Black Eye Blues [Take] - Ma Rainey, Dorsey, Thomas A.
Ma Rainey's Black Bottom - Ma Rainey, Rainey, Gertrude
Booze and Blues - Ma Rainey, Suddoth, T. Guy
Blues Oh Blues - Ma Rainey, Rainey, Gertrude
Sleep Talking Blues [Take] - Ma Rainey, Rainey
Lucky Rock Blues - Ma Rainey, Public Domain [1]
Georgia Cake Walk - Ma Rainey, Mills
Don't Fish in My Sea - Ma Rainey, Rainey, Gertrude
Stack O' Lee Blues - Ma Rainey, Taylor
Shave 'Em Dry Blues - Ma Rainey, Rainey, Ma
Yonder Come the Blues [Take] - Ma Rainey, Rainey, Ma
Screech Owl Blues - Ma Rainey,
Farewell, Daddy Blues - Ma Rainey,
The classic blues belter had been singing for two decades before she ever put her voice on record, and it shows on these recordings from the mid- to late '20s. The archetypal blues shouter, Rainey had a voice whose depth a... more »nd strength is startling and sometimes alarming, even on these scratchy old recordings--one can only imagine what she must have sounded like in real life. Her backup musicians include such notables as pianist Fletcher Henderson, trombonist Charlie Green, guitarist Tampa Red, and trombonist Kid Ory, all performing fairly straightforward 12-bar blues. It's not the material here that's notable, so much as Rainey's voice, a voice that has informed the work of female blues singers ever since. --Genevieve Williams« less
The classic blues belter had been singing for two decades before she ever put her voice on record, and it shows on these recordings from the mid- to late '20s. The archetypal blues shouter, Rainey had a voice whose depth and strength is startling and sometimes alarming, even on these scratchy old recordings--one can only imagine what she must have sounded like in real life. Her backup musicians include such notables as pianist Fletcher Henderson, trombonist Charlie Green, guitarist Tampa Red, and trombonist Kid Ory, all performing fairly straightforward 12-bar blues. It's not the material here that's notable, so much as Rainey's voice, a voice that has informed the work of female blues singers ever since. --Genevieve Williams
CD Reviews
Hooray for Gertrude "Ma" Rainey's Black Bottom!!!
roarin20sGuy | 09/21/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Usually compilation CD's are not up to par, for collectors standards, however this is an excellent sampler of Gertrude "Ma" Rainey's finest sessions put out by surprisingly a US label Yazoo Records. Lovie Austin & Her Serenaders are featured here backing Rainey, as well as many other 20's jazz musicians. Ma Rainey was perhaphs the finest blues singer to emerge from the "blues craze" of the roarin' 20's. Rainey who was Bessie Smith's vocal coach, was singing the blues yaers before the 20's "blues craze," Rainey who was a popular vaudeville entertainer would always include blues numbers in her act long before, Mamie Smith started the 20's blues craze with "Crazy Blues." Rainey sings some blues and some popular jazz from the era like "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" and "The Georgia Cakewalk." There is also a dirty blues "Shave Em' Dry." Some other classics are "Oh Papa", "Blues Oh Blues" and "Don't Fish In My Sea" are essential. Every song on this CD is a classic, making this set essential for beginners as well as the collector who will want all the goodies on one CD. Heck I already have her complete chronological series on the European Ducument label and I still recommend this gem.Also if you already are a fan of Ma Rainey, go see a newer artist by the name of Big Mama Sue, who sings(and is very influenced by Ma Rainey) and plays washboard in the 20's blues and dixieland tradition, she's often at Dixieland Festivals, listen to her and find out where she's playing at Bigmamasue.com"
The cream of Ma Rainey's crop
Docendo Discimus | Vita scholae | 07/29/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Gertrude 'Ma' Rainey was billed by her record company as the "Mother of the Blues" (something which pleased her greatly), and although there was blues and blues singers even before her, she was certainly one of the genres most important trailblazers."Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is a fine collection of 14 of Ma Rainey's best songs recorded between 1924 and 1928. She was a powerful and expressive singer, and she is backed here by various brass- and/or string bands (Kid Ory, Coleman Hawkins and Tom Dorsey being credited among the musicians).The sound quality on these recordings, of which some are almost 80 years old, is surprisingly good, and among the highlights are "Shave 'Em Dry Blues", "Yonder Come The Blues" and the title track.
This is highly recommendable to anyone with an interest in early blues, or even jazz."
Ma Rainey Should Sing Forever
A. W. Bellais | Savannah, GA USA | 05/24/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Here is a hot CD! Ma Rainey is recaptured in all her richness. What a great listening experience, especially for those who love to hear the African American sound the way it was! No wonder August Wilson found such a wonderful tapestry on which to draw his play -- the music on this CD wants to be heard again and again."
The Mother of the Blues
Robin Friedman | Washington, D.C. United States | 11/01/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"This is raw, vulgar music filled with joy and passion. Gertrude "Ma" Rainey (1886 -- 1938)was born in Columbus, Georiga. As a teenager, she began signing in black tent and vaudeville shows. She cut a flamboyant figure with her outlandish entrances, fancy dresses, large hats, and gold teeth. But with her powerful, blues-filled voice Ma Rainey rose above all the hokum.
In 1923, Ma Rainey began making blues records. By that time, many other younger female vaudeville singers had already been recording to take advantage of the new craze for the blues. Blues recordings by male "country" singers, such as Charlie Paton, Son House, and Robert Johnson would come a bit later. The vaudeville blues women are closer to their country male counterparts than is sometimes realized.
Ma Rainey had been performing in obscurity in small Southern towns and in the ghettos of Northern cities for over 20 years. Ma Rainey recorded for Paramount under a black producer, and she cut over 100 sides between 1923 and 1929. Paramount used primitive recording technology even for the 1920s and many of Ma Rainey's recordings are full of scratches, hisses, and a distant tinny sound. Yet her voice, humanity, and music come through the shoddy recording technique.
With the revival of interest in the blues, there have been many reissues of Ma Rainey's recordings. This CD, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" remains one of the best for those listeners wanting an introduction to this singer of "classic" vaudeville blues. The CD consists of 14 songs recorded between 1924 and 1928. The tawdry, vaudeville character of the music is combined with singing of great force and with frequently inspired accompanists, ranging from pianist Georgia Tom Dorsey and guitarist Tampa Red to larger back-up combos that swing with Dixieland.
The CD's title song became the basis of a play by August Wilson which showed Ma Rainey and her musicians exploited by white record producers. (Rainey's producer was in fact black.) The song is a wonderful novelty of double-entendre sex,dance, and fun. Other songs in this compilation have less upbeat themes, as Ma Rainey sings of jails, lost loves, cheating, alcohol, voodoo, and the difficulty of black life in the early 20th Century. The songs are an admixture of joy and sadness, an attempt to make sorrowful themes better through music and laughter.
Each of the songs on this CD is worth hearing. Besides the title track, I particularly like "Farewell Daddy Blues" with its simple theme accompanied by two guitars. "Shave 'Em Dry Blues" was recorded at the same time (1924) with the same accompaniment. The lyrics are difficult to follow, but they are dirty in the extreme. This song became something of standard among the lady blues singers of the day. "Oh Papa Blues" and "Blues oh Blues" have flowing choruses; I can imagine Ma Rainey's audiences singing along and clapping their hands as Ma sang. In "Black Eye Blues", Ma Rainey sings of a cheating man and of revenge: "You low down alligator/just watch me sooner or later/ I'm going to catch you with your britches down." "Stack O'Lee Blues" is, of course, a song that has been recorded many times, before Ma Rainey and since.
For several years of my life when I was experiencing difficulty, I listened to a great deal of Ma Rainey and other blues singers, largely the ladies. Before and since these years, I listened mostly to classical music. I returned to this CD recently. After a short initial period of readjustment, I became captivated again by Ma Rainey. For all the vaudeville character of the material, Ma Rainey was a singer of great gifts and power. These songs deserve their place in American music. I was glad to hear them again.
Robin Friedman
"
"Ma" is the finest of the 20's blues shouters...
AARON | CALIFORNIA | 02/09/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Gertrude "Ma" Rainey was the finest of the blues shouters, she influenced Bessie Smith, Billie Holiday and countless others. Rainey has a highly appealing voice, which jazz and blues collectors should really enjoy. This CD compilation "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is a good place to start, it gives the listener a nice cross section of Rainey's blues, however the more serious collectors will want to get her complete series on the Document label."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1