Heroes Of The Blues-The Very Best Of Ma RainyMa RaineyGenre: BluesDescription: EDITORIAL REVIEWS Ma Rainey isn't just a Hero of the Blues-she's the Mother of the Blues! And here are 16 key sides including Bo Weavil Blues; See See Ryder; Oh Papa; Jealous Hearted Blues; Yonder Comes the Blues; Don't Fish in My Sea; Hear Me Talkin' to You and more. ABOUT THE ARTIST Ma Rainey wasn't the first blues singer to make records but by all rights she probably should have been. In an era when women were the marquee names in blues Ma Rainey was once the most celebrated of all the Mother of the Blues had been singing the music for more than 20 years before she made her recording debut (Paramount 1923). With the advent of blues records she became even more influential immortalizing such songs as See See Rider Bo-Weavil Blues and Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. Like the other classic blues divas she had a repertoire of pop and minstrel songs as well as blues but she maintained a heavier tougher vocal delivery than the cabaret blues singers who followed. Ma Rainey's records featured her with jug bands guitar duos and bluesmen such as Tampa Red and Blind Blake in addition to the more customary horns-and-piano jazz-band accompaniment (occasionally including such luminaries as Louis Armstrong Kid Ory and Fletcher Henderson).
