 ||1925/08 || "Four Day Honorary Scat" || Her Georgia Band || 12303 || Non-blues || B || 5582 || Misprint for "'Fore Day"; another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 36|| 2214 ||1925/08 || "Memphis Bound Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12311 || Twelve-bar blues || B || 5582 ||
|-
| 37|| 2369||1925/12 || "Slave to the Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12332 || Twelve-bar blues || C || 5583 ||
|-
| 38|| 2370 ||1925/12 || "Yonder Come the Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12357 || Non-blues || C || 5583 ||
|-
| 39|| 2371 ||1925/12 || "Titanic Man Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12374 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms || C || 5583 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 40|| 2372 ||1925/12 || "Chain Gang Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12338 || Twelve-bar blues || C || 5583 ||
|-
| 41|| 2373 ||1925/12 || "Bessemer Bound Blues" || Her Georgia Jazz Band || 12374 || Twelve-bar blues || C || 5583 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 42|| 2374 ||1925/12 || "Oh My Babe Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12332 || Non-blues || C || 5583 ||
|-
| 43|| 2375 ||1925/12 || "Wringing and Twisting Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12338 || Non-blues || C || 5583 ||
|-
| 44|| 2369||1925/12 || "[[Stagger Lee (song)|Stack O'Lee Blues]]" || Her Georgia Band || 12357 || Ballad || C || 5583 ||
|-
| 45|| 2448 || 1926/03 || "Broken Hearted Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12364|| Twelve-bar blues || C || 5583 || Another take on DOCD5625
|-
| 46|| 2451 || 1926/03 || "Jealousy Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12364|| Non-blues || C || 5583 || Another take on DOCD5660
|-
| 47|| 2452 || 1926/03 || "Seeking Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12352|| Mixture of blues and popular song forms || C || 5583 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 48|| 2466 || 1926/03 || "Mountain Jack Blues" || [[Jimmy Blythe]] (piano) || 12352 || Twelve-bar blues || C || 5583 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 49|| 2627|| 1926/06 || "Down in the Basement" || Her Georgia Band || 12395 || Non-blues || C || 5583 ||
|-
| 50|| 2628 || 1926/06 || "Sissy Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12384 || Twelve-bar blues || C || 5583 ||
|-
| 51|| 2629 || 1926/06 || "Broken Soul Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12384 || Non-blues || C || 5583 ||
|-
| 52|| 2631 || 1926/06 || "Trust No Man" || Lillian Henderson (piano) || 12395 || Non-blues || C || 5583 ||
|-
| 53|| 405 || 1926/11 || "Morning Hour Blues" || [[Jimmy Blythe]] (piano)<br />[[Blind Blake]] (guitar) || 12455 || Twelve-bar blues|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 54|| 407 || 1926/11 || "Weepin' Woman Blues" || Her Georgia Boys || 12455 || Twelve-bar blues|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 55|| 408 || 1926/11 || "Soon This Morning" || Her Georgia Band || 12438 || Twelve-bar blues|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 56|| 4019 || 1926/12 || "Little Low Mamma Blues" || [[Blind Blake]] (guitar)<br />possibly Leroy Picket (violin) || 12419 || Twelve-bar blues|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 57|| 4020 || 1926/12 || "Grievin Hearted Blues" || [[Blind Blake]] (guitar)<br />possibly Leroy Picket (violin) || 12419 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 58|| 4021 || 1926/12 || "Don't Fish in My Sea" || [[Jimmy Blythe]] (piano) || 12438 || Twelve-bar blues|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 59|| 4082 || 1927/08 || "Big Boy Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12548 || Twelve-bar blues|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 60|| 4083 || 1927/08 || "Blues Oh Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12566 || Non-blues|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 61|| 4090 || 1927/08 || "Damper Down Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12548 || Twelve-bar blues|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 62|| 4091 || 1927/08 || "Gone Daddy Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12526 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 63|| 4092 || 1927/08 || "Oh Papa Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12566 || Non-blues|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 64|| 4707 || 1927/08 || "Misery Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12508 || Non-blues|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 65|| 4708 || 1927/08 || "Dead Drunk Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12508 || Twelve-bar blues|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 66|| 4709 || 1927/08 || "Slow Driving Moan" || Her Georgia Band || 12526 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 67|| 20228|| 1927/12 || "Blues the World Forgot—Part 1" || Her Georgia Band || 12647 || Comedy|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 68|| 20229 || 1927/12 || "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" || Her Georgia Band || 12590 || Non-blues || D || 5584 ||
|-
| 69|| 20230 || 1927/12 || "Blues the World Forgot—Part 2" || Her Georgia Band || 12647 || Comedy|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 70|| 20231 || 1927/12 || "Hellish Rag" || Her Georgia Band || 12612 || Non-blues || D || 5584 ||
|-
| 71|| 20232 || 1927/12 || "Georgia Cake Walk" || Her Georgia Band || 12590 || Comedy|| D || 5584 ||
|-
| 72|| 20233 || 1927/12 || "New Bo-Weavil Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12603 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms || D || 5584 ||
|-
| 73|| 20232 || 1927/12 || "Moonshine Blues" || Her Georgia Band || 12603 || Mixture of blues and popular song forms || D || 5584 ||
|-
| 74|| 20233 || 1927/12 || "Ice Bag Papa" || Her Georgia Band || 12612 || Non-blues || D || 5584 ||
|-
| 75|| 20661 || 1928/06 || "Black Cat Hoot Owl Blues" || Her Tub Jug Washboard Band || 12687 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 || Band led by [[Georgia Tom]]
|-
| 76|| 20662 || 1928/06 || "Log Camp Blues" || Her Tub Jug Washboard Band || 12804 || Twelve-bar blues ||E || 5156 || Band led by [[Georgia Tom]]
|-
| 77|| 20663 || 1928/06 || "Hear Me Talking to You" || Her Tub Jug Washboard Band || 12668 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 || Band led by [[Georgia Tom]]
|-
| 78|| 20664 || 1928/06 || "Hustlin' Blues" || Her Tub Jug Washboard Band || 12804 || Twelve-bar blues ||E || 5156 || Band led by [[Georgia Tom]]
|-
| 79|| 20665 || 1928/06 || "Prove It on Me Blues" || Her Tub Jug Washboard Band || 12668 || Non-blues || E || 5156 || Band led by [[Georgia Tom]]
|-
| 80|| 20666 || 1928/06 || "Victim of the Blues" || Her Tub Jug Washboard Band || 12687 || Twelve-bar blues|| E || 5156 || Band led by [[Georgia Tom]]
|-
| 81|| 20667 || 1928/06 || "Traveling Blues" || Her Tub Jug Washboard Band || 12707 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 || Band led by [[Georgia Tom]]; another take on JSP and DOCD5216
|-
| 82|| 20668 || 1928/06 || "Deep Moaning Blues Blues" || Her Tub Jug Washboard Band || 12707 || Twelve-bar blues|| E || 5156 || Band led by [[Georgia Tom]]<br />another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 83|| 20878 || 1928/09 || "Daddy Goodbye Blues" || [[Georgia Tom Dorsey]] (piano)<br />[[Tampa Red]] (guitar) || 12963 ||Eight-bar blues || E || 5156 ||
|-
| 84|| 20879 || 1928/09 || "Sleep Talking Blues" || [[Georgia Tom Dorsey]] (piano)<br />[[Tampa Red]] (guitar) ||12760 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 85|| 20880 || 1928/09 || "Tough Luck Blues" || [[Georgia Tom Dorsey]] (piano)<br />[[Tampa Red]] (guitar) || 12735 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 ||
|-
| 86|| 20881 || 1928/09 || "Blame It on the Blues" || [[Georgia Tom Dorsey]] (piano)<br />[[Tampa Red]] (guitar) || 12760 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 ||
|-
| 87|| 20882 || 1928/09 || "Sweet Rough Man" || [[Georgia Tom Dorsey]] (piano)<br />[[Tampa Red]] (guitar) || 12926 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 ||
|-
| 88|| 20883 || 1928/09 || "Runaway Blues" || [[Georgia Tom Dorsey]] (piano)<br />[[Tampa Red]] (guitar) || 12902 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 ||
|-
| 89|| 20885 || 1928/09 || "Screech Owl Blues" || Eddie Miller (piano) || 12735 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 ||
|-
| 90|| 20886 || 1928/09 || "Black Dust Blues" || Eddie Miller (piano) || 12926 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 ||
|-
| 91|| 20897|| 1928/09 || "Leaving This Morning" || [[Georgia Tom Dorsey]] (piano)<br />[[Tampa Red]] (guitar) || 12902 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 ||
|-
| 92|| 20898|| 1928/09 || "Black Eye Blues" || [[Georgia Tom Dorsey]] (piano)<br />[[Tampa Red]] (guitar) || 12963 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 || Another take on JSP & DOCD
|-
| 93|| 20921|| 1928/10 || "Ma and Pa Poorhouse Blues" || [[Papa Charlie Jackson]] (duet & banjo) || 12718 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 ||
|-
| 94|| 20144|| 1928/10 || "Big Feeling Blues" || [[Papa Charlie Jackson]] (duet & banjo) || 12718 || Twelve-bar blues || E || 5156 ||
|-
|}
==Notes==
{{Cnote2 Begin|liststyle=upper-alpha}}
{{Cnote2|A|Sources are unclear on the exact date and circumstances under which Rainey and Smith met, but it was probably sometime between 1912 and 1916.<ref name=Lieb15 />}}
{{Cnote2 End}}
==References==
===Footnotes===
{{Reflist|colwidth=30em|refs=
<ref name=1900Census>1900 Census for Columbus Ward 5, Muscogee, Georgia, District 4, Enumeration district 91, Sheet 16A, line 20, 'Prigett, Gertrude, Sept 1882, 17.</ref>
<ref name=Lieb1>Lieb, p. 1</ref>
<ref name=Lieb2>Lieb, p. 2</ref>
<ref name=Lieb3>Lieb, p. 3</ref>
<ref name=Lieb5>Lieb, p. 5</ref>
<ref name=Lieb15>Lieb, p. 15</ref>
<ref name=Lieb19>Lieb, p. 19</ref>
<ref name=Lieb20>Lieb, p. 20</ref>
<ref name=Lieb21>Lieb, p. 21</ref>
<ref name=Lieb23>Lieb, p. 23</ref>
<ref name=Lieb25>Lieb, p. 25</ref>
<ref name=Lieb26>Lieb, p. 26</ref>
<ref name=Lieb27>Lieb, p. 27</ref>
<ref name=Lieb28>Lieb, p. 28</ref>
<ref name=Lieb35>Lieb, p. 35</ref>
<ref name=Lieb37>Lieb, p. 37</ref>
<!-- <ref name=Lieb39>Lieb, p. 39</ref>
<ref name=Lieb40>Lieb, p. 40</ref>
<ref name=Lieb41>Lieb, p. 90</ref> -->
<ref name=OMO>{{Cite book | last = Oliver | first = Paul | author-link = Paul Oliver | chapter = Rainey, Ma (née Pridgett, Gertrude) | title = Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians | publisher = [[Oxford University Press]] | url= http://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/subscriber/article/grove/music/50130?q=ma+rainey&hbutton_search.x=0&hbutton_search.y=0&hbutton_search=search&source=omo_t237&source=omo_gmo&source=omo_t114&search=quick&pos=1&_start=1 | access-date =April 20, 2010}}</ref>
<!-- Unused citations
<ref name=Lieb4>Lieb, p. 4</ref>
<ref name=Lieb8>Lieb, p. 8</ref>
-->
}}
===Sources===
* {{cite book|last=Lieb|first=Sandra|year=1983|title=Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey|publisher=University of Massachusetts Press |isbn=0-87023-334-3}}
* {{cite book|last=Davis|first=Angela Y.|year=1998|title=Blues Legacies and Black Feminism|publisher=Pantheon|isbn=0-679-45005-X|url=https://archive.org/details/blueslegaciesbla00davi}}
==Further reading==
* ''Ma Rainey and the Classic Blues Singers'' by Derrick Stewart-Baxter (Stein and Day, 1970) {{ISBN|978-0812813210}}
==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160129145143/http://maraineyinternationalbluesfestival.com/index.php Ma Rainey Blues Festival official website]
* [http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-876&sug=y Gertrude "Ma" Rainey] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110606213940/http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-876&sug=y |date=June 6, 2011 }} at the [[New Georgia Encyclopedia]]
* {{discogs artist|Ma Rainey|Ma Rainey}}
* {{allmusicguide|id=ma-rainey-p43150}}
* {{IMDb name|1780434}}
* [https://syncopatedtimes.com/ma-rainey-1886-1939/ Ma Rainey (1886-1939)] at Red Hot Jazz Archive
* {{find a Grave|2477}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Ma Rainey
| list =
{{Georgia Women of Achievement}}
{{Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award}}
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}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rainey, Ma}}
[[Category:1886 births]]
[[Category:1939 deaths]]
[[Category:20th-century American LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:20th-century American women singers]]
[[Category:20th-century American singers]]
[[Category:Age controversies]]
[[Category:American blues singers]]
[[Category:American street performers]]
[[Category:American bisexual women]]
[[Category:American bisexual musicians]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American women singers]]
[[Category:Baptists from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:Bisexual women musicians]]
[[Category:Bisexual women singers]]
[[Category:Classic female blues singers]]
[[Category:African-American LGBTQ people]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from Georgia (U.S. state)]]
[[Category:LGBTQ people from Alabama]]
[[Category:Musicians from Columbus, Georgia]]
[[Category:Paramount Records artists]]
[[Category:People from Rome, Georgia]]
[[Category:American vaudeville performers]]
[[Category:American LGBTQ singers]]
[[Category:20th-century Baptists]]
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[[Category:LGBTQ women singers]]
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