Classic female blues was an early form of blues music, popular in the 1920s. An amalgam of traditional folk blues and urban theater music, the style is also known as vaudeville blues. Classic blues were performed by female vocalists accompanied by pianists or small jazz ensembles, and were the first blues to be recorded. Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Ethel Waters, and the other singers of this genre were instrumental in spreading the popularity of the blues.
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Famous quotes containing the words classic, female and/or blues:
“A classic is a book that doesn’t have to be written again.”
—Carl Van Doren (1885–1950)
“There is no female Mozart because there is no female Jack the Ripper.”
—Camille Paglia (b. 1947)
“It is from the blues that all that may be called American music derives its most distinctive character.”
—James Weldon Johnson (1871–1938)