Various Artists
Hot Fingers - Johnson, Lonnie
Work Ox Blues - Alexander, Alger T
I m Busy and You Can t Come In - Weaver, Sylvester
Georgia Rag - Georgia Bill
When the War Was On - Johnson, Blind Will
Nobody s Fault But Mine - Johnson, Blind Will
How You Want It Done? - Broonzy, Big Bill
Getting Older Every Day - Broonzy, Big Bill
Guitar Swing - Weldon, Casey Bill
Bull Frog Moan - Johnson, Lonnie
Black Snake Moan - Jefferson, Blind Le
Little Brother Blues - White, Josh [1]
Prodigal Son - White, Josh [1]
Denver Blues - Tampa Red
I Love You, Mary Lou - Johnson, Lonnie
Ma Rainey
Check out this track! Ma Rainey’s ‘See See Rider Blues’, in which the primordial germ of rock ‘n’ roll lives.
Chicago blues
Heyday: 1950s and 1960s
Muddy Waters (Getty)
What is it:With US cities on the skids following the Great Depression, life was still tough. It’s no wonder the blues took a turn towards the dirt again. Unlike urban blues, this music was performed on the street and at so-called ‘rent parties’, where tenants would stage gigs to raise the money to pay their landlords. Though blossoming across the Midwest, the blues artists made Chicago the genre’s epicentre, and most of the most highfalutin’ names in US blues lived there. Their amplified, guitar-heavy vision of the blues set a template for popular music that’s still in action today.
Who Is Ma Rainey? How the Mother of the Blues Became an Icon Author: Latifah Muhammad Updated: 9:00 AM MST December 18, 2020
Ma Rainey’s title as the “mother of the blues” is an ode to her unremitted genius in transforming the genre despite a relatively short recording career. Now streaming on Netflix,
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, starring Viola Davis as the brazen blues legend and Chadwick Boseman in his final film role, has brought new attention to Rainey’s mystifying story.
Adapted from August Wilson’s Broadway play of the same name, the film explores an intense 1927 Chicago recording session between Rainey and her band members, with Davis delivering an unapologetic portrayal of the singer.