A Bad Woman Feeling Good: Blues and the Women Who Sing ThemAn exciting lineage of women singers originating with Ma Rainey and her protge Bessie Smith shaped the blues, launching it as a powerful, expressive vehicle of emotional liberation. Along with their successors Billie Holiday, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Tina Turner, and Janis Joplin, they injected a dose of reality into the often trivial world of popular song, bringing their message of higher expectations and broader horizons to their audiences.