Tom Moon on Ma Rainey

"Ma Rainey comes through louder and clearer than any other blues singer of the 1920s. Though her recordings have the staticky veneer that plagues everything from the era, Rainey somehow pierces the noise. A veteran who'd been belting for more than twenty years before her voice was captured for posterity, she dispenses risqué notions and wronged-woman blues with wry and worldly inflections, a mixture of growls and shouts that just about everyone after her copied. Rainey (1886-1939) matters because she was among the first blues artists to develop more than a regional following: Through grueling roadwork as a part of circuses and minstrel shows, she and her husband … became well-known performers throughout the South. This made Ma Rainey a powerful influence: Bessie Smith, the so-called Queen of the Blues, heard (and openly imitated) Rainey. … Rainey is also significant because of the joy on display here. … Her tunes recorded between 1924 and 1928 are distinguished by a cheeky irreverence and great spirit. Her big voice bellowing, she … enjoys the double-entendre talk about her 'Black Bottom'—which, of course, is a dance" (1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, pp. 628-629).