American Society and its Music

Student Name
Professor Name
Course
Date
American Society and Its Music
Ma Rainey Biography
Not many artists can be labeled the “Mother of the Blues,” a title that Ma Rainey held during a blues career. She was renowned for her deep-throated voice and mesmeric stage presence that saw her perform to packed audiences and sold hit records. This essay will present a biography of Ma Rainey, which outlines her early life, education, career, and achievements.
Ma Rainey’s birth name was Gertrude Pridgett. She was born on April 26, 1886, and died on December 22, 1939 (Nittle). However, some records indicate that she was born on September 1882 in Russel County, Alabama, and not 1886 in Columbus, Ga. She was the second child born to Thomas and Ella Pridgett, minstrel show performers. Other details of her early years are missing up to when she started her performing career. Ma Rainey displayed a singing talent at a young age, and her career began when she was still a teenager. Her debut was the Bunch of Blackberries revue at the Springer Opera House, Columbus (Brandman). M Rainey then started singing with traveling vaudeville acts in honky-tonks, carnivals, and tent shows.
During her travels and performance circuits, Ma Rainey met a comedian, dancer, and singer named Will “Pa” Rainey. The two got married in 1904. Additionally, they performed a double act dubbed “Ma and Pa Rainey” and toured multiple African-American vaudeville and minstrel groups. The couple separated about a dozen years after their marriage, after which Ma Rainey created a show called Madame Gertrude Ma Rainey and Her Georgia Smart Set (Brandman). Ma Rainey is considered the “Mother of Blues,” as she was influential in bridging authentic Southern blues with the traditions of vaudeville. The blues are regarded as descendants of call-and-response songs emanating from West Africa. This tradition was passed down from the captive Africans to the enslaved generations in the Western Hemisphere. In other words, the blues combined the African-American spirituals with certain customs of the African musical (Nittle). Ma Rainey enjoyed continued musical success into the 1910s.
It is also important to summarize a few of Ma Rainey’s successes, especially with Paramount Records. She cut several songs in 1923 with this producer, including such hits as Bo-Weavil Blues, Bad Luck Blues, Those All Night Long Blues, and Moonshine Blues. Ma Rainey was quite prolific as she recorded over 100 blues tracks, the most popular being Dead Drunk Blues (Nittle). Her success in the South led her to begin a tour of the North, where she performed with several talented musicians, including Louis Armstrong. Her career started to slow down around 1928 as her type of blues began to get out f fashion.
Even with her success, it is prudent to highlight a few of her life challenges. These include exploitative working conditions of the early decades of the 20th century from the Theatre Owners Booking Association (TOBA) (Brandman). She also had to hide her sexual orientation until she discussed it later in life towards the end of her career. Despite the challenges, Ma Rainey’s contributions and impacts will remain significant. This includes her contributions to Black literature and drama. Poets and singers have also made references to her, which further highlights her influence. Among the honors she received include a postage stamp by the US Postal Service issued in her honor. She also got inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Hall of Fame and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Joan Baez’s Impact on Folk Music
Joan Baez has been labeled the ‘queen of folk’ due to her immense impact on folk music. As a singer and political activist, Baez has been singing protest songs and was among the prominent figures leading to the rebirth of folk music in the 1960s. This essay will explore the impact that Baez had on folk music. This will include highlighting the history of folk music and the developments that came about due to Baez’s efforts.
Folk music is a genre that comprises traditional folk music and the contemporary genre that rose from the former during the fork revival of the 20th century. Therefore, all folk artists who participated in the revival positively impacted the rebirth of folk music. Baez was among the most prominent artists in the resurrection. Most importantly, Baez remained faithful to the nature of folk music in raising societal issues (Ingraham). In many cases, she raised the same societal problems that traditional folk songs raise. Therefore, her first impact can be described as giving new life to folk music. In this case, it can be argued that the essence of folk music is to raise voices on specific problems, including those associated with self-consciousness. This means that social causes and folk music remain intertwined. This is a culture that has been maintained and propagated by Baez.
However, it can be argued that her impact was not confined to the same issues of traditional folk music. The rationale is that her recent efforts have included political criticisms of the recent government administrations. Examples include the Nasty Man on YouTube, an anti-Trump performance seeking to criticize President Trump (Kellaway). Therefore, contemporary folk music has risen through Baez’s efforts and adherence to the core mission of folk music.
Besides her own career in folk music, Baez has facilitated the success of other prominent artists. This further contributed to the revival of folk music, especially since artists mentored by Baez also became folk music icons. As a leading performer in the early 1960s folk rebirth, Baez facilitated the success of such artists as Bob Dylan by introducing him to her audience. Imitation is a crucial feature of folk music. Dylan did not have many abilities as an imitator, which means that he often relied on others (Haddon 250). Baez seemed to have been a firm foundation for Dylan’s impersonations. As a result, the rise of Dylan is tied to the fame and success of Baez.
Lastly, Baez plays a critical role in redefining the purpose of folk music. This sentiment emanates from the fact that her performances were entwined with her activism. As an activist, she remains a force on the civil rights and anti-war platforms. She has lent her talents to several civil rights organizations, including the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) (Ingraham). In this case, her protest songs mirror the ethos of traditional folk music. Therefore, other artists could follow her steps and undertake folk music with the same spirit of activism. However, her performances support such missions as civil rights, which means that she has found a new purpose for folk music. This sentiment may not feature in many words discussing her accomplishments. However, integrating activism into folk music should be one of Baez’s most outstanding achievements.
Billie Holiday’s Biography
Billie Holiday is one of the greatest jazz singers of all time. Her thriving career lasted several years until she lost to addiction. This essay presents her biography, which covers her early life, career, and accomplishments.
Billie’s real name was Eleanora Fagan, born on April 7, 1915, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Some sources indicate that her place of birth was Baltimore, Maryland and that her birth certificate reads Elinore Harris (Billie Holiday). Billie spent much of her early years in Baltimore, Maryland. Her education was challenging as she started skipping school. This is because her father, Clarence Holiday, was mostly absent in her life and that of her mother, Sadie. In 1920, Sadie married Philip Gough, and Billie had a stable home for a few years. This marriage ended, and Billie’s life returned to that of struggling.
Billie grew up in Baltimore, which was soaked with jazz music in the 1920s. This might have influenced Billie’s career in jazz music since she started her apprenticeship in her early teens when she sang along to records of such iconic figures as Louis Armstrong and Bessie Smith. When her mother moved to New York for a better livelihood, Billie joined her, and she soon started auditioning at jazz clubs. Her debuts were in obscured Harlem nightclubs as she shared tips with comedians and dancers on the bill. This was also when she adopted her professional name, Billie Holiday (Billie's Story). By the age of 18 years, she had gathered more life experience than most adults. This was when she was spotted by John Hammond, a producer with whom she cut her first record in a studio group led by Benny Goodman. Between 1935 and 1941, Billie’s career accelerated with successive hit...