Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton was born Dec. 11, 1926, in Ariton, Alabama, the youngest of the seven children of Rev. George and Mattie Thornton. She learned to play the harmonica at the age of eight. It is said that she sat in front of the Ariton bus station entertaining people. Her mother died while Willie Mae was 14 and she was taken in by the Florence Jackson family of Ariton., While in her teens. Willie Mae moved to Montgomery and worked at a local bar doing whatever was necessary, including filling in for the bar's singer. In 1941, she joined promoter Sammy Green's Georgia-based Hot Harlem Revue for seven years gaining valuable stage and singing experience and the title, "the new Bessie Smith." She earned the name "Big Mama, not only because of her 6'3", 300-pound frame but also because of her powerful voice and stage presence. , In 1948 Big Mama settled in Houston, Texas and was signed in 1951 to Peacock Records by Black entrepreneur Don Robey who was impressed with this self-taught drummer and harmonica player. , In 1952, Johnny Otis, working with Robey, had Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, two teenaged songwriters write "Hound Dog," which Big Mama recorded. , (Continued on other side) , Reverse Side , Hound Dog and the B side, "They Call Me Big Mama" was released in 1952 and sold almost two million copies. Elvis Presley recorded it three years later, making it a Rock and Roll classic. , Big Mama is best known for her recording of "Hound Dog" and for her original song, "Ball and Chain," made famous by Janis Joplin, among others. , Moving to San Francisco Bay area in the early 1960s, she toured in the U.S., Europe, and Canada with other Blues royalty, such as Muddy Waters, Howlin' Wolf,and Buddy Guy. She played the famous 1969 Ann Arbor Blues Fest, Carnegie Hall, the Fillmore, Newport Jazz Fest, Monterey Jazz Festival and more. She released seven albums and was featured on many compilations. , Big Mama was elected into the Blues Hall of Fame in Memphis prior to her death in 1984, the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2020, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2024, "Hound Dog" and "Ball and Chain" were listed in 2004 in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's list of "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll." Big Mama died at the age of 57 and is buried in Inglewood, California. Her legacy as a pioneer for women in music lives on.