Well I done learned that, and they gonna treat me the way I wanna be treated no matter how much it hurt them."). "That they put it in my hands, the estate, and trust me. In the 1980s, Ma was front and center in pop culture once again thanks to the Broadway staging of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, starring Theresa Merritt as the acclaimed singer (in the 2003 revival, Whoopi Goldberg portrayed Ma). The exploitation of Black artists was widely prominent at the time of Ma's popularity. By the age of 16, Bessie met Ma and started traveling with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, a touring variety show that played to rural populations of the South and Midwest, NPR reports. Viola Davis stars as the titular Ma Rainey alongside the late Chadwick Boseman (who some already speculate could win a posthumous Oscar for his performance as the band's trumpet player, Levee. Most recently, in 2017, the Rainey McCullers School of Arts in Columbus, Georgia was named after both Ma and novelist Carson McCullers. Does Height Really Matter in Relationships? A member of the First African Baptist Church, she began performing in black minstrel shows. Her legacy as an LGBTQ pioneer also continues to be celebrated. The True Story Of 'Mother Of The Blues' Ma Rainey, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. "All they want is my voice. We may earn commission from links on this page, but we only recommend products we back. (Photo: Netflix) The Black Panther star had been secretly battling colon cancer since 2016, and filmed Ma Rainey … Ma was still performing in the early 1930s, but after officially quitting show business in 1935, she returned to Columbus, Georgia to run two entertainment venues and participate in church activities. The real Ma Rainey came of age in Columbus, Georgia at the turn of the 20th century.She was born Gertrude Pridgett and gained her infamous stage name from marrying Will “Pa” Rainey… Her first husband was Will Rainey, to whom she was married for 10 years before they separated. To depict the Black experience throughout the 20th century, August penned a play for each decade — Ma Rainey's Black Bottom was set in the 1920s, The Piano Lesson was in the '30s, and Fences (both Denzel and Viola starred in the 2016 film version of the play) was in the '50s. She is known as the “Mother of the Blues”. Ma Rainey came to love the genre so much that she soon started performing blues songs. For much of the 1920s, Ma lived in Chicago and performed at house parties and concerts around the city while recording tracks for Paramount. Sadly the couple decided to part their ways after their relationship in 1916 after it started to seem toxic for each other. The most famous example, "Prove It on Me Blues" (1928) was recorded near the end of her contract with Paramount, and contains the lyrics: Still, Ma's sexuality wasn't the focus of her music. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom will stream on Netflix later this month. They just didn’t realize how … Why trust us? Inside The Royal Family's Secret Code-Word System, This Soda Tab Hack Will Give You More Closet Space, Diana's Chef Said 'The Crown' Got Things Wrong, The Sussexes' Royal Exit Was Harry's Idea, All The Pop Songs In Netflix's 'Bridgerton', William & Harry's Feud Was "Very Ugly" And Intense. That's good enough for me. ", "We know what the atmosphere is to be alive at this time," Taylour says, noting how it was illegal to be gay, and Black people didn't yet have the rights and protections they fought for in the Civil Rights Movement. Wait, Did 'The Masked Dancer' Reveal Cotton Candy? Here's what you need to know about the inspiration behind Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. 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