Often called the “Mother of the Blues,” Ma Rainey was known for her deep-throated voice and mesmerizing stage presence that drew packed audiences and sold hit records in the early twentieth century. Also a songwriter, her lyrics and melodies reflected her experiences as an independent, openly bisexual African-American woman.
Alberta Hunter was an American jazz and blues singer and songwriter from the 1910s to the late 1950s, who returned to singing in her 80s after 20 years working as a nurse.
Valerie Muriel Rodway was a composer of Guyanese cultural and patriotic songs, inspired by the events surrounding Guyana’s independence in 1966.
Diorbhail Nic a’ Bhriuthainn was a Scottish Gaelic poet and songwriter who lived on the Isle of Luing in Scotland.
Wanda Aleksandra Landowska was a Polish harpsichordist and pianist whose performances, teaching, writings and especially her many recordings helped revitalize the popularity of the harpsichord in the early 1900s. She was the first person to record Johann Sebastian Bach’s Goldberg Variations on the harpsichord in 1933. She conducted extensive research on all aspects of 17th- and 18th-century music, and published her book Musique ancienne in 1909. Landowska toured throughout Europe performing Bach concertos on harpsichord; these concerts, combined with her research, and writings spurred the 20-century revival of the instrument and the development of modern harpsichord technique. Landowska also taught classes at conservatories in Berlin and Paris, and in 1925 founded her own school, the École de Musique Ancienne (School of Ancient Music), north of Paris at Saint-Leu-la-Fôret. In 1940, she and her domestic partner, Denise Restout, fled the Nazi invasion of France. Her home in Saint-Leu was looted, and her instruments and manuscripts stolen, so she arrived in the United States essentially with no assets. She went on to re-establish herself as a performer and teacher in the United States, touring extensively. After her death in 1959, her longtime domestic partner Restout edited and translated her writings and music, preserving Landowska’s artistic legacy.
Known as Madame A. C. Bilbrew, A. C. Harris Bilbrew was an American poet, musician, composer, playwright, clubwoman, and radio personality who lived in South Los Angeles. In 1923, she became the first black soloist to sing on a Los Angeles radio program. In the early 1940s, she hosted the city’s first African-American radio music program, The Gold Hour. LA County Library’s Willowbrook branch is named in her honor.