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Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom on Netflix ends—as many films based on a true story tend to—with a photo montage of the real-life characters depicted on screen. But this particular based-on-a-true-story movie is first and foremost a based-on-a-play-that-is-based-on-a-true-story movie; more specifically, August Wilson’s 1982 play of the same name.
Wilson wrote the play as part of his ten-play Century Cycle, which each center on African-American experiences from a different decade in the 20th century. The film version—directed by George C. Wolfe, adapted by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, and produced by Denzel Washington—put together an all-star cast, including Viola Davis as the titular role of blues singer Ma Rainey, and Chadwick Boseman as the trumpet player in her band named Levee. But just how true was Wilson’s play—and the Netflix adaptation—to real-life? Let’s get into the Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom true story.
Is Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom based on a true story? How accurate is
Yes. Well, sort of. August Wilson based his 1982 play on the real-life 1920s blues singer Ma Rainey, who really did record her first tracks in a Chicago recording studio for Paramount Records. “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom,” is a real song of hers, although it was recorded in 1927, and not in 1925 at her first recording session, as is depicted in Wilson’s play.
However, the other characters in Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom—Levee, Toledo, Cutler, Slow Drag, etc—are all fictional. Rainey did perform with a band, and you see their photo in the film’s closing credits. But, according to Getty Images, their names were Ed Pollock, Albert Wynn, Thomas A. Dorsey, Dave Nelson, and Gabriel Washington.
Furthermore, the speculation on the tension between the band members and the producers at Rainey’s first recording session is entirely fictional, as is the fatal conflict between her pianist and trumpet player that acts the film’s climax. So, yes, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom is based on a true story, in that Ma Rainey was a real person, but most of the actual plot is fictional. That said, the historical exploitation of African-American music by white musicians is certainly based on truth.
Who was the real Ma Rainey?
Gertrude “Ma” Rainey, also known as “the Mother of the Blues,” was a blues singer known as one of the earliest recorded blues artists. Her popular tracks include “Bo-Weevil Blues” (1923), “Moonshine Blues” (1923), “See See Rider Blues” (1924), “Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom” (1927), and “Soon This Morning” (1927).
Originally from Georgia, and born as Gertrude Pridgett, Rainey started her career on the vaudeville stage. She married in 1904, to comedian, dancer, and vocalist Will Rainey. As she gained fame as a blues singer, according to the New York Times, “Rainey helped to mainstream narratives of black female autonomy that had little to do with the Victorian norms of white society.” She sang openly about her attraction to women, which is depicted through her relationship with Dussie Mae in Wilson’s play. Mae is based on Rainey’s real-life rumored girlfriend and chorus girl, Bessie Smith.
She recorded with names like Thomas Dorsey and Louis Armstrong. She toured across the country until 1935, when she essentially retired. She died of a heart attack at the age of 53 shortly after, in 1939, but clearly, her legacy lives on to this day.
