The Resume

(April 26, 1886-December 22, 1939)
Born in Columbus, Georgia
Birth name was Gertrude Malissa Nix Pridgett
Recorded 'See See Rider Blues,' 'Bo-Weavil Blues,' 'Prove It on Me,' 'Bad Luck Blues,' 'Black Eye Blues,' 'Georgia Cake Walk' and 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom'
Known as 'Mother of the Blues'
Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as an early influence (1990)

Why she might be annoying:

She left home at 14 to join a minstrel show.
She said she coined the name 'blues' to describe the music she sang, a claim no music historian believes.
She spent the night in jail for hosting an 'indecent party' after police responding to a noise complaint found a room full of naked women in intimate situations (1925).
Paramount Records terminated her contract, saying her material had gone out of fashion (1928).
Her obituary in the local paper listed her profession as 'housewife.'

Why she might not be annoying:

She mentored Bessie Smith.
She was backed by jazz greats like Louis Armstrong and Coleman Hawkins.
Many of her songs addressed the harsh realities of life in the Deep South for poor blacks.
She earned enough in her brief recording career to purchase two theaters when she retired.
She inspired August Wilson's Tony Award winning play 'Ma Rainey's Black Bottom.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• Bisexuals
• Blues Musicians
• Bob Dylan References
• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 10]
• Ebony Magazine's 100 Most Fascinating Black Women of the 20th Century [March 1999]
• Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award (Ranked: 2023)
• I am on a U.S. Postage Stamp [R-T]
• I Am Vaudeville [M-Z]
• I Covered 'Stagger Lee'
• I Did Not Graduate High School [N-S]
• I Died in 1939 (Ranked: 53)
• I Sing About Memphis
• My Name is H20
• My Nickname is Part of My Name [M-Z]
• Profiles 22501-22750 (Ranked: 22503)
• Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Members (Ranked: 1990)
• Weather Names

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 3 Votes: 33.33% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 11 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 13 Votes: 61.54% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 7 Votes: 42.86% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 5 Votes: 40.0% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 8 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 40 Votes: 42.50% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 23 Votes: 52.17% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 15 Votes: 60.0% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 32 Votes: 68.75% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 30 Votes: 56.67% Annoying
In 2008, Out of 59 Votes: 40.68% Annoying