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Gertrude Pridgett or better recognized as Gertrude “Ma” Rainey was one of the many famous women blues singers. She was called “Mother of the Blue’s since she was the first true blues singer and one of the female singers that performed the blues in minstrel and vaudeville shows. She was the first female to record the blues professionally when she signed a recording contract with Paramount in 1923. Between the years 1923 and 1928 she recorded 100 songs on Paramount records. In 1983, Gertrude Rainy was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Blue Hall of Fame.
Bessie Smith was another one of the famous blues singers of the 1920s and 30s and was called the “Empress of the Blues.” She began her professional career in the year 1912 when she joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels led by Gertrude “Ma” Rainey. Before long she signed with Columbia’s records and had major hits called Down Hearted Blues and Gulf Coast Blues. She went on to record more then 150 songs. Some were so popular that as many as 150,000 copies sold in a week. Her broad expressive range was only one of her many qualities that made her an outstanding blues singer.
A popular blues singer in the 1920s was Ida Cox. She was only 14 when she joined traveling vaudeville shows. Ida began a recording contract in 1923 with Paramount. Her first blues recordings were called “Graveyard Dream Blues” and Weary Way Blues.” She wrote many of her own songs. She often recorded songs for Paramount with her Blues pianist husband Jesse Crump. Some of the songs she performed with her husband were Bone Orchard Blues, Black Crepe Blues and Worn Down Daddy.
Alberta Hunter was one the famous women blues singers. Her career flourished in the 1920s and 30s. She was a songwriter as well as a blues singer. She wrote Downhearted Blues in 1923 for Bessie Smith and it was a big hit. Alberta also appeared in New York and London clubs and on stage in musicals. Her recording career began in New York in 1921 where she recorded for the Black Swan Label. In 1922 she started to record with Paramount. In 1927 she went to Europe where she sang in musical revues. She became famous there and stayed for many years. In 1956 she retired from singing and became a nurse. She resumed her singing career in 1977.
Ethel Waters was also one of the famous women blues singers. At seventeen, Ethel was discovered by Braxton and Nugent when they heard her sing at the apartments where she was employed. They paid her $10.00 a week to work in their vaudeville unit. She had a low and clear voice and audiences felt her emotions when she sang. Between 1921 and 1924 she recorded songs for the Black Swan label. She was signed on with Columbia records in 1925. The type of voice she had gave her the ability to sing many different types of music including jazz. She also became a dramatic actress.