Until a decade or so ago I had believed that Elvis Presley’s incredibly successful recording of “Hound Dog” was the original. It was then that I came across Willie Mae ‘Big Mama’ Thornton’s recording of this number, and realised that it was not!
Willie Mae, a rhythm and blues singer and songwriter, was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in December of 1926. Her mother sang in the Baptist Church where her father was the minister.
Following the death of her mother, Willie Mae moved to live in Houston, Texas, in 1948. It was there, three years later, that she began her career as a recording artist when she was signed to Peacock Records.
The prolific composers, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, afforded Willie Mae the opportunity to record “Hound Dog”. The single spent seven weeks atop the rhythm and blues charts, in 1953, although she was reportedly to see little of the royalties from its success.
Among Willie Mae’s other recordings was the self-penned “Ball N’ Chain”. It was revived by Janis Joplin, in the 1960s.
http://youtu.be/n-rNX1DKuMI
Willie Mae witnessed the self-inflicted death of blues singer, Johnny Ace, in 1954. Johnny had been playing Russian roulette, with the revolver’s cylinder containing just a single bullet.
Her career began to wane from the late 1950s and she moved to live in San Francisco. Willie Mae’s recordings became intermittent and she earned a living from touring, singing in clubs and at blues festivals. She remained active until her death, from a heart attack, in Los Angeles, in July of 1984, at the age of fifty-seven.
Jerry Leiber died last month (August of 2011) at the age of seventy-eight.