Gertrude "Ma" Rainey
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@ New Georgia Encyclopedia
Description
Photograph of blues singer Ma Rainey with her band. From left to right: "Gabriel", Albert Wynn, Dave Nelson, Ma Rainey, Ed Pollack, Thomas A. Dorsey. The six musicians stand against a cloth backdrop. Rainey raises her right hand.Styled as the "Mother of the Blues," Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett Rainey, better known as "Ma" Rainey, was one of the most important of the early blues singers. In her thirty-five years of touring and recordings she made with Paramount, the Georgia native did much to establish the "classic" blues in American musical life.
Record Contributed By
New Georgia Encyclopedia
Record Harvested From
Digital Library of Georgia
