Another tradition of the blues emerged in February 1920 when the first African American woman, Mamie Smith, an ex-vaudeville and cabaret singer recorded “You Can’t Keep a Good Man Down,” and “This thing Called Love.” This started the era of the so-called Classic Blues and the popularity of many African American female singers. By the far major personalities throughout the decade were Gertrude ‘Ma’ Rainey and Bessie Smith. They clearly dominated the blues in the recording studio throughout the decade of the 1920s. We will be surveying several of them and other women in class.
Within a month of the release of this work, it sold more than 75,000 copies at a dollar a piece and continued to be highly successful for several months. Its original title was “Nervous Blues,” but the composer, Perry Bradford changed it to the current title. Featured in the recording was the celebrated pianist Willie “The Lion” Smith.
Lyrics by Andy Razaf, this song is a sad commentary on the state of race early in the century. Part of the text reflects the emotional turmoil, “I'm white...inside...but, that don't help my case. That's life...can't hide...what is in my face. How would it end...ain't got a friend. My only sin...is in my skin. What did I do...to be so black and blue.” We will explore the lyrics and the context of this and other songs in greater detail in class.
One of the great composers within the classic blues was Alberta Hunter. She was among the first African American women to record the blues. Her amazing life and recording legacy will be examined at some length.
Although this song was originally recorded in 1935, it was not released commercially until 1979, two years after Alberta Hunter had come out of retirement and was rediscovered by a later generation
In 1923, “Ma” Rainey and Bessie Smith entered the recording studio. By that time “Ma” Rainey was already known as the “Mother of the Blues.” In the black press, this blues titan was hailed as the “Songbird of the South,” “the Gold-Neck Woman of the Blues,” and the “Paramount Wildcat,” a reference to the record company which signed her to a contract. Her first recording was made in December, 1923 in Chicago and by then she was already in her late thirties. The songs which follow are several of her classics. Of particular note is the final selection, “’Ma’ Rainey’s Black Bottom” which was a play on words, but the black bottom was an actual dance of the era.
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If “Ma” Rainey was the mother of the blues, Bessie Smith was clearly the “Empress” which is how she came to be known and hailed. In her first musical outing in the recording studio, she recorded Alberta Hunter’s “Downhearted Blues” which quickly sold more than 800,000 copies. After being rejected by several record companies, she was signed in 1923 by Columbia Recording Company. Over the next ten years she became one of their most successful artist and highest revenue earners. During that time she recorded a total of 180 songs for the label. Bessie Smith’s recorded legacy ranges from comic songs with double entendre to 12-bar blues works. In 1929, she made a 17 minute short of W.C. Handy’s St. Louis Blues, which also featured the actor Jimmie Mordecai. This is the only extant footage that exists of Bessie Smith. The last selection from the following group, “Gimme a Pigfoot” was recorded in 1933 in a Swing style. The recording featured Benny Goodman playing clarinet.
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Often referred to as the last of the great blues queens, Beulah Sippie Wallace was known as the “Texas Nightingale.” She grew up a religious family in Houston where her father was Baptist preacher. Her older brother, George Thomas was an eminent pianist and song writer and was Sippie’s first teacher. After several tragedies in the 1930s, she retired from singing the blues and devoted her herself to singing religious music. She was brought back to the popular arena by the award-winning singer Bonnie Raitt and remained musically active until her death in 1986.
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