Big Mama Thorton

Big Mama Thornton was a vibrant rhythm & blues shouter whose trademark growl and equally powerful clean shout were a major influence on generations of R&B and rock artists to come. While she never crossed over to the pop charts, two of her signature songs would become well known to rock fans: She was the first to record "Hound Dog," written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, four years before Elvis Presley had a hit with the tune, and she wrote "Ball & Chain," which Janis Joplin performed with gusto on Big Brother & the Holding Company's epochal 1968 album Cheap Thrills. While ...