Amoeba Music

By Jonny Whiteside

            Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton was one of the toughest blues belters ever,  an artist who paid dues as a youthful performer touring on the hardscrabble chitlin’ circuit and had to claw her way through the shadowy rhythm & blues jungle until she eventually made it to the top. On tough numbers like "I Smell a Rat," Thornton delivered a powerhouse vocal that combined a dramatic, biting style with a palpable sense of scorn and misfortune so effectively that it's surprising that she didn't have more hit records. The one chart topper she's best known for, Leiber and Stoller’s "Hound Dog," was a... Read More

City Of Origin:

Montgomery, Alabama, United States

Genre:

Blues

Birthdate:

12/11/1926

Death date:

07/25/1984