See See Rider

Billed as the "Mother of the Blues," Ma Rainey was a massive touring star on the Black vaudeville circuit long before she ever entered a studio. In October 1924, she laid down "See See Rider," backed by a young, hotshot cornet player named Louis Armstrong. Rainey delivered the traditional 12-bar blues melody with her commanding, majestic contralto, while Armstrong provided elegant, answering melodic fills. It was a perfect marriage of rural Southern blues feeling and sophisticated Northern jazz instrumentation, making the song a permanent standard that would later be famously revived by Chuck Willis and Elvis Presley.