Black Bottom Blues: 1923-28

Black Bottom Blues 1923–28 is a definitive collection of recordings by Ma Rainey, the “Mother of the Blues” and one of the most influential singers of early 20th-century American music. Between 1923 and 1928, Rainey helped shape the sound and style of classic blues, blending raw emotion, vocal power, and narrative storytelling into songs that became the foundation of modern blues and jazz. Her recordings capture the vitality of African-American culture in the early 1920s, from the deep Southern roots of the genre to the vibrant energy of urban blues.