Gertrude "Ma" Rainey is known as the Mother of the Blues. Although Ma Rainey was not the first Black woman to sing the Blues, she has been credited with its rise in popularity. She sang about loving women in the 1920s. Ma Rainey (April 26, 1886 - December 22, 1939) was one of the earliest known American professional blues singers and one of the first generation of such singers to record.

Even though she was married to Pa Rainey, Ma Rainey did nothing to hide her love of women. In 1928 she recorded "Prove it on Me Blues," which makes no secret of her relationships with women.


"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."

Ma and Pa Rainey mentored another famous bisexual Blues singer, Bessie Smith, known as The Empress of the Blues. Ma Rainey and Bessie Smith were close friends and possibly lovers. As a matter of fact, it was Bessie Smith who bailed Ma Rainey out of jail in 1925.

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