Mamie Smith and Ethel Waters were just two of approximately one hundred women who performed in vaudeville, stage productions, minstrel shows, small clubs, and cabarets throughout the decade. Mamie Smith's recording of Crazy Blues for the Okeh label in 1920 was an unexpected commercial success and sparked a rapid expansion of the market for women's blues recordings. Its remarkable popularity encouraged record companies, songwriters, singers, and musicians alike to capitalise on the growing demand for female blues artists. The recording is widely regarded as the catalyst that opened the floodgates for the classic female blues era.

Songwriters such as W. C. Handy, Perry Bradford, and Clarence Williams played a pivotal role in securing recording opportunities for many of the leading female blues performers of the period. Ironically, the era's two most celebrated, experienced, and accomplished blues singers—Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey—who had honed their talents and built their repertoires on the vaudeville circuit during the first two decades of the twentieth century, were not recorded until 1923.

This page celebrates the remarkable legacy of these pioneering women—both the famous and the lesser-known—as well as the contemporary artists who continue to honour their achievements. Their extraordinary talent and ground breaking recordings helped shape the history of the blues and left an enduring musical heritage that continues to inspire generations of performers and audiences alike.

This time featuring
Randy Crawford

Randy Crawford - Rainy Night In Georgia