Biography of Big Mama Thornton

Despite her religious home environment, Willie Mae Thornton was working the Southern club circuit by the time she was fourteen. While appearing at Houston's Bronze Peacock, she caught the attention of Don Robey, the club's owner and a major African-American record producer, who signed her to his Peacock label, named in honor of his club. Thornton's hard-edged blues voice contrasted with the sweeter, smoother style currently in vogue; nevertheless, her energy and showmanship allowed her to work with the best Southwestern and West Coast R&B bands, fronted by Johnny Otis, Roy Milton, Joe Liggins, and Gatemouth Brown. Along with fellow Duke/Peacock artists under contract to Robey (including Junior Parker, Johnny Ace, and Bobby Bland), she toured the Southern club and theater circuit. In 1953 she scored a #1 R&B hit with her grits-and-gravy version of "Hound Dog," later a hit for Elvis Presley. Continuous West Coast club work kept her active until the blues revival expanded her audience. In 1969, at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival, she proved to be the reigning woman artist, interacting as an equal with her peers Big Joe Williams, Howlin' Wolf, and Muddy Waters. Although she played several instruments, her voice was her strength, and she served as a model for female rock vocalists. Despite her bluff exterior, she was a warm, considerate person and a respected member of the blues community. During the 70s she was by far the premier down-home blueswoman in America. ~ Barry Lee Pearson