"Singing was just one element of blues performance in the early twentieth century. Ma Rainey, Bessie Smith, and other classic blues singers also tapped, joked and flaunted extravagant costumes on tent-show and black vaudeville stages. The press even described these women as "actresses" long before they achieved worldwide fame for their musical recordings. [Here], Paige McGinley shows that even though folklorists, record producers and festival promoters...