That’s basically what happened to rhythm-and-blues singer Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton with her song “Hound Dog.” If you know the song, you might only know “King of Rock-and-Roll ...

Big Mama Thornton took the same path as most musicians. One night's a supper club that had the tablecloths and the candles. Then she'd go down the street to a hole in the wall. (lively blues music ...

The King of Rock 'n' Roll can thank the rhythm and blues singers who preceded him for the building blocks of his legacy. One of such — Willie Mae Thornton, better known as Big Mama Thornton ...

Colorado-based blues musicians reflect on Big Mama Thornton's impact. Big Mama Thornton commited her life to blues music. Her unapolagetic demeanor combined with her unique sound and multiple ...

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton outperformed the men of her day ... but under the genre rhythm and blues, or R&B. The guitar lines on the original version of 'Hound Dog' are just so swampy and ...

He was talking about Big Mama Thornton, a blues musician who was raised just minutes from that bus station. Thornton was known for her hit single Hound Dog, which was then recorded by Elvis Presley.

“I just feel like when a woman sings the blues, it just comes from a different place.” I love the way that you all were able to connect to honor Big Mama Thornton’s work. I think that’s so ...

Elvis Presley's hit "Hound Dog" actually belongs to blues singer Willie Mae Thornton, also known as Big Mama Thornton. Author Maureen Mahon tells us about Thorton and the impact of Black women on ...

Dukureh played Big Mama Thornton in the Elvis film. Thornton was the first to record the classic “Hound Dog” song later covered by Presley. Kukureh also is featured singing the song on the ...

Blues legend Big Mama Thornton is getting some recognition in the small Dale County town where she was spent her the earliest years of her life. Nearly four decades after her death, Willie Mae ...

"[Big Mama Thornton] was really raw with what she did ... “The project is a tribute to the blues music genre in celebration of those fierce unsung pioneering artists and musicians who paved ...