Women and the Blues

The 1920s was the era of the female blues singer starring Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Memphis Minnie, Sippie Wallace, and many more. Their inspirations ranged from the world of gospel, vaudeville, and jazz music. These blues singers never failed to sell out a venue regardless of its setting and their blues are still alive amongst us today. Although a hot tickets item in the 20’s, come the 30’s, the fan base for female blues singers fell to the weigh side, however their impact remained later paving the inspiration for other singers such as Janis Joplin, Billie Holiday, and Bonnie Raitt just to name a few.

Ida Cox was born in Toccoa, Georgia and made her first public appearance belting out the blues in minstrel shows when she traveled with the White and Clark’s Black & Tan Minstrels. She sang with several other minstrel shows and it was where she met and married a trumpeter by the name of Adler Cox. After his death, she married Eugene Williams and had a daughter, Helen. After her divorce from Williams, she married Jesse Crump, a pianist. Together they wrote songs. He managed her career and even played on some of her records. By the time Ida Cox started her professional career in 1923 she had already been singing in theaters for 13 years. She signed with Paramount Records and recorded 78 songs over the ensuing 6 years. It was the beginning of a career that would last until her final recording in 1961. What brought Cox to the forefront was her ability to write lyrics that her southern women counterparts could relate to regarding struggles of poor hard times, love, and love lost. She appeared regularly in shows until she had a stroke in 1944. It stopped her touring but not her singing career. Cox not only sang the blues but also dabbled in comedy, hotel management, and acting but also was and will forever be known best for her bluesy voice and her commanding stage presence.

Bessie Smith was considered the “Empress of the Blues” and probably the most famous of the female blues singers. She had the highest record sales of any female blues singer of the time. Smith had a strong and powerful vocal, which demanded attention and got just that.

Ma Rainey was considered the “Mother of the Blues” with her blues carrying a southern country flavor that sang to the hearts of poor Southern African Americans of the times. Ma Rainey was a groundbreaking teacher for her younger counterparts Ida Cox, Bessie Smith, Marcia Ball, and Bonnie Raitt; however, she was a hard act for them to follow. Her costuming alone was that of a diva decked out in sequined gowns dripping in jewelry and her make up quite extravagant for a black woman of the times.

When Memphis Minnie took a stage, she also demanded attention through her vocals, tone, and voice. Minnie set a twist on the stage of early female blues artist toting along her six-string strumming out music that made many of her male counterparts green with envy of her skills. Moreover, Sippie Wallace the sweet “Texas Nightingale” made her impact on the jazz and blues world for seven decades.

The women of the blues, although gone, will never be forgotten for the impact they made on the Blues Industry.