THE BIRTH OF THE BLUES (PART 1) MA RAINEY & THE ONES WHO CAME FIRST
1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories & Mysteries Podcast
Jon Hagadorn
4.5 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 11 May 2025
⏱️ 55 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Thank you for joining us on this episode of 1001 Heroes. Please leave a review for this show and let Jon know you are enjoying stories of this kind. Let him know, what is your favorite blues artist or song? For now we leave you with Ma Rainey.
See 'The Birth of the lues' at our website (www.bestof1001stories.com) for full transcript
To the reviewer who low scored us for "poor research": please see "Resources" below- then pound sand trying to listen to the the birth of the blues with the BOOK you recommended. For those of you who appreciate the efforts it took to do this Blues special please kindly let us know-Thanks!
[MUSIC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nl2CpegOuXY Black Bottom, Ma Rainey]
Resources Used:
https://www.britannica.com/art/blues-music
https://publicdomain4u.com
Ted Lewis Jazz Band, W. C Handy, and Ted Lewis. The Memphis blues. 1923. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-669804/
Ted Lewis Jazz Band, W. C Handy, and Ted Lewis. St. Louis blues. 1922. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-669595
https://jfderry.wordpress.com/2015/08/18/charlie-patton-1891-1934-father-of-the-blues-part-2/
https://visitmississippi.org/experiences/the-history-of-mississippi-delta-blues-music/
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ma-rainey-mn0000237213/biography
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/ma-rainey-about/14074/
https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197432/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104187.Bessie: A comprehensive biography detailing Bessie Smith's life and career.
Resources Used: pt 1,2
https://www.britannica.com/art/blues-music
https://publicdomain4u.com
Ted Lewis Jazz Band, W. C Handy, and Ted Lewis. The Memphis blues. 1923. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-669804/
Ted Lewis Jazz Band, W. C Handy, and Ted Lewis. St. Louis blues. 1922. Audio. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, www.loc.gov/item/jukebox-669595
https://jfderry.wordpress.com/2015/08/18/charlie-patton-1891-1934-father-of-the-blues-part-2/
https://visitmississippi.org/experiences/the-history-of-mississippi-delta-blues-music/
https://www.allmusic.com/artist/ma-rainey-mn0000237213/biography
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/ma-rainey-about/14074/
https://www.loc.gov/item/ihas.200197432/
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/104187.Bessie: A comprehensive biography detailing Bessie Smith's life and career.
https://www.pbs.org/wnet/americanmasters/bessie-smith-about-the-empress-of-the-blues/724/: An informative documentary exploring her impact on the music world.
https://www.womenshistory.org/education-resources/biographies/bessie-smith: A detailed biography highlighting her contributions to music and culture.
https://www.biography.com/musician/wc-handy
[Library of Congress's collection](https://www.loc.gov/collections/w- c-handy-papers/about-this-collection/)
Explore B.B. King's discography: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bb-king-mn0000059156/discography
Listen to B.B. King and Eric Clapton's "Riding with the King": https://www.jamendo.com/track/riding-with-the-king
Discover more about B.B. King's honors: https://rockhall.com/inductees/bb-king
B.B. King's Official Website: https://www.bbking.com
AllMusic Biography: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/bb-king-mn0000059156/biography
For more information on the blues and its history, visit https://www.deltabluesmuseum.org
https://blues.org
https://folkways.si.edu/blues
https://www.memphisrocknsoul.org
https://mohistory.org/
https://stlouisbluessociety.org/
https://www.chicago.gov/city/en/depts/dca/supp_info/chicago_blues_festival.html is a must-visit for blues enthusiasts.
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/1217091.Sammy_Davis_Jr_
[Ma Rainey's Black Bottom](https://www.imdb.com/title
https://classicsdujour.com/classic-rock-hits-that-are-actually-blues-songs/
https://www.robertjohnsonbluesfoundation.org/
https://www.pbs.org/robertjohnson/notebooks/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/americanexperience/features/blues-paramount-records/ - A comprehensive history of Paramount Records, the label that recorded some of Willie Brown's notable tracks.
https://www.smithsonianmag.com/arts-culture/robert-johnson-the-search-for-the-man-behind-the-myth-116078151/
Transcript
Click on a timestamp to play from that location
| 0:00.0 | I worry all day, I worry all night. |
| 0:16.6 | Every time my man comes home, he wants to fuss and find. |
| 0:21.7 | When I picked up the paper to read the news, |
| 0:27.9 | just when I'm satisfied the younger on the moon. |
| 0:41.4 | That strong, deep contralto is the voice of Ma Rainey. |
| 0:47.4 | What we can't show you on this podcast is her powerful stage presence, described as thunderous and commanding, that also contributed to her signature sound. |
| 0:51.8 | She was known for singing with a moaning style and for her emotive, authentic |
| 0:55.8 | delivery of blues music. She didn't need elaborate music playing with her. The weight of the |
| 1:01.0 | lyrics and her voice was all that was needed to enrapture audiences wherever she went. |
| 1:06.0 | Hi everyone, this is John Haggardorne, host of 1001 Heroes, Legends, Histories, and Mysteries |
| 1:12.7 | podcast. |
| 1:13.9 | I became very interested in this story a few months ago, and I handed it off to Giselle |
| 1:19.5 | Erickson and said, Giselle, a lot of early blues songs just went into the public domain, |
| 1:24.7 | and I'd really love to have you help tell the story of how the blues began, |
| 1:28.7 | the birth of the blues. Will you do it? And she said, I'd love to do it. So I hand her to the |
| 1:34.2 | whole project, Voice 2, but wouldn't you know, the deadline came close. She had gotten one of those |
| 1:40.0 | colds that go straight to your voice box and she wasn't able to do it. But I want to give |
| 1:44.2 | her intro, because we owe this one to her. And this will go down as a 1001 Heroes Confidential |
| 1:49.7 | by Giselle Erickson. Hi there, I'm Giselle Erickson, a huge fan of the 1001 Stories podcast network. |
| 1:57.1 | You may have heard my voice on a few projects, as I've been assisting John with a bit of research, |
| 2:01.8 | writing, editing, and voiceover work. |
| 2:04.6 | You can check out my latest episodes at 1001 Heroes Confidential, where I pulled together the facts |
... |
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