She first appeared on stage in Columbus in "A Bunch of Blackberries" at the age of 14. She then joined a traveling vaudeville troupe, the Rabbit Foot Minstrels. After hearing a blues song at a theater in St. Louis sung by a local girl in 1902, she started performing in a blues style. She claimed at that time that she was the one who coined the name "blues" for the style that she specialized in. Musicians and singers who had sang and played in the style said there were no such origins and that the blues had always been. A pioneer in the style, Bunk Johnson said that in the 1880s the blues had already been developed.
She married fellow vaudeville singer William 'Pa' Rainey in 1904, changing her name to Ma Rainey. The pair toured with the Rabbit Foot Minstrels as Rainey & Rainey, Assassinators of the Blues, singing a mix of blues and popular songs. In 1912, she took the young Bessie Smith into the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, trained her, and worked with her until Smith left in 1915.
Also known, though less discussed, is the fact that she was bisexual. Rainey never shied away from her feelings in her music, as is apparent in the lyrics of "Prove It On Me":
"Went out last night with a crowd of my friends,
They must have been women, 'cause I don't like no men.
Wear my clothes just like a fan, Talk to gals just like any old man
'Cause they say I do it, ain't nobody caught me, Sure got to prove it on me."
Rainey was outspoken on women's issues and a role model for future women entertainers who took control of their own careers.
Ma Rainey was already a veteran performer with decades of touring with African-American shows in the U.S. Southern States when she made her first recordings in 1923. Rainey signed with Paramount Records and, between 1923 and 1928, she recorded 100 songs, sometimes accompanied such jazz notables as Louis Armstrong, Kid Ory, Fletcher Henderson and others. Rainey was extremely popular among southern blacks in the 1920s, but the Great Depression and changing tastes ended her career by 1933, when she retired.
Rainey died of a heart attack in 1939.
The 1982 August Wilson play Ma Rainey's Black Bottom was based on her.
Broken Hearted Blues
Ma Rainey Lyrics
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Lord I wonder what is it worryin' me
If it ain't my regular, must be my used to be
I'm gonna buy me a pair of meat hounds to lead this lonesome trail
I'm gonna buy me a pair of meat hounds to lead this lonesome trail
If I don't find my good man I'll spend the rest of my life in jail
Good morning judge, Mama Rainey done raised sand
She killed everybody, Judge she even killed her man
In Ma Rainey's song Broken Hearted Blues, the lyrics suggest the emotional distress she is experiencing is so intense that it's difficult for her to identify its source. She wonders what's causing her worry and concludes that if it's not her usual apprehensions, it must be the pain of losing a man she once loved. The themes of heartbreak and loneliness are pervasive throughout the song. Rainey employs imagery of a lonesome trail and expresses her desperation to find her good man. She even contemplates getting meat hounds to aid her search.
The second verse contains implicit social commentary. Rainey appears to be critiquing the criminal justice system's mistreatment of Black people, specifically Black women. In this verse, Rainey addresses a judge, claiming she has caused trouble. However, the use of "Mama" in her introduction defies foundational structures of respectability politics, which strip Black women of their motherhood, their right to be seen as loving and nurturing beings. This transgression of societal norms is further emphasized in the lines "She killed everybody, Judge, she even killed her man," which is a possible reference to the abuse Black women faced in their relationships and the lack of recourse when they were driven to violence.
Line by Line Meaning
Lord I wonder what is it worryin' me
I'm not sure what's bothering me
If it ain't my regular, must be my used to be
If it's not my current problems, then it's my past that's bothering me
I'm gonna buy me a pair of meat hounds to lead this lonesome trail
I'll get some dogs to help me find my lost love
If I don't find my good man I'll spend the rest of my life in jail
If I don't find my partner, my life will be hopeless and lonely
Good morning judge, Mama Rainey done raised sand
Hello, judge. Ma Rainey has caused trouble
She killed everybody, Judge she even killed her man
Ma Rainey has committed murder, even killing her own partner.
Writer(s): MARC BOLAN
Contributed by Cameron T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.