The late Blues singer Ma Rainey was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2023 Grammy Awards.
Gertrude “Ma Rainey” Pridgett entered the music business over a century ago and her impact is still present. Rainey was a blues singer who became known for her signature “moaning” singing style. She was lauded as “The Mother of Blues” for her powerful vocals and energetic disposition. Because of her musical innovation, she was awarded with a Lifetime Achievement Award at this year’s Grammy Awards. The award honors performers who have made creative contributions of outstanding artistic significance to the field of recording.
Netflix’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom starring Viola Davis, attests to Ma Rainey’s musical contributions. Set in 1927, the film dramatizes a turbulent recording between Rainey and her manager Irvin. While Rainey’s impact was not celebrated during her lifetime, she has garnered a great deal of recognition posthumously. In 1983, she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame and then inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1990). Her legacy continued with a commemorative postage stamp in 1994.