Cora Mae Bryant facts for kids

Cora Mae Bryant (born May 1, 1926 – died October 30, 2008) was an American blues musician. She was the daughter of another famous American blues musician, Curley Weaver. Cora Mae Bryant released two albums during her lifetime on the Music Maker record label.

A special part of her home in Oxford, Georgia, was known as a 'blues museum'. Her own music was greatly influenced by the live performances and house parties she attended. These often featured her father, along with other local blues musicians like Blind Willie McTell and Buddy Moss in the early 1930s.

Cora Mae Bryant's Early Life

Cora Mae Weaver was born in Oxford, Georgia, which is in Newton County, Georgia, United States. Her father was Curley Weaver. She started singing at just six years old at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Walnut Grove, Georgia.

Since her father was often away performing and recording music, Cora Mae spent a lot of time with her grandmother, Savannah Shepard. Her grandmother lived in Almon, Georgia. Cora Mae often stayed with her grandmother, who had both a piano and a guitar. Her grandmother would play these instruments and sing to entertain young Cora Mae. Cora Mae believed that this was where her father also learned his first music skills. She once said, "When the weekend came, Daddy would come and get me. We did not know the difference between night and day."

Learning the Blues

Cora Mae started going to fish fries and barbecues around her home state with her father. At these events, she met many important blues musicians. These included Buddy Moss, Blind Willie McTell, and a guitarist named Johnny Guthrie. They usually played music outdoors for the local people. This is how Cora Mae learned about Georgia blues music. Later, in her mid-twenties, she worked casually with her father, picking cotton to earn a living. Her father, Curley Weaver, passed away in 1962.

Cora Mae Bryant began to perform her own music. She found writing songs to be quite easy. She explained, "I don't get no pencil and write 'em. One song, we was sittin' up there just talkin', me and my granddaughter, and I said, 'Yeah, if you got anything in layaway, you better get it out.' And I made a song of that." Music historians Peter B. Lowry and Bruce Bastin also used Cora Mae's knowledge of early blues music in Atlanta and Georgia for their research.

Her own recording career started later in her life. In 1997, she was a guest on Dave Peabody's album, Down in Carolina. She sang on a song she wrote called "McTell, Moss, & Weaver."

Becoming a Blues Star

Cora Mae slowly became an important person in the Atlanta blues music scene. She performed often and helped organize "Giving It Back" festivals at the Northside Tavern in Atlanta. These festivals honored early blues artists. She also frequently called into local blues radio shows.

Her collection of blues items kept growing. For example, a small gray bench that Blind Willie McTell used to sit on while playing was given to Cora Mae. This bench became part of her 'museum' in a side room of her home in Oxford. Cora Mae Bryant was featured in articles in Living Blues magazine in February 1998 and in Music Makers in 2002.

In 2001, Cora Mae recorded her first album, Born with the Blues. It was released on the Music Maker label, which supported her music. In July 2002, Cora Mae performed at the Mississippi Valley Blues Festival. She was joined by guitarist Josh Jacobson and sang songs from her new album. Her song "You Was Born to Die" was on a compilation album called fRoots 7 (1996). Another song, "It Was Weaver," appeared on Soul Bag N°192 (2008). More of her songs were included on Music Maker's own compilation, Sisters of the South (2003). Her second album, Born in Newton County, came out in the same year.

In 2005, while living at home in Oxford, Cora Mae suffered a stroke. She passed away peacefully on the morning of October 30, 2008, at 82 years old.

Cora Mae Bryant's Legacy

Cora Mae Bryant's song, "Born to Die," was played by Cerys Matthews on the UK's BBC Radio 2 in April 2015. Her song "It Was Weaver" was also played in June 2014 on a NTS Radio show hosted by Charlie Bones. Her music continues to be enjoyed by many.

Discography