1 00:00:05,200 --> 00:00:06,680 Speaker 1: Hey, this is Annie an Samantha. 2 00:00:06,760 --> 00:00:08,280 Speaker 2: I'm welcome to stuff. One never told you a production 3 00:00:08,320 --> 00:00:21,560 Speaker 2: by Heart Adio and we were back with another classic today. 4 00:00:23,239 --> 00:00:26,799 Speaker 2: Hard to say with scheduling, but this is coming out 5 00:00:27,320 --> 00:00:30,479 Speaker 2: towards the end of Black History Month in twenty twenty five. 6 00:00:30,920 --> 00:00:34,080 Speaker 2: We haven't chosen our movie yet, but there are a 7 00:00:34,159 --> 00:00:37,680 Speaker 2: couple of music options that might come up. But even so, 8 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 2: we thought it'd be cool to bring back the episode 9 00:00:40,760 --> 00:00:44,320 Speaker 2: we did on Ladies of the Blues and how Black 10 00:00:44,320 --> 00:00:47,959 Speaker 2: women really led. That were just the heart of that 11 00:00:49,000 --> 00:00:52,360 Speaker 2: and it was a really I got to listen to 12 00:00:52,400 --> 00:00:53,480 Speaker 2: a lot of good music. 13 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:54,720 Speaker 1: After that one, and I always loved that. 14 00:00:55,320 --> 00:01:06,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, so please enjoy this class episode. Hey, this is 15 00:01:06,760 --> 00:01:09,280 Speaker 2: Annie and Samantha. I'm welcome to stuff. I've never told 16 00:01:09,319 --> 00:01:10,440 Speaker 2: your protection of iHeartRadio. 17 00:01:19,640 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 3: So Annie, I know who your favorite band was, which 18 00:01:22,640 --> 00:01:26,080 Speaker 3: is Green Day. What was your favorite album of all 19 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:28,680 Speaker 3: time or even to this day. 20 00:01:28,760 --> 00:01:31,320 Speaker 1: Oh no, no, no, no, no, I can't do that. 21 00:01:34,319 --> 00:01:35,560 Speaker 1: That's a huge question. 22 00:01:35,840 --> 00:01:38,800 Speaker 3: I was hoping it was gonna be embarrassing and not 23 00:01:38,800 --> 00:01:40,160 Speaker 3: necessarily a huge question. 24 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:42,160 Speaker 2: But okay, No, I do have a list of my 25 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:47,160 Speaker 2: ten like favorite movies books just for these kinds of things, 26 00:01:47,160 --> 00:01:48,960 Speaker 2: and I have music on there and have songs on there, 27 00:01:49,960 --> 00:01:52,520 Speaker 2: but i'd have to consult it, and I need to 28 00:01:52,600 --> 00:01:57,080 Speaker 2: update it because I can tell you my favorite Green 29 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:01,000 Speaker 2: Day album was American Idiot because it was like prime, 30 00:02:01,920 --> 00:02:05,040 Speaker 2: it came out at the right time for me, uh 31 00:02:05,080 --> 00:02:07,440 Speaker 2: and I loved it. 32 00:02:07,480 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 3: Is that an album that you consistently like, what is 33 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 3: your most placed album currently? 34 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,000 Speaker 2: Oh, I want to check now, I have no idea, 35 00:02:15,120 --> 00:02:18,880 Speaker 2: and I oh, I get a lot of flack about this, 36 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:21,520 Speaker 2: but I don't use a lot of the popular streaming 37 00:02:22,120 --> 00:02:27,120 Speaker 2: music platforms, and so I listen to music I heart. 38 00:02:28,160 --> 00:02:31,400 Speaker 1: Of course I do, of course. 39 00:02:31,120 --> 00:02:35,839 Speaker 2: But when that doesn't happen for whatever reason, I use 40 00:02:36,000 --> 00:02:40,079 Speaker 2: like Gosh, I use I have updated it so it's 41 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:44,079 Speaker 2: still actually iTunes, it's not Apple. And then I use 42 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:46,960 Speaker 2: YouTube music. I used to use Google play like, I 43 00:02:47,040 --> 00:02:50,440 Speaker 2: use really obscure kinds of things. So I don't think 44 00:02:50,480 --> 00:02:53,480 Speaker 2: there's an accurate count anywhere, because I listen all over 45 00:02:53,520 --> 00:02:56,160 Speaker 2: the place. I know for a long time, the top 46 00:02:56,200 --> 00:03:03,280 Speaker 2: played song was this. It's from Mass Effect three. It 47 00:03:03,480 --> 00:03:06,400 Speaker 2: is the opening credit song, and I played it on 48 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:08,640 Speaker 2: repeat for an entire day when I moved and I 49 00:03:08,680 --> 00:03:12,160 Speaker 2: was being the most dramatic and most emo you could 50 00:03:12,240 --> 00:03:13,080 Speaker 2: ever imagine. 51 00:03:13,280 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: That is delightful. 52 00:03:14,680 --> 00:03:16,600 Speaker 2: Yeah, So it's a bunch of I think it would 53 00:03:16,639 --> 00:03:20,359 Speaker 2: be a bunch of random songs from movies that had 54 00:03:20,400 --> 00:03:23,440 Speaker 2: some emotional impact for me. So every time I listened 55 00:03:23,440 --> 00:03:25,480 Speaker 2: to it, it brings me back to that emotional scene 56 00:03:25,560 --> 00:03:26,000 Speaker 2: or something. 57 00:03:26,360 --> 00:03:31,520 Speaker 3: Yeah. Yeah, yeah, well my favorite. So I call it 58 00:03:31,600 --> 00:03:33,680 Speaker 3: some kind of Blue. For the longest time, I was like, 59 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:38,160 Speaker 3: I don't know why, but it's just kind of blue anyway. So, yeah, 60 00:03:38,200 --> 00:03:40,440 Speaker 3: one of my favorite albums and that I've had to 61 00:03:40,480 --> 00:03:44,560 Speaker 3: buy repeatedly because I had the CD for it for 62 00:03:44,600 --> 00:03:47,480 Speaker 3: a while and I had the like the red deluxe 63 00:03:47,560 --> 00:03:51,920 Speaker 3: mix was Miles Davis. Kind of Blue probably my favorite 64 00:03:51,920 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 3: album to date, and I have listened to it for 65 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:58,880 Speaker 3: over twenty five years after I discovered it, and it 66 00:03:58,880 --> 00:04:01,720 Speaker 3: puts me in a specif mood like you were saying, 67 00:04:02,440 --> 00:04:06,320 Speaker 3: there's a lot of smooth eeriness to it that I love, 68 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:11,120 Speaker 3: and I know the transformation and his growth in his 69 00:04:11,200 --> 00:04:14,760 Speaker 3: music is so phenomenal. But that is one of my 70 00:04:14,840 --> 00:04:18,840 Speaker 3: favorite albums I'm a huge fan of. Really, this is 71 00:04:18,920 --> 00:04:22,960 Speaker 3: kind of in my musical days because I really really 72 00:04:23,000 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 3: also Love Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's Collapse. For some reason, 73 00:04:27,440 --> 00:04:30,760 Speaker 3: those were my favorite songs and I really like it 74 00:04:30,880 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 3: just makes me happy when I hear them singing silly 75 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:38,400 Speaker 3: songs like Starry Night and all of those are just like, oh, 76 00:04:38,720 --> 00:04:41,080 Speaker 3: I want to dance to this, even though like watching 77 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:43,159 Speaker 3: them sing is just them singing at each other with 78 00:04:43,520 --> 00:04:47,200 Speaker 3: big smiles on their face. I love it. But stuff 79 00:04:47,240 --> 00:04:50,520 Speaker 3: like that like so reminiscent to me of like the 80 00:04:50,640 --> 00:04:54,600 Speaker 3: musicals and just like feeling something but feeling happy but 81 00:04:54,640 --> 00:04:56,840 Speaker 3: then then having some kind of blue like the depth 82 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:02,840 Speaker 3: of like remembering and the depth of his music that 83 00:05:02,920 --> 00:05:06,760 Speaker 3: had pain but joy but growth like all of that. 84 00:05:07,400 --> 00:05:11,600 Speaker 3: And while we were watching Ma Rainey's Black Bottom, it 85 00:05:11,680 --> 00:05:14,000 Speaker 3: really put me in that same mood. Of course, the 86 00:05:14,040 --> 00:05:16,640 Speaker 3: whole movie in itself was just like, oh, like a 87 00:05:16,640 --> 00:05:20,320 Speaker 3: gut punch anyway, but because we watched that, and after 88 00:05:20,360 --> 00:05:23,760 Speaker 3: we watched that, we were like, we need to talk 89 00:05:23,800 --> 00:05:28,280 Speaker 3: more about these amazing women of the blues. And so 90 00:05:28,839 --> 00:05:31,640 Speaker 3: today that's what made me think about it, because I 91 00:05:31,640 --> 00:05:33,839 Speaker 3: definitely had a moment of like, I need to listen 92 00:05:33,839 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 3: to Miles Davis today. I need to listen to Ella Fitzgerald, 93 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:39,839 Speaker 3: whom I love. I need to keep listening to Eda James, 94 00:05:39,839 --> 00:05:41,719 Speaker 3: Like obviously these are the names. 95 00:05:41,520 --> 00:05:41,839 Speaker 1: That we know. 96 00:05:42,360 --> 00:05:45,680 Speaker 3: But for today, we wanted to kind of go back 97 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:49,480 Speaker 3: a little further, a little beginning and kind of the 98 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:53,040 Speaker 3: beginning of women in blues and who they were and 99 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,360 Speaker 3: what they did, and why we should continue to say 100 00:05:56,400 --> 00:05:58,480 Speaker 3: their name in the history of them so they don't 101 00:05:58,480 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 3: get erased. Which is that conversation about Ma Raini. It 102 00:06:02,000 --> 00:06:04,200 Speaker 3: took a long time for people to really recognize who 103 00:06:04,240 --> 00:06:07,159 Speaker 3: she was because Bessie Smith, it was a big time 104 00:06:07,320 --> 00:06:09,840 Speaker 3: for women in the blues when Mo Rainie came through, 105 00:06:10,160 --> 00:06:12,200 Speaker 3: Bessie Smith got a lot of credit. And then later 106 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:15,280 Speaker 3: on we know, like elfhis Gerald, as we said, Billie Holiday, 107 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:19,919 Speaker 3: all of them had a lot more backing and publicity, 108 00:06:20,000 --> 00:06:22,279 Speaker 3: I think is the way I would say it today. 109 00:06:22,640 --> 00:06:25,680 Speaker 3: We wanted to talk about these amazing women and about 110 00:06:25,680 --> 00:06:27,880 Speaker 3: the history of the blues. But yeah, before we start, 111 00:06:27,960 --> 00:06:30,520 Speaker 3: let's talk about that history. Much like most of the 112 00:06:30,600 --> 00:06:33,680 Speaker 3: music in the United States, blues began and was created 113 00:06:33,760 --> 00:06:37,520 Speaker 3: by the enslaved black community. We know if we look 114 00:06:37,600 --> 00:06:39,800 Speaker 3: back at all the music and trace it all the 115 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,600 Speaker 3: way back the black community probably was the one that 116 00:06:42,640 --> 00:06:45,240 Speaker 3: we should be thankful to. And it's no surprise here 117 00:06:46,040 --> 00:06:50,039 Speaker 3: in the early nineteenth century they think was the when 118 00:06:50,040 --> 00:06:52,640 Speaker 3: they it kind of heightened. We know that gospel and 119 00:06:52,680 --> 00:06:55,880 Speaker 3: the blues all kind of sound similar in that what 120 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:58,120 Speaker 3: they were doing, what they were speaking, and then of 121 00:06:58,160 --> 00:07:01,599 Speaker 3: course jazz came along with that. As one article writes, 122 00:07:01,880 --> 00:07:04,720 Speaker 3: the foundation of the blues is a combination of quote 123 00:07:04,760 --> 00:07:08,640 Speaker 3: religious spirituals and African styles, and later that would be 124 00:07:08,640 --> 00:07:12,800 Speaker 3: combined with folk music known for US as country blues, 125 00:07:12,840 --> 00:07:15,560 Speaker 3: which is typically a solo singer with a guitar or 126 00:07:15,640 --> 00:07:19,240 Speaker 3: a piano, such as that of Robert Johnson. And Robert 127 00:07:19,280 --> 00:07:21,320 Speaker 3: Johnson is also the one that has that legend of 128 00:07:21,840 --> 00:07:25,640 Speaker 3: selling his soul for his gift in music, so he 129 00:07:25,720 --> 00:07:28,400 Speaker 3: is kind of that crush so everything if you listen 130 00:07:28,480 --> 00:07:32,240 Speaker 3: to his which is by the way, phenomenal, and there's 131 00:07:32,280 --> 00:07:35,120 Speaker 3: a lot of mystery behind him, So if you love 132 00:07:35,160 --> 00:07:38,320 Speaker 3: any kind of historical context and musicians, there's a lot 133 00:07:38,320 --> 00:07:39,920 Speaker 3: of mystery, like he just kind of came out of 134 00:07:39,960 --> 00:07:43,360 Speaker 3: nowhere and it was this talented musician. The way people 135 00:07:43,400 --> 00:07:45,680 Speaker 3: tell it is that he never played guitar when they 136 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:47,960 Speaker 3: picked it up, made a deal with the Devil and 137 00:07:48,080 --> 00:07:50,800 Speaker 3: became one of the best musicians, and a lot of 138 00:07:50,800 --> 00:07:55,000 Speaker 3: his songs includes the Crossroads of the Devil, like all 139 00:07:55,040 --> 00:07:58,000 Speaker 3: of those, so he definitely has kind of pioneered some 140 00:07:58,080 --> 00:08:00,920 Speaker 3: of that sound. And then there is the Delta Blues, 141 00:08:00,960 --> 00:08:04,600 Speaker 3: which originated from the Mississippi Delta around the early nineteen 142 00:08:04,680 --> 00:08:08,960 Speaker 3: hundreds but got big attraction in the nineteen twenties. Also, 143 00:08:09,000 --> 00:08:11,640 Speaker 3: you need to understand this is probably one of the 144 00:08:11,720 --> 00:08:15,440 Speaker 3: worst areas technically in history and the treatment of the 145 00:08:15,520 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 3: enslaved community, and so there was a lot of conversation 146 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,960 Speaker 3: about how that music was formed and how deep and 147 00:08:22,000 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 3: how soulful it was. And again, different places, different where 148 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:28,520 Speaker 3: This is one of those hard things that we know 149 00:08:28,720 --> 00:08:32,880 Speaker 3: when a community is not treated properly and or ignored, 150 00:08:33,160 --> 00:08:34,959 Speaker 3: most likely we're not going to get the in depth 151 00:08:35,040 --> 00:08:37,520 Speaker 3: history or typically anything written about it. So what we 152 00:08:37,600 --> 00:08:40,440 Speaker 3: have is a lot of different sources letting us know 153 00:08:40,480 --> 00:08:43,080 Speaker 3: what's happening and who did what. But the Delta Blues 154 00:08:43,200 --> 00:08:47,240 Speaker 3: kind of came from that type of background. The Delta 155 00:08:47,280 --> 00:08:51,040 Speaker 3: Blues is quote traditional songs handed down by word of 156 00:08:51,040 --> 00:08:54,400 Speaker 3: mouth and old lyrics, which was recreated into a different 157 00:08:54,480 --> 00:08:57,720 Speaker 3: aditation and is often accompanied by a guitar and harmonica. 158 00:08:58,360 --> 00:09:01,520 Speaker 3: Quote the style it is very rhythmic, has strong vocals 159 00:09:01,559 --> 00:09:04,959 Speaker 3: and simple but powerful lyrics, and slide guitar featured prominently 160 00:09:05,000 --> 00:09:07,960 Speaker 3: in the music. So yeah, you definitely can hear the 161 00:09:08,000 --> 00:09:10,200 Speaker 3: twang of the guitar. I think this also goes in 162 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 3: that country blues kind of also could look at it 163 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,360 Speaker 3: with the whole Oh brother, where art thou, which is 164 00:09:16,440 --> 00:09:19,920 Speaker 3: still very whitewashed, but it does have kind of the 165 00:09:20,000 --> 00:09:25,040 Speaker 3: legend of Robert Johnson in there by the way that 166 00:09:25,160 --> 00:09:27,560 Speaker 3: was based on him, And according to one of the articles, 167 00:09:27,559 --> 00:09:30,840 Speaker 3: the style of blues typically follows like this have four 168 00:09:30,840 --> 00:09:33,199 Speaker 3: beasts in a bar, are built on the twelve bar 169 00:09:33,280 --> 00:09:37,959 Speaker 3: blues form and uses three four bar phrases, so they 170 00:09:37,960 --> 00:09:40,560 Speaker 3: have three line verse structures where the second line repeats 171 00:09:40,600 --> 00:09:45,480 Speaker 3: the first for example AaB, and sometimes singers improvise the words. 172 00:09:45,800 --> 00:09:47,880 Speaker 3: The repetition of the first line gives them time to 173 00:09:47,920 --> 00:09:51,600 Speaker 3: think up the third line. So definitely kind of like 174 00:09:51,679 --> 00:09:55,800 Speaker 3: jazz in that it's from the heart and you feel 175 00:09:55,840 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 3: it and you go with it, which is also why 176 00:09:59,440 --> 00:10:03,000 Speaker 3: kind of like of them. Maybe one community is better 177 00:10:03,040 --> 00:10:20,440 Speaker 3: than the other. Okay, So now that we got the 178 00:10:20,520 --> 00:10:23,679 Speaker 3: history of that, let's talk about some of these legendary women. 179 00:10:23,960 --> 00:10:27,040 Speaker 1: Yes, and let us start with Ma Raini herself. 180 00:10:27,880 --> 00:10:30,280 Speaker 2: So we talked about her a bit in our feminist 181 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:34,560 Speaker 2: movie Friday episode on the movie Maraini's Black Bottom, which 182 00:10:34,679 --> 00:10:36,520 Speaker 2: was adapted from a nineteen eighty dude play. 183 00:10:36,559 --> 00:10:38,560 Speaker 1: So if you missed that episode, you can go check 184 00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:40,200 Speaker 1: it out. But all right. 185 00:10:40,280 --> 00:10:44,160 Speaker 2: Maraini was often referred to as the Mother of the Blues. 186 00:10:44,600 --> 00:10:49,560 Speaker 2: Born Gertrude Melissa Nix Pridgett from Columbus, Georgia, both of 187 00:10:49,600 --> 00:10:55,199 Speaker 2: her parents were performers excuse me, and it didn't take 188 00:10:55,200 --> 00:10:58,240 Speaker 2: her long to start displaying her own talents as a singer. 189 00:10:58,559 --> 00:11:01,600 Speaker 2: As a teenager, her debut performance was at the Springer 190 00:11:01,640 --> 00:11:05,000 Speaker 2: Opera House in Columbus, and she soon started traveling and 191 00:11:05,040 --> 00:11:08,920 Speaker 2: performing vaudeville acts. It was during one of her performance 192 00:11:09,000 --> 00:11:12,480 Speaker 2: circuits she met her husband, Will Pah Rainey, who was 193 00:11:12,520 --> 00:11:15,560 Speaker 2: a comedian and singer as well. Soon they were married 194 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:18,920 Speaker 2: and partnered to form a double act, Ma and Paul Rainey. 195 00:11:19,440 --> 00:11:22,800 Speaker 2: They traveled and performed together for several years, but soon 196 00:11:22,840 --> 00:11:26,679 Speaker 2: would separate and she created her own show, Madame Gertrude 197 00:11:26,920 --> 00:11:31,480 Speaker 2: Ma Rainey and her Georgia smart set. Soon she would 198 00:11:31,520 --> 00:11:34,800 Speaker 2: start bringing in these large crowds and endoring fans to 199 00:11:34,920 --> 00:11:38,040 Speaker 2: shows she starred in across the country with songs like 200 00:11:38,120 --> 00:11:40,520 Speaker 2: I Ain't Got Nobody, a Good Man is Hard to 201 00:11:40,559 --> 00:11:45,560 Speaker 2: Find and CC Writer Blues. And she signed a recording 202 00:11:45,559 --> 00:11:48,440 Speaker 2: contract with Paramount Records in nineteen twenty three, So this 203 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:51,079 Speaker 2: is sort of where the movie saw that a lot 204 00:11:51,080 --> 00:11:54,679 Speaker 2: of that going on. She recorded almost one hundred records 205 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:58,120 Speaker 2: between nineteen twenty three and nineteen twenty eight, and it 206 00:11:58,240 --> 00:12:00,360 Speaker 2: just throughout the catalog. She had so many hits, and 207 00:12:00,400 --> 00:12:03,120 Speaker 2: when it came to her song she had a unique style. 208 00:12:03,920 --> 00:12:07,800 Speaker 2: One article says of her style, Rainy's songwriting was notable 209 00:12:07,800 --> 00:12:10,000 Speaker 2: for its raw depiction of life from the perspective of 210 00:12:10,040 --> 00:12:13,320 Speaker 2: a woman at struggling with heartbreak, depression, and other maladies. 211 00:12:13,559 --> 00:12:17,120 Speaker 2: But amidst these difficulties, Rainie's protagonists did not rely on 212 00:12:17,200 --> 00:12:20,080 Speaker 2: male partners or submit to the rules society tried to 213 00:12:20,120 --> 00:12:23,280 Speaker 2: inflict on them. In the song Oh Papa Blues, Rainy 214 00:12:23,360 --> 00:12:26,080 Speaker 2: tells of the wrongs a former lover committed against her, 215 00:12:26,280 --> 00:12:31,640 Speaker 2: but her lamentation soon turns to scheming for revenge and 216 00:12:32,000 --> 00:12:35,040 Speaker 2: prove it on me Blues, Rainy boasts about her attraction 217 00:12:35,160 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 2: to women and wearing men's clothing. As scholar and activist 218 00:12:39,600 --> 00:12:43,800 Speaker 2: Angela Davis wrote, the women in Rainy's songs quote explicitly 219 00:12:43,920 --> 00:12:47,120 Speaker 2: celebrate their right to conduct themselves as expansively and even 220 00:12:47,200 --> 00:12:53,720 Speaker 2: as undesirably as men. Though she lived in Chicago during 221 00:12:53,760 --> 00:12:57,560 Speaker 2: the twenties and early thirties, Rainy soon left after she 222 00:12:57,640 --> 00:13:00,480 Speaker 2: was no longer contracted with Paramount and traveled to continued 223 00:13:00,520 --> 00:13:03,880 Speaker 2: touring and performing, but soon returned home after the death 224 00:13:03,880 --> 00:13:08,160 Speaker 2: of her sister and mother to Columbus, Georgia. She was 225 00:13:08,200 --> 00:13:11,959 Speaker 2: active in church and even owned and managed two theaters 226 00:13:12,000 --> 00:13:14,360 Speaker 2: until she died at the age of fifty three of 227 00:13:14,640 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 2: heart disease. 228 00:13:15,920 --> 00:13:18,160 Speaker 3: Right, so, there are two people on our list that 229 00:13:18,679 --> 00:13:21,920 Speaker 3: were openly queer, and she was one of those, and 230 00:13:22,200 --> 00:13:24,520 Speaker 3: we love that story. So all is the fact that 231 00:13:24,520 --> 00:13:27,120 Speaker 3: we know she's just an amazing woman who stood her ground, 232 00:13:27,320 --> 00:13:32,400 Speaker 3: and we loved this. And while Maul Rainey was the 233 00:13:32,440 --> 00:13:35,520 Speaker 3: mother of the Blues, Mamie Smith, who we're going to 234 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,560 Speaker 3: talk about next, was considered the queen of the Blues. 235 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:41,280 Speaker 3: So Mami Smith became the first black singer to record 236 00:13:41,320 --> 00:13:43,680 Speaker 3: a song and the first person to record the blues 237 00:13:43,800 --> 00:13:46,679 Speaker 3: in nineteen twenty in New York City, and that song 238 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:48,120 Speaker 3: was Crazy Blues. 239 00:13:48,600 --> 00:13:50,120 Speaker 1: Not much is known. 240 00:13:49,920 --> 00:13:52,480 Speaker 3: About Mamie Smith's past, but many believed she was born 241 00:13:52,559 --> 00:13:56,240 Speaker 3: Mami Robinson in Cincinnati, Ohio, and she started performing at 242 00:13:56,240 --> 00:13:59,840 Speaker 3: the age of ten, dancing and touring with four Dancing Mitchell's. 243 00:14:00,600 --> 00:14:03,880 Speaker 3: Soon she would star in the musical Review Made in Harlem, 244 00:14:04,160 --> 00:14:06,960 Speaker 3: produced by Perry Bradford, and Bradford signed with a General 245 00:14:06,960 --> 00:14:10,000 Speaker 3: Photograph wanting to record some of his songs, and he 246 00:14:10,080 --> 00:14:12,920 Speaker 3: and Smith would record several songs together which would be 247 00:14:13,000 --> 00:14:17,800 Speaker 3: considered successful. Many recording companies follow suit because of this album, 248 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,760 Speaker 3: signing other women blues singers, creating the new quote race 249 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:24,400 Speaker 3: records market, which we kind of talked about a little 250 00:14:24,400 --> 00:14:26,080 Speaker 3: bit in Mo Rainie because it was all the hits, 251 00:14:26,120 --> 00:14:27,840 Speaker 3: so they were trying to bring in as many blue 252 00:14:27,840 --> 00:14:32,600 Speaker 3: singers as they could, sounding like Mammy Smith, Mo Rainie, 253 00:14:32,680 --> 00:14:34,800 Speaker 3: Bessie Smith, who we're talking about in just a few minutes. 254 00:14:35,120 --> 00:14:39,040 Speaker 3: But yeah, many credit Mammy Smith and Perry Bradford for 255 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:42,520 Speaker 3: the beginning of the women in the Blues singing and 256 00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:43,240 Speaker 3: the success. 257 00:14:43,960 --> 00:14:44,240 Speaker 1: Yeah. 258 00:14:44,360 --> 00:14:46,440 Speaker 3: Smith was successful in her career and would go on 259 00:14:46,560 --> 00:14:49,640 Speaker 3: to record more records, toured with the Jazz Hounds, performing 260 00:14:49,680 --> 00:14:51,840 Speaker 3: in New York theaters, and even appeared in films in 261 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:55,000 Speaker 3: the nineteen forties, and Smith continued to work until she 262 00:14:55,080 --> 00:14:57,120 Speaker 3: died in Harlem in nineteen forty six. 263 00:14:57,280 --> 00:15:01,240 Speaker 2: Yes, and now we move on to a different Smith, 264 00:15:01,360 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 2: Bessie Smith. Yes, Yes, who was considered the Impress. 265 00:15:04,800 --> 00:15:07,160 Speaker 1: Of the Blues. I like this, we got a queen, yeah, mother, 266 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:08,320 Speaker 1: We've got the empress. Yeah. 267 00:15:09,280 --> 00:15:11,320 Speaker 3: Yeah, Well there was another one that we're not going 268 00:15:11,360 --> 00:15:15,520 Speaker 3: to talk about. Who is the uncrowned oh of the Blue. 269 00:15:15,560 --> 00:15:16,680 Speaker 3: So I was like, what does that mean? 270 00:15:16,720 --> 00:15:21,840 Speaker 2: Oh well, I like this, it's like a superhero team 271 00:15:21,880 --> 00:15:23,440 Speaker 2: of musicians. 272 00:15:23,560 --> 00:15:25,360 Speaker 1: Yeah yeah. 273 00:15:25,560 --> 00:15:29,200 Speaker 2: Bessie Smith was known for her powerful voice, very full 274 00:15:29,200 --> 00:15:32,200 Speaker 2: of soul. She signed a contract with Columbia Records in 275 00:15:32,240 --> 00:15:34,560 Speaker 2: nineteen twenty three and became one of the highest paid 276 00:15:34,680 --> 00:15:39,040 Speaker 2: black performers of her time. Smith was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, 277 00:15:39,240 --> 00:15:42,600 Speaker 2: in eighteen twenty four. After both of her parents' deaths, 278 00:15:42,680 --> 00:15:45,120 Speaker 2: she was given to the care of her aunt along 279 00:15:45,160 --> 00:15:47,960 Speaker 2: with her remaining siblings, and it was during this time 280 00:15:48,040 --> 00:15:51,600 Speaker 2: she began to perform first street performances with her younger 281 00:15:51,640 --> 00:15:55,200 Speaker 2: brother playing guitar, but soon she performed as a dancer 282 00:15:55,280 --> 00:15:58,520 Speaker 2: in the Moses Stokes Minstrel Show and later on The 283 00:15:58,600 --> 00:16:02,240 Speaker 2: Rabbit Foot Minstrels, which is where she met Maraini. 284 00:16:02,080 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 3: Right, which is where they were rubored to have. Like 285 00:16:04,040 --> 00:16:07,560 Speaker 3: Maulrainie may have mentored her. So people say that's a 286 00:16:07,600 --> 00:16:10,720 Speaker 3: strong word for what it was, but they were definitely associated, 287 00:16:10,760 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 3: and it looks like not surprisingly because they were all 288 00:16:14,080 --> 00:16:16,480 Speaker 3: in Chicago or Harlem at one point in time, a 289 00:16:16,520 --> 00:16:17,760 Speaker 3: lot of them interacted together. 290 00:16:18,120 --> 00:16:18,760 Speaker 1: Yeah. 291 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:25,440 Speaker 2: Soon Bessie Smith was discovered and was signed to Columbia Records, 292 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:29,520 Speaker 2: where she would record the hit Downhearted Blues. She was 293 00:16:29,560 --> 00:16:32,680 Speaker 2: a success, not only touring all over, but was able 294 00:16:32,720 --> 00:16:35,960 Speaker 2: to buy her own custom railroad car to travel and 295 00:16:36,000 --> 00:16:36,400 Speaker 2: sleep in. 296 00:16:36,640 --> 00:16:37,320 Speaker 1: That's pretty cool. 297 00:16:37,560 --> 00:16:40,480 Speaker 3: I wonder how much that would cost. Another thing to 298 00:16:40,480 --> 00:16:43,320 Speaker 3: add to my middle age crisis list? 299 00:16:43,360 --> 00:16:45,000 Speaker 1: Can I buy a railroad car? 300 00:16:45,680 --> 00:16:45,960 Speaker 3: Going? 301 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:47,160 Speaker 1: Okay? 302 00:16:49,080 --> 00:16:52,000 Speaker 2: And though Bessie Smith would go through some hardships in 303 00:16:52,040 --> 00:16:55,240 Speaker 2: her career and even changed her style as the times 304 00:16:55,520 --> 00:16:59,440 Speaker 2: changed to she continued in her career and touring up 305 00:16:59,520 --> 00:17:02,520 Speaker 2: until the day she tragically died on her way to 306 00:17:02,600 --> 00:17:06,600 Speaker 2: a show in Memphis, Tennessee. Yeah, she died in a 307 00:17:06,680 --> 00:17:10,760 Speaker 2: vehicle accident at the age of forty three. But her 308 00:17:10,880 --> 00:17:14,120 Speaker 2: impact in the world of blues is undeniable. It's obvious, 309 00:17:14,240 --> 00:17:17,280 Speaker 2: and it influenced so many artists, including our next one, 310 00:17:17,720 --> 00:17:19,119 Speaker 2: Billy Holliday. 311 00:17:19,240 --> 00:17:22,359 Speaker 3: Right and Billie Holiday born Eleanora Fagan is one of 312 00:17:22,440 --> 00:17:26,560 Speaker 3: the most iconic singers in the jazz blues world, well 313 00:17:26,640 --> 00:17:29,160 Speaker 3: in the world of music altogether, and her legend goes 314 00:17:29,200 --> 00:17:30,960 Speaker 3: beyond just her talent, and we thought it was really 315 00:17:31,000 --> 00:17:33,560 Speaker 3: important to bring her into this too, because she did 316 00:17:33,600 --> 00:17:37,360 Speaker 3: some things that went a little beyond just making records, 317 00:17:37,480 --> 00:17:38,960 Speaker 3: not that not all of them did, because they made 318 00:17:39,040 --> 00:17:45,120 Speaker 3: significant impact, but literally, she defied the United States government. 319 00:17:45,200 --> 00:17:47,920 Speaker 3: Holiday dared to sing when she was barred by the 320 00:17:48,000 --> 00:17:51,880 Speaker 3: FBI and by the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, whose leadership 321 00:17:51,880 --> 00:17:53,560 Speaker 3: at the time was willing to set her up in 322 00:17:53,640 --> 00:17:56,640 Speaker 3: order to shut her down. So like all these conspiracy things, 323 00:17:56,880 --> 00:17:59,240 Speaker 3: and not just any song, but a song that is 324 00:17:59,280 --> 00:18:01,760 Speaker 3: famous to this in this depiction of the horror of 325 00:18:01,800 --> 00:18:04,920 Speaker 3: the lynchings of the black community during the Jim Crow era. 326 00:18:05,440 --> 00:18:08,199 Speaker 3: The song Strange Fruit, which was originally written as a 327 00:18:08,240 --> 00:18:12,600 Speaker 3: poem titled Bitter Fruit, written by Abel Meerpole in nineteen 328 00:18:12,600 --> 00:18:15,359 Speaker 3: thirty seven, after which his wife wrote it as a 329 00:18:15,400 --> 00:18:18,760 Speaker 3: song and hearing it at Union rallies, including in Madison 330 00:18:18,800 --> 00:18:21,439 Speaker 3: Square Garden, it was brought to Holiday, who felt a 331 00:18:21,440 --> 00:18:24,480 Speaker 3: personal connection to the song due to her father's own 332 00:18:24,520 --> 00:18:27,679 Speaker 3: death after the hospitals refused to treat him because of 333 00:18:27,680 --> 00:18:30,119 Speaker 3: his race, and she first sang the song in the 334 00:18:30,240 --> 00:18:32,320 Speaker 3: dark room at the end of her show at the 335 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:37,200 Speaker 3: New York Cafe Society in nineteen thirty nine. And yet 336 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:40,800 Speaker 3: it caused a lot of conversation and a little bit 337 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:44,600 Speaker 3: of controversy, and it was so controversial that her record company, 338 00:18:44,680 --> 00:18:49,320 Speaker 3: Columbia Records, would not produce it, but she finally did 339 00:18:49,359 --> 00:18:53,240 Speaker 3: through an independent label, the Commodore Records, and many, including 340 00:18:53,280 --> 00:18:56,240 Speaker 3: those from the black community, felt it was too controversial 341 00:18:56,280 --> 00:19:00,320 Speaker 3: to play at that time, but she did, and her 342 00:19:00,400 --> 00:19:03,000 Speaker 3: legacy and her voice powering the song that really just 343 00:19:03,000 --> 00:19:05,560 Speaker 3: still haunts. The first time I heard it, I think 344 00:19:06,000 --> 00:19:08,879 Speaker 3: I literally had to stand still listening to the lyrics 345 00:19:08,880 --> 00:19:13,640 Speaker 3: because I was like, Wow, her voice is beyond haunting, 346 00:19:13,760 --> 00:19:15,040 Speaker 3: and we all know her voice. 347 00:19:15,080 --> 00:19:16,320 Speaker 1: She has a very unique voice. 348 00:19:16,920 --> 00:19:19,320 Speaker 3: And yeah, like I said, people who are still listening 349 00:19:19,320 --> 00:19:24,200 Speaker 3: today have this picture from the lyrics that is painted 350 00:19:24,600 --> 00:19:28,000 Speaker 3: which implies this beautiful day that turns into a day 351 00:19:28,040 --> 00:19:30,640 Speaker 3: of nightmares and horrific tragedy. I mean, we could talk 352 00:19:30,680 --> 00:19:33,560 Speaker 3: about the history of this. We kind of mentioned about 353 00:19:33,560 --> 00:19:36,560 Speaker 3: the anti lynching bill which just passed with this song 354 00:19:36,560 --> 00:19:40,159 Speaker 3: happening in nineteen thirty nine. But with that, Yeah, she 355 00:19:40,200 --> 00:19:42,080 Speaker 3: stood up and she did it, and she continued to 356 00:19:42,119 --> 00:19:44,919 Speaker 3: do it even after she was told not to. And 357 00:19:44,960 --> 00:19:47,720 Speaker 3: she signed again with Columbia Records in nineteen fifty eight, 358 00:19:48,160 --> 00:19:51,560 Speaker 3: after which she was previously on Verb label, which she 359 00:19:51,680 --> 00:19:54,640 Speaker 3: made about one hundred new records and redefined herself as 360 00:19:55,000 --> 00:19:58,359 Speaker 3: the quote torch singer and I hear it with her 361 00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:02,840 Speaker 3: iconic voice. Her later recordings including her masterpiece Lady in Satin, 362 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,960 Speaker 3: and her final album was released after her death, which 363 00:20:06,000 --> 00:20:20,920 Speaker 3: she recorded in nineteen fifty nine. 364 00:20:22,240 --> 00:20:26,000 Speaker 2: Now let's talk about Big Mama Thornton. Willie May Thornton 365 00:20:26,160 --> 00:20:29,159 Speaker 2: or Big Mama Thornton was born in December nineteen twenty 366 00:20:29,200 --> 00:20:33,280 Speaker 2: six in Araton, Alabama. I hope I'm not butchering that pronunciation. 367 00:20:33,800 --> 00:20:36,040 Speaker 2: After the death of her mother. When she was fourteen, 368 00:20:36,400 --> 00:20:39,159 Speaker 2: Thornton left to start her career and joined the Hot 369 00:20:39,160 --> 00:20:42,920 Speaker 2: Harlem Review from Georgia. She was a singer, a drummer, 370 00:20:42,960 --> 00:20:46,800 Speaker 2: and harmonica player and traveled with the Review for seven years. 371 00:20:47,200 --> 00:20:50,280 Speaker 2: In nineteen forty eight, Thornton moved to Houston, Texas, where 372 00:20:50,320 --> 00:20:54,120 Speaker 2: she started her recording career. Thornton signed on to Peacock 373 00:20:54,160 --> 00:20:57,399 Speaker 2: Records in nineteen fifty one. There she would travel with 374 00:20:57,520 --> 00:21:00,399 Speaker 2: Johnny Otis and a few others performing different show like 375 00:21:00,440 --> 00:21:03,840 Speaker 2: the Houstons, Bronze Peacock and at the Harlems Cotton Club. 376 00:21:04,600 --> 00:21:06,560 Speaker 2: And it was during this time she wrote and recorded 377 00:21:06,560 --> 00:21:10,119 Speaker 2: one of her most popular songs, hound Dog mm Hmmm, 378 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:13,719 Speaker 2: which was released by Peacock in nineteen fifty three and 379 00:21:13,760 --> 00:21:16,560 Speaker 2: it topped the charts. It sold over two million copies. 380 00:21:17,040 --> 00:21:20,920 Speaker 2: And yes, this song would be recorded by Elvis Presley 381 00:21:21,440 --> 00:21:24,680 Speaker 2: in nineteen fifty six. And while this catapulted his career 382 00:21:24,720 --> 00:21:29,080 Speaker 2: in success, Thornton only received about five hundred dollars for it. 383 00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,960 Speaker 3: Right, I'm assuming that's a pretty good bit in the 384 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,400 Speaker 3: nineteen fifties, but still nowhere near what she deserved. 385 00:21:36,960 --> 00:21:39,760 Speaker 2: Yeah, and what he was getting for sure, right, But 386 00:21:40,240 --> 00:21:43,040 Speaker 2: She continued to tour and record throughout her life, including 387 00:21:43,080 --> 00:21:46,480 Speaker 2: performing in nineteen eighty three along with Muddy Waters, BB 388 00:21:46,640 --> 00:21:48,200 Speaker 2: King and Lloyd Glenn. 389 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:52,560 Speaker 3: Right, all right, let's talk about Lizzie Miles. So Lizzie 390 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:55,600 Speaker 3: Miles was born in New Orleans on Bourbon Street in 391 00:21:55,640 --> 00:21:58,560 Speaker 3: eighteen ninety five, and she started singing as a teenager 392 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:02,040 Speaker 3: with a neighborhood jazz band. She worked in Southern circuits 393 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:04,159 Speaker 3: and different shows until she moved to Chicago in the 394 00:22:04,240 --> 00:22:08,119 Speaker 3: early twenties, performing with different bands like the Elger's Creole 395 00:22:08,240 --> 00:22:12,120 Speaker 3: Orchestra and King Oliver's Creole Jazz Band. So yes, this 396 00:22:12,160 --> 00:22:14,600 Speaker 3: is all during the Great Migration that we talked about 397 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:18,800 Speaker 3: in our movie episode. And she soon moved to New 398 00:22:18,880 --> 00:22:21,200 Speaker 3: York after where she started her recording career, and she 399 00:22:21,200 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 3: would continue to work clubs and cabarets and would even 400 00:22:24,080 --> 00:22:27,560 Speaker 3: go on tour in Europe in Paris. Her style was unique. 401 00:22:27,600 --> 00:22:31,399 Speaker 3: She was nicknamed the Creole songbird. She was attributed with 402 00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:35,920 Speaker 3: Afro Creole blues, so it's very specific and her style 403 00:22:35,960 --> 00:22:39,119 Speaker 3: of performant was very specific. She was able to record 404 00:22:39,160 --> 00:22:41,720 Speaker 3: her work after signing with Okay Record in nineteen twenty 405 00:22:41,760 --> 00:22:44,880 Speaker 3: two and continue to do so, making almost seventy records, 406 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:48,760 Speaker 3: and she would even record under pseudonyms on smaller labels. 407 00:22:48,800 --> 00:22:51,199 Speaker 3: So she kept recording and changed her name around just 408 00:22:51,240 --> 00:22:53,720 Speaker 3: to do her things. And like the other blues and 409 00:22:53,760 --> 00:22:56,680 Speaker 3: jazz artists of her time, she also hit hard times 410 00:22:56,760 --> 00:22:59,320 Speaker 3: due to the depression as well as the declining interest 411 00:22:59,359 --> 00:23:02,040 Speaker 3: in the blues, but there was a resurgence in her 412 00:23:02,040 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 3: career in the fifties, so she went on to sign 413 00:23:04,240 --> 00:23:06,399 Speaker 3: on to another label at that time with Cook Records, 414 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:08,760 Speaker 3: and record three more albums and she even performed in 415 00:23:08,840 --> 00:23:11,119 Speaker 3: one Less festival before her retirement. 416 00:23:11,480 --> 00:23:15,159 Speaker 1: Wow, very prolific. Now let's talk about Lil Green. 417 00:23:15,560 --> 00:23:19,639 Speaker 2: Born Lillian Green in Mississippi in nineteen nineteen, and like 418 00:23:19,760 --> 00:23:23,000 Speaker 2: many others on this list, was heavily influenced by gospel 419 00:23:23,080 --> 00:23:26,639 Speaker 2: music and her religious family, and she was first discovered 420 00:23:27,119 --> 00:23:29,359 Speaker 2: in her church choir. Her and her family moved to 421 00:23:29,440 --> 00:23:31,679 Speaker 2: Chicago in the thirties, where she started to sing in 422 00:23:31,720 --> 00:23:37,040 Speaker 2: local clubs and was discovered by a producer at Bluebird Records, 423 00:23:37,560 --> 00:23:40,040 Speaker 2: and she was a favorite at the Apollo in Harlem 424 00:23:40,119 --> 00:23:42,359 Speaker 2: and would often tour with bands such as Big Bill 425 00:23:42,400 --> 00:23:46,800 Speaker 2: Brumsey and the Bennie Goodman's orchestra. She was soon signed 426 00:23:46,920 --> 00:23:49,520 Speaker 2: onto a record company, where she made two hits, including 427 00:23:49,520 --> 00:23:52,360 Speaker 2: her sultry rendition of why Don't You Do Right? 428 00:23:52,720 --> 00:23:55,040 Speaker 3: Yeah, this is the version I know before I knew 429 00:23:55,040 --> 00:23:58,720 Speaker 3: the Jessica Rabbit bit, but Jessco Rabbit bit from who 430 00:23:58,760 --> 00:23:59,960 Speaker 3: framed Roger Rabbit. 431 00:24:00,320 --> 00:24:02,640 Speaker 1: Okay, brought it back in. 432 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:05,560 Speaker 3: The eighties, and Everybody's like, what what is the song? 433 00:24:05,880 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 3: And then I was like, but I know this song 434 00:24:08,240 --> 00:24:10,560 Speaker 3: and if you listen and you can actually go listen 435 00:24:10,560 --> 00:24:13,879 Speaker 3: to it today on YouTube or anything fantastic like it 436 00:24:14,000 --> 00:24:17,159 Speaker 3: is very you know it immediately when you hear it. 437 00:24:17,240 --> 00:24:19,560 Speaker 2: Okay, definitely gonna have to check that out that because 438 00:24:19,600 --> 00:24:21,240 Speaker 2: I haven't seen that movie in forever. 439 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:23,520 Speaker 1: I saw it once and it scared me as a kid, 440 00:24:23,520 --> 00:24:24,560 Speaker 1: and it ever again, so. 441 00:24:24,640 --> 00:24:27,160 Speaker 3: I remember this for Lloyd's character is awful. 442 00:24:29,040 --> 00:24:33,560 Speaker 1: I believe it. I believe it. Green continued to tour 443 00:24:33,640 --> 00:24:35,600 Speaker 1: and perform up until her death at the age of 444 00:24:35,640 --> 00:24:37,640 Speaker 1: thirty five from pneumonia. 445 00:24:38,280 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 3: Yeah. Then we have sister Rosetta Tharp and yes, the 446 00:24:43,640 --> 00:24:46,080 Speaker 3: list could be so much bigger, but we had to 447 00:24:46,119 --> 00:24:50,040 Speaker 3: talk about the godmother of rock and roll. Sister Rosetta Tharp. 448 00:24:50,480 --> 00:24:53,600 Speaker 3: She was originally known as the creator of pop gospel, 449 00:24:53,840 --> 00:24:57,040 Speaker 3: and her image is a powerhouse for guitarists, which still 450 00:24:57,040 --> 00:25:00,840 Speaker 3: electrifies many who watch her performance. I see clips of 451 00:25:00,920 --> 00:25:03,240 Speaker 3: her performing in front of the choir all the time, 452 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,199 Speaker 3: and so many replications of what the US used to be. 453 00:25:07,560 --> 00:25:09,919 Speaker 3: It literally is like, look how amazing the music is. 454 00:25:10,160 --> 00:25:12,640 Speaker 3: And she was one of the prime examples. And though 455 00:25:12,680 --> 00:25:16,040 Speaker 3: she's heavily associated with rock and rolling gospel, her love 456 00:25:16,040 --> 00:25:19,080 Speaker 3: and her influence in the blues world is significant. And 457 00:25:19,119 --> 00:25:20,960 Speaker 3: also she's one of the ones that was actually out 458 00:25:21,000 --> 00:25:24,560 Speaker 3: and queer having a relationship with a woman and like 459 00:25:24,680 --> 00:25:28,919 Speaker 3: really showing love to her girlfriend at the time. But 460 00:25:29,040 --> 00:25:31,520 Speaker 3: it was very unique to see obviously in the fifties 461 00:25:31,680 --> 00:25:34,919 Speaker 3: and all of that. But born in Cotton Plant, Arkansas, 462 00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:38,440 Speaker 3: learned and mastered the guitar at the age of six 463 00:25:38,800 --> 00:25:41,600 Speaker 3: and often seen with her mother, who was known as 464 00:25:41,720 --> 00:25:44,840 Speaker 3: Mother Bell, whether it was at church or later could 465 00:25:44,880 --> 00:25:47,800 Speaker 3: be seen on the street corner of preaching in Chicago. 466 00:25:48,000 --> 00:25:49,919 Speaker 3: And though she did get married, it was her and 467 00:25:49,920 --> 00:25:52,640 Speaker 3: her mother who moved to New York, where Tharp would 468 00:25:52,640 --> 00:25:55,280 Speaker 3: soon start performing as a cotton club in nineteen thirty eight, 469 00:25:55,680 --> 00:25:58,320 Speaker 3: and it was in nineteen thirty eight that Tharp recorded 470 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,399 Speaker 3: her first album that included rock Me, one of her 471 00:26:01,440 --> 00:26:04,280 Speaker 3: biggest hits at the time, and her style was unique 472 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:07,080 Speaker 3: and iconic, so much so she was even featured for 473 00:26:07,119 --> 00:26:09,560 Speaker 3: her rock and roll Spiritual Song and Billboard magazine at 474 00:26:09,640 --> 00:26:12,479 Speaker 3: that time. And it was in that same year she 475 00:26:12,520 --> 00:26:16,199 Speaker 3: performed her show at the Carnegie Hall for From Spirituals 476 00:26:16,200 --> 00:26:19,040 Speaker 3: to Swing Show, which was recorded and is considered one 477 00:26:19,080 --> 00:26:22,120 Speaker 3: of the first rock and roll albums. So they said, 478 00:26:22,160 --> 00:26:25,000 Speaker 3: it's very like obvious, it's not in a studio, but 479 00:26:25,119 --> 00:26:28,000 Speaker 3: it's still at a record recorded as one of the best, 480 00:26:28,040 --> 00:26:29,920 Speaker 3: at one of the first. And she's been one of 481 00:26:29,960 --> 00:26:34,560 Speaker 3: the biggest influences in the world of music, including influencing 482 00:26:34,640 --> 00:26:37,080 Speaker 3: artists like Chuck Berry, who even made a statement saying 483 00:26:37,080 --> 00:26:40,480 Speaker 3: his career was quote one long sister Rosetta Tharp impression, 484 00:26:41,040 --> 00:26:45,320 Speaker 3: and also influenced artists such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, 485 00:26:45,359 --> 00:26:48,120 Speaker 3: and so many more. And she was finally inducted into 486 00:26:48,119 --> 00:26:50,640 Speaker 3: the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in twenty eighteen. 487 00:26:50,680 --> 00:26:53,720 Speaker 3: It took forever, and her influence is still heavily seen 488 00:26:53,760 --> 00:26:56,040 Speaker 3: today and Minnie would still call her one of the 489 00:26:56,040 --> 00:26:58,520 Speaker 3: best guitarists to date, inclining. 490 00:26:58,280 --> 00:27:01,080 Speaker 1: Me, ooh, I love it age six. 491 00:27:01,400 --> 00:27:03,600 Speaker 3: She mastered it at the age of six. 492 00:27:04,080 --> 00:27:07,560 Speaker 1: Wow. Mmmm, that's impress CZ. 493 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:12,720 Speaker 3: That's like, that's so wow wow mm hmm. 494 00:27:13,119 --> 00:27:19,440 Speaker 1: Everybody on this list incredibly impressive. Now I definitely want to. 495 00:27:18,240 --> 00:27:21,679 Speaker 2: Sit down make a playlist of their songs and just 496 00:27:22,320 --> 00:27:24,240 Speaker 2: I feel like the blues really helps me get in 497 00:27:24,320 --> 00:27:25,920 Speaker 2: a creative space. 498 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:28,480 Speaker 1: Yeah, so this is exciting. I'm excited to go check 499 00:27:28,520 --> 00:27:28,840 Speaker 1: them out. 500 00:27:29,080 --> 00:27:32,480 Speaker 2: And as you said, Samantha, this is by no means 501 00:27:32,480 --> 00:27:33,679 Speaker 2: a definitive list. 502 00:27:33,920 --> 00:27:36,040 Speaker 1: No, not at all. 503 00:27:36,640 --> 00:27:39,080 Speaker 3: There's so many on here that we could have gone through, 504 00:27:39,600 --> 00:27:41,200 Speaker 3: and there's so many that I did leave out. 505 00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:41,960 Speaker 1: I'm so sorry. 506 00:27:41,960 --> 00:27:44,240 Speaker 3: Don'll be upset. And I know there's so many today 507 00:27:44,480 --> 00:27:47,440 Speaker 3: that we know are influential and have been influenced by 508 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:50,400 Speaker 3: these women. But of course, again we wanted to look 509 00:27:50,400 --> 00:27:52,280 Speaker 3: at the history and towards the beginning some of the 510 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:54,400 Speaker 3: first names that we know, some of the styles of them, 511 00:27:54,440 --> 00:27:58,640 Speaker 3: again again crediting the fact that it was the black 512 00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,240 Speaker 3: community that really has given us the basis of what 513 00:28:01,280 --> 00:28:03,240 Speaker 3: we have as music, like there's no light to that, 514 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,720 Speaker 3: Like everything that we know honestly comes back to the 515 00:28:06,800 --> 00:28:09,520 Speaker 3: fact that a black community created it and a whole 516 00:28:09,520 --> 00:28:11,720 Speaker 3: lot of white people decide to steal it, and now 517 00:28:11,760 --> 00:28:13,800 Speaker 3: we have to go back to being able to credit them, 518 00:28:13,960 --> 00:28:19,320 Speaker 3: which is kind of like critical Racoryoo what I'm still 519 00:28:19,400 --> 00:28:20,640 Speaker 3: angry about the hearings right now? 520 00:28:21,160 --> 00:28:22,560 Speaker 1: Yeah, wow, that's fair. 521 00:28:24,880 --> 00:28:27,600 Speaker 2: Well, if there's someone you think we should cover that 522 00:28:27,600 --> 00:28:29,160 Speaker 2: we didn't, or if you want us to go more 523 00:28:29,200 --> 00:28:31,800 Speaker 2: in depth on anybody that we talked about here, or 524 00:28:31,840 --> 00:28:34,199 Speaker 2: any other topic suggestion you have on your mind, you 525 00:28:34,200 --> 00:28:36,760 Speaker 2: can always contact us. We love hearing from you our 526 00:28:36,800 --> 00:28:39,320 Speaker 2: emails Stephanie and mom Stuff at iHeartMedia dot com. You 527 00:28:39,360 --> 00:28:41,160 Speaker 2: can find us on Twitter at moms Stuff podcast or 528 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:42,640 Speaker 2: on Instagram at Stuff I've Never Told You. 529 00:28:42,760 --> 00:28:46,320 Speaker 1: Thanks. It's always to our super producer, Christina. Thank you, Christina, 530 00:28:46,520 --> 00:28:47,080 Speaker 1: and thanks to. 531 00:28:47,040 --> 00:28:48,800 Speaker 2: You for listening Stuff I Never Told You the protection 532 00:28:48,840 --> 00:28:51,440 Speaker 2: of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the heart 533 00:28:51,480 --> 00:28:53,560 Speaker 2: Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or reve you listen to your 534 00:28:53,560 --> 00:28:54,520 Speaker 2: favorite shows.