While still a child, Willie Mae (1926-1984) taught herself to play the drums and harmonica, and by the age of 14, she had run away from home to make her career in secular music. It was "Hound Dog," which she recorded in 1953 with the Johnny Otis band. Big Mama Thornton always claimed to have written the song herself, and her ferocious rendition of it (complete with Big Mama's growl and a nasty guitar line by Pete Lewis) held the #1 spot in rhythm and blues charts for nine weeks. Unfortunately for Thornton, Elvis Presley's smoother version was a major rock'n'roll hit in 1956 and successfully eclipsed her biggest claim to fame. For some years, Big Mama suffered in obscurity like most of her fellow bluesmen.
Her name gained wider prominence and her career enjoyed a significant resurgence as her song "Ball and Chain" was covered by Janis Joplin, making it a regular number in her repertoire. From that point onward, Thornton would remain a headliner at blues festivals, colleges, and clubs throughout the USA and Europe. Her name and legacy will forever remain amongst the very greatest of blues legends. Thornton's mighty voice, take-no-guff attitude, and incendiary stage performances influenced generations of blues and rock singers and carried on the tradition of tough "blues mamas" like Bessie Smith, Memphis Minnie, and Ma Rainey.
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