Jazz Articles about Johnny St. Cyr

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Ma Rainey: Mother of the Blues, The Complete Paramount Recordings, 1923-1928

by C. Michael Bailey
July 18, 2026

Many music writers and historians consider Gertrude “Ma" Rainey the matriarch of American blues. Beginning her career in the dust of Southern tent shows and minstrel circuits, she became one of the first professional entertainers to bridge the raw, rural folk traditions of the deep south with the theatrical polish of vaudeville. Known for her commanding contralto voice, gold-capped teeth, and openly bisexual lyrics--most famously in “Prove It On Me Blues"--Rainey did not just perform the blues; she codified them ...