Prove It on Me Blues

E780256

"Prove It on Me Blues" is a 1928 blues song by Ma Rainey that is widely noted for its bold, coded references to lesbian desire and gender nonconformity, making it a landmark in queer music history.

All labels observed (1)

Label Occurrences
Prove It on Me Blues canonical 1

How this entity was disambiguated

Statements (46)

Predicate Object
instanceOf single ⓘ
song ⓘ
associatedWith LGBTQ history ⓘ
gender studies ⓘ
lesbian history ⓘ
queer studies ⓘ
composer Ma Rainey ⓘ
countryOfOrigin United States ⓘ
culturalSignificance early example of LGBTQ representation in popular music ⓘ
important work in African American queer history ⓘ
important work in lesbian music history ⓘ
landmark in queer music history ⓘ
decadeOfRelease 1920s ⓘ
era classic blues era ⓘ
featuresTheme defiance of gender norms ⓘ
gender nonconformity ⓘ
lesbian desire ⓘ
queer identity ⓘ
same-sex attraction between women ⓘ
sexual autonomy ⓘ
genre blues ⓘ
hasLyricalDevice coded references to lesbianism ⓘ
double entendre ⓘ
innuendo ⓘ
hasSubject romantic relationships between women ⓘ
women’s independence ⓘ
historicalContext Harlem Renaissance period ⓘ
linked to: Harlem Renaissance

Jim Crow era United States ⓘ
linked to: Jim Crow laws
influenced later queer musicians ⓘ
scholarship on blues and sexuality ⓘ
language English ⓘ
lyricist Ma Rainey ⓘ
notableFor bold treatment of lesbian desire in 1920s popular music ⓘ
explicit challenge to conventional gender roles ⓘ
use of coded queer language ⓘ
partOf Ma Rainey discography ⓘ
performedBy Ma Rainey and her band ⓘ
linked to: Ma Rainey
performer Ma Rainey ⓘ
recordingArtist Ma Rainey ⓘ
subgenre classic female blues ⓘ
subjectOf LGBTQ history scholarship ⓘ
gender studies scholarship ⓘ
musicological analysis ⓘ
queer theory scholarship ⓘ
vocalist Ma Rainey ⓘ
yearOfRelease 1928 ⓘ

How these facts were elicited

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Ma Rainey → notableSong → Prove It on Me Blues ⓘ