United States, Georgia, 32.75042, -83.50018Orr, N. Lee, 1949-2003-05-09Encyclopedia article about Gertrude "Ma" Rainey. Styled as the "Mother of the Blues," Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett Rainey, better known as "Ma" Rainey, was one of the most important of the early blues singers. In her thirty-five years of touring and recordings she made with Paramount, the Georgia native did much to establish the "classic" blues in American musical life.text/htmlengForms part of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/Forms part of the New Georgia Encyclopedia.Rainey, Ma, 1886-1939Musicians--United StatesWomen musicians--United StatesAfrican American women musiciansSingers--United StatesWomen singers--United StatesAfrican American women singersGertrude "Ma" Rainey (1886-1939)Text