Gertrude Pridgett Rainey was better known as Ma Rainey (Columbus Georgia, April 26, 1886- Columbus Georgia, December 22, 1939). She was one of the first professional blues singers to record and one of the most prominent. Her nickname was “The Mother of the Blues”. She was a major influence on the development and popularity of blues and was a key contributor to the careers of Bessie Smith and other young blues women. At the age of 14, she appeared on Columbus’ stage in “A Bunch of Blackberries”. The Rabbit Foot Minstrels, a vaudeville troupe that traveled throughout the country, was her next step. She began performing blues after hearing a St. Louis girl sing a blues song in 1902. At that time, she claimed that she was the one who invented the term “blues” to describe the type of music she performed. Blues musicians and performers who have performed and sang in the style claimed that there was no origin for it and that it had been around since the beginning. Bunk Johnson, a pioneer of the style, stated that the blues were already developed in the 1880s. In 1904 she married William ‘Pa’ Rainey, a vaudeville singer. She changed her name to Ma Rainey. They toured together as Rainey with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels.
