Big Mama Thornton

Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton only notched a single national strike in her life time, nonetheless it was a genuine monster. “Hound Pup” kept down the very best slot machine on Billboard’s R&B graphs for seven lengthy weeks in 1953. Alas, Elvis Presley’s rocking 1956 cover was a great deal larger, successfully obscuring Thornton’s key state to immortality. That is clearly a damned pity, because Thornton’s menacing growl was certainly something particular. The big belter first opened up her pipes in cathedral but shortly embraced the blues. She toured with Sammy Green’s Sizzling hot Harlem Revue through the 1940s. Thornton was ensconced over the Houston circuit when Peacock Information employer Don Robey agreed upon her in 1951. She debuted on Peacock with “Relationship Blues” that calendar year, supported by trumpeter Joe Scott’s music group. Nonetheless it was her third Peacock time with Johnny Otis’ band that demonstrated the champion. With Pete Lewis setting up some truly awful electric guitar behind her, Big Mama shouted “Hound Pup,” a tune whose authorship continues to be a bone tissue of contention even today (both Otis as well as the group of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller state responsibility), and shortly hit the street a star. Nonetheless it was an isolated occurrence. Though Thornton trim some great Peacock follow-ups — “I Smell a Rat,” “End Hoppin’ on Me,” “The Seafood,” “As being a Pup” — through 1957, she hardly ever once again reached the strike parade. Also Elvis was evidently unacquainted with her; he was handed “Hound Puppy” by Freddie Bell, a Vegas lounge rocker. Early-’60s 45s for Irma, Bay-Tone, Kent, and Sotoplay do little to regenerate her sagging fortunes, but some times for Arhoolie that included her 1st vinyl fabric rendition of “Ball and String” in 1968 and two albums for Mercury in 1969-1970 place her back blood flow (Janis Joplin’s overwrought but well-intentioned cover of “Ball and String” didn’t harm either). Along with her imposing vocals, Thornton started to emphasize her harmonica abilities through the 1960s. Thornton was a hardcore cookie. She outfitted like a guy and got no guff from anyone, even while the pounds dropped away her once-ample framework and she became downright scrawny over the last many years of her existence. Medical personnel discovered her lifeless body within an L.A. rooming home in 1984.