Highlighting both the urban and rural female blues singers who played a pivotal role in the development of the blues. Featuring tracks by many female blues legends including Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie and Ma Rainey with sublime musical accompaniment from legendary artists including Louis Armstrong, Blind Willie McTell and Blind Blake.

The album features a diverse selection of tracks which highlights the hugely important role that women played in the early days of recorded blues. Includes a FREE download card allowing you to download the full album
Mamie Smith was the first to emerge from the vaudeville circuit and became the first African-American artist to make a blues recording in 1920 with the featured ‘Crazy Blues’. The immense success of this recording opened the door for many others to follow such as Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, Sippie Wallace and Ida Cox.

The classic blues had a great impact also on important rural bluesmen, and here both Kate McTell and Bertha Lee are accompanied by their illustrious bluesmen husbands Messrs Blind Willie McTell and Charley Patton. Likewise, Blind Blake provides typically nimble and ingenious accompaniment for Irene Scruggs – commonly known as ‘Chocolate Brown’ – on ‘Itching Heel’ which demonstrates sublime interplay between the two.