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Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = Big Mama Thornton| image = Thornton Big Mama 01.jpg| caption = Big Mama Thornton circa 1955-1960| image_size = | background = solo_singer| birth_name = Willie Mae Thornton| alias =| birth_date = birth date|1926|12|11|mf=y| origin = Ariton, Alabama , United States | death_date = death date and age|1984|7|25|1926|12|11|mf=y Los Angeles , California , United States| instrument = Drum kit|drums , harmonica | genre = Rhythm and blues , Texas blues | occupation = Singer , songwriter | years_active = 1947–1984| label = Peacock Records|Peacock , Arhoolie Records|Arhoolie , Mercury Records|Mercury , Pentagram, Backbeat, Vanguard Records|Vanguard , Ace Records (UK) | associated_acts = Muddy Waters Blues Band, Lightnin' Hopkins , John Lee Hooker | website =| current_members =| past_members =| notable_instruments = Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (December 11, 1926 & ndash; July 25, 1984) was an United States|American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter . She was the first to record the hit song " Hound Dog (song)|Hound Dog " in 1952. The song was #1 on the Billboard charts|Billboard R& B charts for seven weeks in 1953. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/bio/index.jsp? pid=1433 Billboard: History about the song Hound Dog The B-side was "They Call Me Big Mama," and the Single (music)|single sold almost two million copies. http://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/online/articles/TT/fthpg.html University of Texas: Willa Mae Thornton Three years later, Elvis Presley recorded his version, based on a version performed by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys . In a similar occurrence, she wrote and recorded " Ball 'n' Chain ," which became a hit for her. Janis Joplin later recorded "Ball and Chain," and was a huge success in the late 1960s. http://www.oafb.net/once105.html Ball 'n' Chain: Big Mama Thornton
Biography
Early life
Thornton was born in Montgomery, Alabama , United States . Her introduction to music started in a Baptist church (building)|church , where her father was a Minister of religion|minister and her mother a church singer. She and her six siblings began to sing at very early ages. Thornton left Montgomery at age 14 in 1941, following her mother's death."Unidentified article, at p. 1845, Kwame Anthony Appiah & Henry Louis Gates, Jr. , eds., Africana: The Encyclopedia of the African and African American Experience , Basic Civitas Books, (1999) - ISBN 0465000711 She joined Sammy Green's Georgia-based Hot Harlem Revue.Santelli, Robert. The Big Book of Blues , Penguin Books, page 464, (2001) - ISBN 0141001453 Her seven-year tenure with them gave her valuable singing and stage experience, and enabled herVague|date=July 2009 to tour the South. In 1948, she settled in Houston, Texas , where she hoped to further her career as a singer.
She was also a self-taught drummer and harmonica player, and frequently played each instrument onstage.
Career
Thornton began her recording career in Houston, signing a recording contract with Peacock Records in 1951. While working with another Peacock artist, Johnny Otis , she recorded " Hound Dog (song)|Hound Dog ", a song that composers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller had given her in Los Angeles .Rooks, Rikky. Lyrics: Writing Better Words for Your Songs , Backbeat Books, page 171, (2006) - ISBN 0879308850 The record was produced by Johnny Otis , and went to number one on the R& B chart.Bronson, Fred. The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits , Billboard Books, - ISBN 0823076776 Although the record made her a star, she saw little of the profits.Santelli, Robert. The Big Book of Blues , page 464 She continued to record for Peacock until 1957 and performed with R& B package tours with Junior Parker and Esther Phillips . In 1954, Thornton was one of the eyewitnesses to the accidental self-inflicted handgun death of blues singer Johnny Ace . http://www.people.fas.harvard.edu/~sawyer/thornton.html Account of Johnny Ace's death
Thornton's account was, that Johnny was sitting with girlfriend Olivia on his lap, waving his pistol around, pointing it at Willie Mae. "Don't snap that on me," she told him. Johnny grinned and put the gun to Olivia's head. "Stop that, Johnny, you'll git someone killed," Willie Mae shouted at him. "Nothin' to worry about," Johnny replied, coolly, "ain't but one bullet here and I know exactly where it is." He turned the gun on himself, put it to his temple and pulled the trigger.
Her career began to fade in the late 1950s and early 1960s.cite book | first= Tony | last= Russell | year= 1997 | title= The Blues: From Robert Johnson to Robert Cray | edition= | publisher= Carlton Books Limited | location= Dubai | page= 177 | isbn= 1-85868-255-X She left Houston and relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area , where she mostly played local blues clubs.
In 1966, Thornton recorded Big Mama Thornton With The Muddy Waters Blues Band , with Muddy Waters (guitar), Sammy Lawhorn (guitar), James Cotton (harmonica), Otis Spann (piano), Luther Johnson (Guitar Junior)|Luther Johnson (bass guitar), and Francis Clay (drums). Songs included "Everything Gonna Be Alright", "Big Mama's Blues", "I'm Feeling Alright", "Big Mama's Bumble Bee Blues", "Looking The World Over", "Big Mama's Shuffle", and "Since I Fell For You", amongst others.
Her ''Ball 'n' Chain'' album in 1968, recorded with Lightnin' Hopkins (guitar) and Larry Williams (vocals), included the songs " Hound Dog (song)|Hound Dog ", " Wade in the Water ", " Little Red Rooster ", " Ball 'n' Chain (Big Mama Thornton song)|Ball 'n' Chain ", "Money Taker", and "Prison Blues".
One of Thornton's last albums was Jail (1975) for Vanguard Records . It captured her performances during a couple of mid 1970s concerts at two northwestern prisons. She became the talented leader of a blues ensemble that featured sustained jams from George "Harmonica" Smith , as well as guitarists Doug Macleod (musician)|Doug Macleod , B. Huston and Steve Wachsman, drummer Todd Nelson, saxophonist Bill Potter, bassist Bruce Sieverson, and pianist J.D. Nicholson.
Thornton performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1966 and 1968, and at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1979. In 1965 she performed with the American Folk Blues Festival package in Europe . http://www.mtv.com/movies/movie/240441/moviemain.jhtml American Folk Blues Festival 1962 While in England that year, she recorded Big Mama Thornton in Europe and followed it up the next year in San Francisco with Big Mama Thornton with the Chicago Blues Band . Both albums came out on the Arhoolie Records|Arhoolie label. Thornton continued to record for Vanguard, Mercury, and other small labels in the 1970s and to work the blues festival circuit until her death in 1984, the same year she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame .
During her career, she appeared on stages from New York City 's Apollo Theater in 1952 to the Newport Jazz Festival in 1980, and was nominated for the Blues Music Awards six times. http://www.blues.org/search/handys.php Blues Music Awards Database for Big Mama Thornton In addition to " Ball 'n' Chain (Big Mama Thornton song)|Ball 'n' Chain " and "They Call Me Big Mama," Thornton wrote twenty other blues songs.Jessie Carney, Smith. Notable Black American Women , Gale Research, page 642, (2003) - ISBN 0810391775
In the 1970s years of heavy drinking began to hurt Thornton's health. She was in a serious auto accident but recovered to perform at the 1983 Newport Jazz Festival with Muddy Waters, B.B. King , and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson , a recording of which is called The Blues—A Real Summit Meeting on Buddha Records .
Thornton died of a myocardial infarction|heart attack in Los Angeles on July 25, 1984, at age 57. http://encyclopediaofalabama.org/face/Article.jsp? id=h-1573 Encyclopediaofalabama.org
Legacy
In 2007, in the film , Hounddog (film)|Hounddog , singer Jill Scott played Thornton. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0415856/ IMBb: Hounddog (2007)
Thornton is also the namesake of the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls. http://williemaerockcamp.org/about/history/ Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls: About Us
Discography
Year
Title
Label
1964
Big Mama Thornton in Europe
Arhoolie
1966
Big Mama Thornton with the Muddy Water Blues Band
Arhoolie
1969
Stronger Than Dirt
Arhoolie
1970
The Way It Is
Mercury
1970
Maybe
Roulette Records
1970
''She's Back
Backbeat
1973
Saved
Backbeat
1975
Jail (Live)
Vanguard
1975
Sassy Mama! (Live)
Vanguard
1978
''Mama's Pride
Vanguard
References
reflist
External links
Portal|Biography
http://www.aaregistry.com/african_american_history/1325/Big_Mama_Thornton_the_blues_and_more Big Mama Thornton the Blues and More
Find a Grave|3958
Persondata | NAME = Thornton, Willie Mae | ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Thornton, Big Mama | SHORT DESCRIPTION = United States|American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter | DATE OF BIRTH = December 11, 1926 | PLACE OF BIRTH = Montgomery, Alabama , United States | DATE OF DEATH = July 25, 1984 | PLACE OF DEATH = Los Angeles , California , United States DEFAULTSORT:Thornton, Big Mama Category:African American female singers Category:1926 births Category:1984 deaths Category:American blues singers Category:American female singers Category:Blues Hall of Fame inductees Category:People from Montgomery, Alabama Category:Burials at Inglewood Park Cemetery Category:Vanguard Records artists Category:Texas blues musicians Category:West Coast blues musicians Category:Deaths from myocardial infarction
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