Ma Rainey and the Blues

"Ma Rainey was born Gertrude Pridgett on 26 April, 1886 in Columbus, Georgia. She joined a vaudeville troop and pretty soon after that, she claimed to have coined the term 'the blues' for the style of songs she was singing. She changed her name to Ma Rainey when she married William 'Pa' Rainey and started to tour with him. She toured with a number of bands that included legends such as Louis Armstrong, and she also mentored Bessie Smith, the soon-to-be Empress of the Blues. Ma Rainey, known as The Mother of the Blues, died of a heart attack on 22 December, 1939." BBC
She appears on "Highway 61"