Heroes Of The Blues: The Very Best Of Ma Rainey (CD)

One of the earliest blues singers, and one of the first to record, Georgia-born Ma Rainey pretty much created the template for vocal-oriented piano blues. She started making records towards the beginning of the recording era in the '20s, but she had in fact been performing since the first decade of the century. Rainey's style was more sophisticated than the Delta sound that dominated blues in the '30s. She was often accompanied by some of the finest early jazz musicians, including Louis Armstrong and Kid Ory, and her style owed as much to New Orleans jazz and ragtime as it did to what we think of as blues today. Hugely influential, she has been a key inspiration to generation upon generation of blues singers, both male and female.

• Category:  Music  »  Blues  »  Classic Female Blues
• Format: CD   Learn more about the CD format using Tower WIKI.
• Release Date: August 26, 2003
• Label: Shout! Factory
• UPC: 826663025224
• WAPI (Tower ID): 105948017
• Average Customer Review: There are no customer reviews yet. Be the first to write a review!
• Tower.com Sales Rank: #48722 in Music (See Top 100 Music Bestsellers)
• #1031 in Blues (See Top 100 Blues Bestsellers)
• #5 in Classic Female Blues (See Top 100 Classic Female Blues Bestsellers)

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Recorded between 1923 & 1928. Includes liner notes by Allen Lowe.

This is a part of Shout!'s Heroes Of The Blues series.

Along with Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey is the queen of female blues singers, and HEROES OF THE BLUES: THE VERY BEST OF MA RAINEY compiles 16 of her finest sides. Though the sound quality here is standard for the time period (the recordings were made between 1924 and 1928), Rainey's voice slices through the crackle of these vintage 78s. With her sly delivery, soulful tone, and jazzy embellishments, it is abundantly clear why Rainey was one of the most popular performers of her day, and why her name is still revered.

This collection features Rainey fronting various ensembles, including jug bands and small jazz combos, as well as performing with piano accompaniment. Included are several of the blues standards Rainey put on the map with her definitive versions, particularly "See See Ryder" and "Bo Weavil Blues." Rainey's narratives of hardship are delivered with a deep sense of pathos and wit, and combine with the music--which encompasses ragtime, "hot" jazz, and deep, smoldering blues--to create a listening experience as directly affecting as it must have been in the '20s.

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