Born Gertrude Pridgett in Columbus, GA, in 1886, Ma Rainey is widely regarded as among the best of the early 20th-century blues singers. 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 performing together and traveled all over the South, both by themselves and as part of minstrel shows (Pa Rainey is reported to have met Bessie Smith while with the Rabb...
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