Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett Rainey, better known as Ma Rainey, was one of the earliest known professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record. She was billed as The Mother of the Blues. She did much to develop and popularize the form and was an important influence on younger blues women, such as Bessie Smith, and their careers. Born in Georgia or Alabama, there remains debate. Wikipedia
The definitive Wikipedia entry for Ma Rainey. Wikipedia is the biggest multilingual free-content encyclopedia on the Internet. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ma_Rainey
Gertrude "Ma" Rainey (1886-1939) 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. www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-876&...
Blues musician, with such songs as "Slave to the Blues," "Jelly Bean Blues," "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" , and "Bo Weevil Blues." She was inducted into the Rock 'n' Roll Hall of Fame in 1990. www.imdb.com/name/nm1780434/