Blues Week continues as we present our guide to the best female blues artists ever, starting off with the original Queen of the Blues - Mamie Smith
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The 25 best female blues artists ever
It's not just bluesmen who should be on your stereo
Ed Mitchell, Wed 28 Jul 2010, 3:00 pm UTC
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Mamie Smith
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Ma Rainey
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Bessie Smith
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Ida Goodson
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Ethel Waters
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Alberta Hunter
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Lizzie 'Memphis Minnie' Douglas
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Victoria Spivey
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Ida Cox
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Blue Lu Barker
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Lizzie Miles
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Gladys Bentley
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Billie Holiday
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Rosa Henderson
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Sara Martin
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Bertha 'Chippie' Hill
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Lucille Hegamin
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Eva Taylor
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Sister Rosetta Tharpe
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Lucille Bogan
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Ruth Brown
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Beverly 'Guitar' Watkins
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Koko Taylor
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Bonnie Raitt
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Rory Block
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‘The Queen of the Blues’ Mamie Smith has the distinction of being the first African-American to record a vocal blues.
Recorded on August 10 1920, Crazy Blues established the now classic lyrical blues theme of tainted love ("The man I love/He don't treat me right/He makes me feel so blue?I don't know what to do’). Mamie put in an incredible, lung-shredding performance on Crazy Blues which became a million seller in less than a year.
Record companies couldn’t ignore sales figures like that. The race was on to find other great female artists of which, it turned out, there was little shortage. The ‘classic female blues’ era had begun…
