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 Rabbit Foot Minstrels and later formed …

Often called the “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey was known for her deep-throated voice and mesmerizing stage presence that drew packed audiences and sold hit records in the early twentieth …

Nov 14, 2025 · Ma Rainey (born April 26, 1886, Columbus, Georgia, U.S.—died December 22, 1939, Columbus) was an American singer who was known as the “mother of the blues ” and who was …

May 9, 2003 · Styled as the “Mother of the Blues,” Gertrude 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 …

Gertrude Pridgett Rainey, better known as Ma Rainey (April 26, 1886 – December 22, 1939), was one of the earliest known professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record …

Nov 13, 2018 · Born Gertrude Pridgett, Ma Rainey (April 26, 1886 - December 22, 1939) was one of the first blues singers to record music. Nicknamed the “Mother of the Blues,” she recorded more than …

Known as the "Mother of the Blues," Rainey enjoyed mass popularity during the women blues singer craze of the 1920s.

Ma Rainey (1886–1939), known as the "Mother of the Blues,” was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers.

Born as "Gertrude" in Columbus, Georgia in 1886, the future "Mother of the Blues" began performing with her family’s minstrel show at 14. At 18 she married singer Will “Pa” Rainey – and by default …

She was born into a family of minstrel performers and first appeared onstage when she was 14, and at age 18 married William "Pa" Rainey, a noted song-and-dance man in minstrel shows. They began …