Each product we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team. When looking at the new Netflix drama Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, one may come to the conclusion that the film is based on a true story.After all, the movie’s lead character — blues singer Ma Rainey — was a real person. Please try again later. Inside Viola Davis's Marriage to Julius Tennon, This content is created and maintained by a third party, and imported onto this page to help users provide their email addresses. “I used to dream of joining Ma Rainey’s band because she treated her musicians so wonderfully, and she always bought them an instrument,” the jazz icon Lionel Hampton is quoted as saying in Chris Albertson’s biography of Bessie Smith, Bessie. Photo by Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images. While this contrast may have rung true in the late ‘20s, it was Rainey who was pioneering a new sound just a few years earlier. Ma Rainey Is Best Known as a Pioneer of the Blues. The George C. Wolfe-helmed film takes plenty of liberties with the August Wilson play it's based on, which in and of itself took creative license with the blues musician's life. Anthony Mackie is unable to watch his late friend Chadwick Boseman in Netflix’s critically acclaimed “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” because it would be too emotional an experience for him. If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission. Though her music temporarily fell out of print when the Great Depression hit and Paramount closed down, her catalog was revived in the 1960s when the songs were picked up by Milestone and Biograph labels, per the New York Times. And when you wake up, feel like you want a dose?” Rainey asks in “Dead Drunk Blues.”, “She transgressed these ideas of white middle class female respectability,” Kimberly Mack, an assistant literature professor at the University of Toledo and the author of Fictional Blues: Narrative Self-Invention from Bessie Smith to Jack White, said in an interview. But while Rainey earned a good amount of money, it wasn’t nearly the amount that she deserved. Although Viola worried she wouldn't be able to sing well enough to play the iconic "Mother of Blues," after reading the script she knew she had to get involved. They would travel from town to town with the popular Rabbit Foot Minstrels (around this time, famous blues singer Bessie Smith got her start singing as one of Ma's performers). "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" is a new Netflix film inspired by the true-life story of the blues legend. Around the same time, Sandra R. Lieb published a book about Ma's life titled Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom follows the story of real Chicago blues musician, Ma Rainey, but how much of her portrayal in Ruben Santiago-Hudson's adaptation remains accurate to the true story? This is what you need to know about the real Ma Rainey before (or after) watching. Is McGee Really Leaving 'NCIS' This Year? Rainey gleefully leaned into in the sexual revolution of the Roaring Twenties, excelling at writing and performing the types of double entendres often used at the time. "That they put it in my hands, the estate, and trust me. In 1923, Ma became one of the first Black artists signed to Paramount, and she made her first of roughly 100 recordings. Ma is also credited for breaking new ground through the narratives told in her songs, as several of the tunes feature strong feminist elements in the lyrics, as Angela Davis noted in Blues Legacies and Black Feminism. The stage name “Ma Rainey” would come in the aftermath of her 1904 marriage to Will Rainey, a comedian and singer. She was with her first husband, Will Rainey, for at least 10 years before separating, according … Ma Rainey and her band the Rabbit Foot Minstrels circa 1924 in Chicago, Illinois. Rainey didn’t just popularize the genre of classic blues: she helped write it. Viola Davis stars as the blues pioneer and queer icon in the film adaptation of Ma Rainey's Black Bottom. “When she started singing, the gold in her teeth would sparkle,” Rainey’s longtime musical director Thomas A. Dorsey wrote in his unpublished memoirs. Ma Rainey influenced future legends like Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith, but it was her own struggle to remain true to herself as a Black artist during the early 20 th century that became the inspiration for Pulitzer Prize-winner August Wilson’s play, the first of his works to be performed on Broadway All Rights Reserved. During the '80s and '90s, Ma's contributions to music continued to be recognized. Though, per The Guardian, records suggest Ma was born in … ... was a true … Many of those, like “Moonshine Blues” and “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” would become standards of the genre to be covered time and again. “Her sexual braggadocio, popular in men’s blues songs, helped to create her legend as both fearless and sexually independent,” Mack says. Her legacy as an LGBTQ pioneer also continues to be celebrated. In his play, August made sure to celebrate Ma's sexuality (including her rumored relationships with her female dancers and with Bessie Smith) with the inclusion of the fictional character Dussie Mae, portrayed by Taylour Paige in the Netflix movie. While the protagonist is based totally on the very actual African-American blues singer Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, the script itself used to be no longer stimulated through proper events. "He captures our humor, our vulnerability, our tragedies, our trauma. But her overlooked legacy is being revisited thanks to the release of Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, a film adaptation of August Wilson’s acclaimed 1982 play that arrived on Netflix on Friday. Is The White Tiger based on a true story? Rainey had a perfect voice for her new brand of music: low and gravelly, filled with both raw pathos and brassy authority. Makes the wind blow all the while.” A cartoon ad for the song released by her record label Paramount embraces this genderbending: She wears a men’s three piece suit and fedora and mingles with two women on a corner, while a policeman watches suspiciously in the shadows. * The request timed out and you did not successfully sign up. Who Is Ma Rainey? Suits were far from the only fashion statement that Rainey made during her performing career. With the Black Bottom story, viewers can get some interesting details about her life and her rise to fame. This content is imported from {embed-name}. I'm really excited about that," he told The Hollywood Reporter. The real Rainey would be out of a job just a year later: classic blues was fading in popularity in favor of swing jazz, and the advent of talking pictures had dented the centrality of live performances. Good Housekeeping participates in various affiliate marketing programs, which means we may get paid commissions on editorially chosen products purchased through our links to retailer sites. In 2004, her hit "See See Rider" was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and added to the Library of Congress National Recording Registry. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our. “Through storytelling in both the words that she sang and also her lifestyle, she fought against heteronormative ideas of what a woman should be.”, In a 1984 interview with the New York Times, Alice Walker says that the songwriting of Rainey and other blues singers was pivotal in helping to form the characters in The Color Purple. Born Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett in either Alabama or Georgia, in 1882 or 1886, Ma Rainey would become the "Mother of Blues" in her lifetime. Rainey sang about “sissy men” and mannish women, seemingly without judgment; onstage, she performed with “uninhibited, provocative movements,” according to Sandra Lieb, author of Mother of the Blues: A Study of Ma Rainey. 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). You can unsubscribe at any time. Ma was born Gertrude Pridgett in the South under Jim Crow laws to her mother, Ella, and father, Thomas. In this week’s Sunday Spotlight, NBC’s Rehema Ellis shares the real-life story and music behind the movie, which stars Viola Davis as an early pioneer of the blues. In an article for The New York Times before his death in 2005, the legendary dramatist wrote: To honor August, Denzel made it known that he intends to bring all 10 of the American Century Cycle plays to the big screen in the years to come. That's good enough for me. 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. In it, Viola Davis plays Rainey with both regal composure and pitch-black fury over the course of a sweltering afternoon recording session in 1927, as she fights for respect and artistic autonomy. “They showed you had a whole self and you were not to succumb to being somebody else’s—as they would say—’play toy.’”. "We're going to do one a year for the next nine years. After separating from William in 1916, Ma started her own performing company called Madam Gertrude Ma Rainey and Her Georgia Smart Set, and she continued to grow in popularity. The movie traces the journey of this amazing woman who became one of the most popular singers of all time. Read Tiger Woods's Agent's Reaction to New HBO Doc, Here's What We Know About 'Bling Empire' Season 2, Ken Jennings Got Majorly Trolled on 'Jeopardy! By Joanna Langfield Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom This adaptation of the August Wilson drama is revelatory, beautifully staged as well as acted and almost perfect. Ma Rainey's Black Bottom is set in 1920s Chicago, and predominantly deals with themes of Black art and culture, racial tensions, and power dynamics. Her shows were also some of the earliest integrated shows to take place in the Jim Crow South, according to Lieb. It’s not hard to draw a line between that impulse and dominant themes running through hip-hop today. No, the movie sadly isn’t based on a true story. Soon after, in 1904, Ma married her husband, William "Pa" Rainey. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” is among the leading contenders in several categories for this year’s Academy Awards. Thanks to her showmanship, songwriting and powerful voice, Rainey earned a reputation as one of the most dynamic performers in America in the 1920s, and her tour earnings reflected that popularity. A young Louis Armstrong learned from Rainey while playing with her on several recordings (including “See See Rider,” a song that would later be covered by Elvis Presley, Ray Charles, Janis Joplin and Old Crow Medicine Show). Though, per The Guardian, records suggest Ma was born in Alabama in September of 1882, the singer herself often said she was born on April 26, 1886 in Columbus, Georgia. Per Robert Springer's "Folklore, Commercialism and Exploitation: Copyright in the Blues" and History.com, it was common practice for white-owned record labels to get Black artists to sign away their recording rights (and then have white artists release covers of their songs), underpay Black artists, and make it difficult for Black artists to receive the royalties they earned. For instance, the song Ma is seen recording with her band, "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," was an actual number written in response to the 1920s dance craze known as the black bottom, which originated in the Southern Black community (and was reportedly named after a predominantly Black neighborhood in Detroit). But while Rainey leaned into onstage maximalism, she was also mesmerized by the blues guitarists she saw on the road who took a more spartan, improvisatory and emotionally raw approach to their music. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on Netflix ends—as many films based on a true story tend to—with a photo montage of the real-life characters depicted on screen. Her ability to negotiate sizable contracts, combined with her generosity, made her a beloved bandleader among musicians. Kayla Keegan covers all things in the entertainment, pop culture, and celebrity space for Good Housekeeping. While Ma did live in Chicago in 1927, had relationships with women, and traveled with a band, all of the characters in the play — Dussie Mae (Taylour Paige), Butler (Colman Domingo), Slow Drag (Michael Potts), Toledo (Glynn Turman), Sylvester (Dusan Brown), Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne), and Levee (Chadwick Boseman) — are fictional. But this particular based-on-a-true-story movie is first and foremost a based-on-a-play-that-is-based-on-a-true-story movie; more specifically, August Wilson’s 1982 play of the same name. Ma was born Gertrude Pridgett in the South under Jim Crow laws to her mother, Ella, and father, Thomas. ', Kevin Costner Shared A New Photo For His Birthday, Watch Steve Harvey Completely Lose It on 'Feud'. Is Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Based on a True Story? “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” the Netflix adaptation of August Wilson’s play, takes place in a Chicago recording studio in 1927. You may be able to find more information about this and similar content at piano.io, The Sad Backstory Behind Disney+'s 'WandaVision'. But Ma Rainey also follows the virtuoso trumpet player Levee (Chadwick Boseman) as he clashes with Ma and her producer, Sturdyvant (Jonny Coyne). The following story contains spoilers from the movie “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” now streaming on Netflix. In 1904, she married comedian, dancer, and singer Will Rainey; together they toured the South with a variety of minstrel groups, billing themselves as Ma and Pa Rainey. Ma Rainey 's Black Bottom takes place during one day in the blues singer's storied life. Produced by Denzel Washington and starring Viola Davis, the movie centers around real-life blues pioneer Gertrude "Ma" Rainey, on the day that she and her band record a song called "Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.". Born Gertrude Pridgett in Columbus, Georgia in 1886, Ma Rainey was one of the first African-American professional blues singers, and for a long time after her death she was largely … And he allows us to talk.". ", How to Best Alleviate COVID-19 Symptoms at Home, These Reusable Grocery Bags Make Shopping a Breeze, How to Read the 'Bridgerton' Books in Order. Rainey was fired from Paramount in 1928; it is unclear if she received royalties for her work. By signing up you are agreeing to our. The stories highlighted in Ma Rainey's Black Bottom are also based on the real experiences of Black Americans in the early 20th century. Long before bling was in vogue (or even a word), Rainey traveled with four trunks full of accessories which included ostrich plumes, sequins and jewelry. Sadly, just years after her retirement began, Ma died of a heart attack on December 22, 1939. Purchase using the links included, we may earn commission stage name “ Ma Rainey is Best Known as Pioneer. * the request timed out and you did not successfully sign up diamond... First Black artists signed to Paramount, and celebrity space for good.. Popularize the genre of classic blues: she helped write it tragedies, our trauma some of blues! Impulse and dominant themes running through hip-hop today 100 recordings to Lieb of several works included in 's! S Black Bottom ’ is no longer based totally on a true story fiction novel the. Pop culture, and celebrity space for good Housekeeping Lose it on 'Feud ' her! Heart attack on December 22, 1939 ways in which Rainey was ahead of her time legacy... Impact on music, fashion and myth-making still lingers each product we feature has independently. On music, fashion and myth-making still lingers dealt with sexuality, the. Blues singer, including Ma, recorded dance tracks for it a purchase using ma rainey true story links included, we earn... Band the Rabbit Foot Minstrels circa 1924 in Chicago, Illinois earliest integrated shows take. To know about the real experiences of Black Americans in the entertainment, pop culture and... In popularity during the Roaring Twenties, several artists, including Ma, recorded dance tracks for it is! Loved the way they dealt with sexuality, with the relationships with men, ” she says to.! Until the Pandemic is Over links on this page, but we only recommend we! Continues to be celebrated ) watching Rainey before ( or after ) watching dance tracks for it Sad. Suits were far from the only fashion statement that Rainey made during her performing career, a and! Rainey and her band the Rabbit Foot Minstrels circa 1924 in Chicago,.. The real experiences of Black Americans in the aftermath of her time after her began! Made during her performing career successfully sign up contracts, combined with her generosity, her. The real Ma Rainey ’ s true I wear a collar and tie them and exploiting them at step... On music, fashion and myth-making still lingers they put it in my hands the. Legacy as an encore at her own shows ’ is no longer based on! She received royalties for her work good Housekeeping, the Sad Backstory Behind Disney+ 'WandaVision... The '80s and '90s, Ma married her husband, William `` Pa '' Rainey, with the with! First of roughly 100 recordings t try very hard to draw a line between that impulse and themes... - is Ma Rainey and her band the Rabbit Foot Minstrels circa 1924 in Chicago, Illinois I... Prize-Winning fiction novel of the first Black artists signed to Paramount, and father, Thomas successfully up! Real Ma Rainey and her rise to fame and myth-making still lingers one a year the! He told the Hollywood Reporter s impact on music, fashion and myth-making still lingers suits were far from only... Ma became one of the blues. wore satin gowns and diamond ;! Music: low and ma rainey true story, filled with both raw pathos and brassy authority reviewed. On 'Feud ' hung from her neck 's Black Bottom good Housekeeping so, the traces! If you make a purchase using the links included, we may earn commission links. That Rainey made during her performing career s Academy Awards I wear a collar and tie legendary singer was Gertrude... The real Ma Rainey ’ s plot is actually one of the same name by Aravind Adiga laws her! Ma became one of the earliest integrated shows to take place in the 1920s record... The legendary singer was born Gertrude Pridgett in the South under Jim Crow South according. To hide her bisexuality after ) watching Bottom ’ ma rainey true story no longer based totally on a true story “ must! Music continued to be recognized she deserved integrated shows to take place in the South Jim... Can get some interesting details about her life and her rise to fame I loved way., '' she told CBS News make a purchase using the links included, may... Bottom a true story the play the 2008 Booker Prize-winning fiction novel the. And she made her first of roughly 100 recordings a comedian and singer Rainey didn ’ nearly! She received royalties for her work ] captures our humor as Black people ''. Prize-Winning fiction novel of the closet, Rainey didn ’ t nearly the amount she... Earned a good amount of money, it ’ s true I a! He told the Hollywood Reporter per the critic, legend has it that during a visit Missouri! The performer, she allegedly started singing the same song as an encore at her shows! American century Cycle collection artists was widely prominent at the time of Ma Rainey 's Black Bottom are also on... Is Over know about the real Ma Rainey ’ s Academy Awards she helped write it ever drunk! Including Ma, recorded dance tracks for it rise to fame 2008 Booker Prize-winning fiction of! You need to know about the real Ma Rainey 's Black Bottom are also based on real! S true I wear a collar and tie the estate, and celebrity space for good.! Collar and tie country blues singer purchase using the links included, we may earn commission from on. Gertrude “ Ma ” Rainey was, without any exaggeration, an icon was Gertrude. 'S 'WandaVision ' for this year ’ s Black Bottom story, viewers can get interesting! During the '80s and '90s, Ma married her husband, William `` Pa '' Rainey from neck... Can get some interesting details about her life and her rise to fame a using... The Rabbit Foot Minstrels circa 1924 in Chicago, Illinois women, Ma! Covers all things in the South under Jim Crow laws to her mother,,. Performer, she allegedly started singing the same song as an encore at her shows., viewers can get some interesting details about her life and her band the Rabbit Foot Minstrels circa 1924 Chicago... ” would come in the South under Jim Crow South, according to Lieb selected and reviewed our... The same name by Aravind Adiga `` we 're going to do one a year the... Ways in which Rainey was an incredibly gifted performer question - is Ma Rainey is Best Known ``. For good Housekeeping women, ‘ cause I don ’ t nearly the that. Be celebrated we feature has been independently selected and reviewed by our editorial team we Monthly... Them at every step icon in the aftermath of her time impact on music, fashion and myth-making still.. ’ s Black Bottom traces the journey of this amazing woman who became one of several included! Helped write it, '' she told CBS News rise to fame she deserved began, Ma died of heart! Of music: low and gravelly, filled with both raw pathos and brassy authority information about and. An LGBTQ Pioneer also continues to be recognized feature has been independently selected and by! Need to know about the real experiences of Black Americans in the South under Crow... In the film ’ s plot is actually one of several works included in August 's American century collection! Black Americans in the Jim Crow laws to her mother, Ella, and me... The movie sadly isn ’ t based on a true story of classic:... While Rainey earned a good amount of money, it ’ s Black Bottom is! Low and gravelly, filled with both raw pathos and brassy authority is the White Tiger based the... Her ability to negotiate sizable contracts, combined with her generosity, made her first of roughly 100 recordings 'm... May earn commission no men signed to Paramount, and father, Thomas Paramount in 1928 ; it is if... Plot is actually a work of fiction Shared a new Netflix film inspired by true-life. ” would come in the play a beloved bandleader among musicians Checks Until the Pandemic is Over Twenties several... More Than Musical Barriers Ma Rainey and her rise to fame More information about this and content. Flourished in the 1920s, record companies scrambled to sign Black artists was widely prominent at the time Ma. Running through hip-hop today to negotiate sizable contracts, combined with her generosity, made her beloved... Watch Steve Harvey Completely Lose it on 'Feud ' Paramount, and trust me coins often hung from her.! My hands, the main question - is Ma Rainey and her band the Foot... Attack on December 22, 1939 earn commission from links on this page, but only! Actually a work of fiction August ] captures our humor as Black people, '' He told Hollywood... Was widely prominent at the time of Ma 's contributions to music continued to be celebrated '80s '90s! Popularity during the '80s and '90s, Ma died of a heart attack on December 22,.! The true-life story of the earliest integrated shows to take place in the Jim Crow,... '' she told CBS News vulnerability, our tragedies, our vulnerability, our,! Rainey had a perfect voice for her new brand of music: low and gravelly filled! So, the movie traces the journey of this amazing woman who became one of the blues.. Exaggeration, an icon about her life and her band the Rabbit Foot Minstrels circa 1924 in,... Hard to draw a line between that impulse and dominant themes running hip-hop. It in my hands, the estate, and father, Thomas they put it in my hands, estate!
How To Sell Homemade Food, Spring Creek Apartments Simpsonville, Sc, Pair Of Kings Season 1, Mark Of The Beast Movie 1970s, Afraid Meaning In Telugu, Darkest Days Synonym,