CLASSIC WILLIE MAE "BIG MAMA" THORNTON 78 "HOUND DOG"

	£		57
	$		68

A VERY GOOD COPY OF THIS MEGA RARE BLUES & RHYTHM CLASSIC FROM WILLIE MAE "BIG MAMA" THORNTON 

"HOUND DOG"

Big Mama Thornton - Hound Dog

Thornton, Willie Mae "Big Mama" (1926-1984)

A powerhouse performer noted for her no-nonsense stage presence and a penchant for cross-dressing, blues singer and songwriter "Big Mama" Thornton not only established a signature rhythm-and-blues style of her own, but also inspired mainstream rockers such as Elvis Presley and Janis Joplin. Her career spanned four decades, positioning her as a link between the blues divas of the 1930s and the blues revivalists of the 1960s.

As with many African-American singers, Thornton's career began in church. Born on December 11, 1926, she was one of a Montgomery, Alabama preacher's seven children. As a child, she sang in the choir alongside her mother.

Conspicuously large for her age, Thornton left school early. After her mother died when she was barely a teenager, she cleaned a tavern to help support the family. She taught herself to play drums and harmonica by watching others. When the scheduled singer failed to appear one night, Thornton persuaded the proprietor to let her fill the gig.

At 14 she won a local talent show, impressing blues promoter Sammy Green. He signed her to tour the South with his Atlanta-based Hot Harlem Review. Although billed as a successor to Bessie Smith, Thornton was already developing her trademark persona as an imposing blues belter in the style of Memphis Minnie and Gertrude "Ma" Rainey.

Settling in Houston in 1948, Thornton worked its vibrant club scene, rubbing shoulders with the era's top blues and R&B performers. In 1951 Peacock Records owner Don Robey signed her for a five-year performing and recording contract.

Robey recruited her for the Johnny Otis Rhythm and Blues Caravan, bringing her national exposure including her first show-stopping appearance at New York's Apollo Theater in 1952. A robust woman weighing over 300 pounds at the height of her career, her billing became "Big Mama Thornton" around this time although it is likely that she used the nickname well before then.

THE OFT QUOTED STORY GOES THAT Otis furthered Thornton's career by asking songwriters Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller (Credited as "Stroller" on this label!) to write for her. Their "Hound Dog," embellished with Thornton's growling delivery, topped Billboard's R&B charts in 1953......

But IT MAY HAVE BEEN that "that was just a lie". In fact Hound Dog had been written by Robey and Big mama herself...

Hound dog. Words & music: Don D. Robey & Willie Mae Thornton

Thornton's experience with "Hound Dog" is one of the most frequently cited examples of the recording industry's appropriation of African-American artists' creativity. Elvis Presley's mainstream version of Thornton's only number one hit in 1956 so eclipsed her orginal as to obscure her achievement. Moreover, Thornton received only $500 for her recording and received no royalties from later re-issues. The line "Bow wow to you, too," with which she ended subsequent performances of the song, was her retort to Presley's success with her material.

Disc details

US PEACOCK 1612    10" 78rpm SHELLAC

HOUND DOG / NIGHT MARE 

CONDITION - VG+ /EX-     NO REAL SCRATCHES BUT HAS BEEN PLAYED QUITE A LOT AND THERE IS SOME BACKGROUND HISS - NEVERTHELESS THIS CLASSIC RINGS OUT LOUD AND CLEAR!

SUPERB CLASSIC

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THE GREG'S GREAT'S SYSTEM CONSISTS OF A SPECIALLY DESIGNED INNER BOX MADE OUT OF 1" THICK POLYSTYRENE, WHICH THEN GOES INSIDE A CORREGATED STIFF OUTER CARDBOARD CARTON. THE BOXES CAN TAKE UP TO 21 RECORDS,

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