Mother of the blues : a study of Ma Rainey / Sandra R. Lieb.
| Author/creator | Lieb, Sandra R. |
| Format | Book |
| Publication Info | [Amherst] : University of Massachusetts Press, 1981. |
| Description | xvii, 226 pages : illustrations ; 25 cm |
| Subjects |
| Contents | The paramount wildcat: an introduction to the life and times of Ma Rainey -- "Blame it on the Blues": Ma Rainey's style -- "Blues About a Man the Worst I've Ever Had": the themes of Ma Rainey's love songs -- That same please, that same pain: comic songs and songs of cynicism -- Discography -- Appendices. A. Classification of Ma Rainey's recordings ; B. "Goodbye Mama forever blues" ; C. Recordings cited. |
| Abstract | "Ma" Rainey (Gertrude Pridgett, 1886-1939) was America's first major woman blues singer. Recording star, songwriter, actress, dancer, and comedienne, she was one of the greatest blues artists of the 1920s, reaching a wide audience of both blacks and whites through her immensely successful recordings and stage performances. A central if long-overlooked figure in black culture, she was highly respected by her blues contemporaries and has had great influence on singers and musicians throughout the twentieth century. Although she wrote and performed all types of music, Rainey was a pioneer of the classic blues, a synthesis of country blues, black minstrelsy, and vaudeville performed almost exclusively by women. Despite some commercial influences, her recorded songs drew heavily on black folk culture for attitudes about men, women, and especially love, articulating a clearly female perspective and showing a stronger affinity to these folk traditions than the work of any other contemporary female blues artist of equal stature. This book provides the first substantive biographical study of Rainey, accurate transcriptions for seventy-four of her recorded song lyrics (verified by Library of Congress documents), an examination of her recording style, and a scholarly analysis of women's lives as reflected in blues lyrics. In addition to Rainey's love songs, which show women responding assertively to mistreatment by men, the author discusses her songs of comedy and cynicism, which place the women narrators in broader social and communal environments. |
| General note | Includes indexes. |
| Bibliography note | Includes bibliography and discography. |
| Biographical note | Sandra R. Lieb was assistant Professor of Literature and Popular Culture at the University of Illinois at Chicago Circle. She received a B.A. from the University of Michigan and a Ph.D. from Stanford University. She was co-founder of and music consultant for Maxwell Street Blues, a documentary film about Chicago blues musicians. |
| LCCN | 81001168 |
| ISBN | 0870233343 : |
Availability
| Library | Location | Call Number | Status | Item Actions |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Music | Closed Stacks - Ask at Circulation Desk | ML420.R274 L5 | ✔ Available | Place Hold |