(ThyBlackMan.com) When I think about the roots of blues music—the raw honesty, the pain wrapped in poetry, the joy carved out of hardship—I think of Ma Rainey. Her voice was more than a sound; it was ...

Fifteen minutes, "Ma," the manager pleads, kneeling before his star like a humiliated child, begging her not to walk out on a recording session. He is a beaten man, this music industry parasite, ...

Plus, get the best of BroadwayWorld delivered to your inbox, and unlimited access to our editorial content across the globe. "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom," was a hit song recorded in 1927, capitalizing ...

Detroit Repertory Theatre's production of August Wilson's "Ma Rainey's Black Bottom" delivers a mostly solid performance with a talented cast. Audience etiquette was an issue, particularly during a ...