"Big Mama Thornton 1952 Hound Dog" REMIX 2023
Willie Mae Thornton was born in Alabama and she grew up singing in the church where her father was the minister. She left home at 14 and joined Sammy Green’s Hot Harlem Revue which billed her as the “new Bessie Smith.” It was an accolade that Thornton must have appreciated since Smith was one of her vocal inspirations, along with Memphis Minnie. Thornton moved to Houston in 1948. It was a key move in her career because the Texas city had become a hotbed for a new blues sound that included jump rhythms and horn section. Three years into her time in Houston, Thornton signed with Peacock Records and made her first appearance at New York’s fabled Apollo Theater.