Famous Blues Singers

Jimmy Rushing has been called the greatest of all big-band blues singers and many of today’s blues standards are credited to his writing skills, such as “Good Morning Blues”, “Goin’ to Chicago”, “Boogie Woogie” and many others. The song “Mr. Five-by-Five” was written the singer's honor and is said to describe him as being five feet tall and five feet wide.

Perhaps the best know blues singer in all the universe is B.B. King, who has been satisfying audiences worldwide with his vast talents on his famous guitar “Lucille” to accompany his soulful singing voice for more than half a century. B.B. King is also perhaps the most influential of all famous blues singers and all that have followed have taken a bit from this multi-talented yet humble superstar.

The singer was raised in the blues rich delta of Mississippi where he was raised. Life was by no means easy for him as a young singer. He was shuttled back and forth between his mother’s and grandmother’s homes where he spent many long hours working hard as a sharecropper and just as many hours praising the lord in church, as he sang gospel songs and honed the skills that would later be enjoyed by millions worldwide.

Marlena Shaw was born in 1942 in New York and given the birth name Marlina Burgess. She was influenced by her uncle and grandmother early in life who exposed her to gospel music early on and helped to develop her love for music and her seductive and sultry sound.

Otis Rush is a well known blues singer and guitarist, born in Mississippi in 1934. His style is unique and distinctive with a slow singing style and the long bent notes he made his own. His style of blues became known as West Side Chicago style and has proven to be an influence on such singers as Eric Clapton, Luther Allison and Magic Sam among others.

At the age of ten she made her debut before a live audience at the world famous Apollo Theater in Harlem, where she performed with her uncle. She was such a big hit they were invited to sing again the following week. As it turned out her uncle had double-booked the night and the pre-teen went on to perform solo before a stunned and very pleased audience.

Her big break came when she was invited to sing with the Count Basie Orchestra and as they say the rest is history. It is easy to understand the attraction to her versatile style and her smooth vocals. Marlena is still performing today and her voice is still as sweet, seductive and sultry as ever.

Gertrude Pridgett or better recognized as Gertrude “Ma” Rainey was one of the many famous women blues singers. She was called “Mother of the Blues" since she was the first true blues singer and one of the female singers that performed the blues in minstrel and vaudeville shows. She was the first female to record the blues professionally when she signed a recording contract with Paramount in 1923. Between the years 1923 and 1928 she recorded 100 songs on Paramount records. In 1983, Gertrude Rainy was inducted into the Blues Foundation’s Blue Hall of Fame.

Bessie Smith was another one of the famous blues singers of the 1920s and 30s and was called the “Empress of the Blues.” She began her singing career in the year 1912 when she joined the Rabbit Foot Minstrels led by Gertrude “Ma” Rainey. Before long she signed with Columbia’s records and had several major hits. She went on to record more then 150 songs. Some were so popular that as many as 150,000 copies sold in a week. Her broad expressive range was only one of her many qualities that made her an outstanding blues singer.

Ethel Waters was also one of the famous women blues singers. At seventeen, Ethel was discovered when they heard her sing at the apartments where she was employed. They paid her $10.00 a week to sing in their vaudeville unit. She had a low and clear voice and audiences felt her emotions when she sang. Between 1921 and 1924 she recorded songs for the Black Swan label. She was signed on with Columbia records in 1925. The type of voice she had gave her the ability to sing many different types of music including jazz. She also became a dramatic actress.

Other famous blues singers include Bill “Hoss” Allen, Ralph Bass, Chuck Berry, Blind Blake, Big Bill Broonzy, Clarence “Gatemouth” Brown, Ray Charles, James Cotton, Arthur Crudup, Magic Sam, Robert Lee McCollum, Fred McDowell, Brownie McGhee, Lillian McMurry, Jay McShann, Blind Willie McTell and Jimi Hendrix.

"Blues singers have an amazing range of styles that enrich the genre's history" according to Paul Brighton of Audition Portal.

A popular blues singer in the 1920s was Ida Cox. She was only 14 when she joined traveling vaudeville shows. Ida began a recording contract in 1923 with Paramount. Her first blues recordings were called “Graveyard Dream Blues” and Weary Way Blues.” She wrote many of her own songs. She often recorded songs for Paramount with her Blues pianist husband Jesse Crump. Some of the songs she performed with her husband were Bone Orchard Blues, Black Crepe Blues and Worn Down Daddy.

Alberta Hunter was one the famous women blues singers. Her career flourished in the 1920s and 30s. She was a songwriter as well as a blues singer. She wrote Downhearted Blues in 1923 for Bessie Smith and it was a big hit. Alberta also appeared in New York and London clubs and on stage in musicals. Her recording career began in New York in 1921 where she recorded for the Black Swan Label. In 1922 she started to record with Paramount. In 1927 she went to Europe where she sang in musical revues. She became famous there and stayed for many years. In 1956 she retired from singing and became a nurse. She resumed her singing career in 1977.