At the end of the Second World War, economics forced the big bands to trim their once great size and thus, the Jump Blues combo was born. Between 1946-1954, rhythm and blues laid the tracks for what was to become Rock n’ Roll. So how come, 75 years later, this vibrant and influential music is still so unknown to so many? Matt The Cat is going to change that with the radio program, “Juke In The Back.” These were the records that you couldn’t hear on the jukebox in the front of the establishment. To hear all this great 1950s rhythm & blues, you had to go to “Juke In The Back.”
https://www.jukeintheback.org
Episode #324 – Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton
Air Week: July 18-24, 2016
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton
Willie Mae Thornton was a trailblazer, who in making her own rules paved the way for other groundbreaking female artists like Janis Joplin and Madonna. Known as “Big Mama,” Thornton scored her only hit record in early 1953 when “Hound Dog” topped the national Rhythm & Blues Charts, but her career spanned from 1950 to well into the 1970s. Elvis not only recorded “Hound Dog,” which was written by the young, white songwriting duo of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, but he also took much of his swagger from Thornton, who was known to be blatantly tough and sexual on stage. Besides “Hound Dog,” her other signature song, “They Call Me Big Mama,” ranks among her best material, along with “Rock A Bye Baby,” “Mischievous Boogie” and “My Man Called Me.” Big Mama is also uncredited on a duet with friend Johnny Ace called “Yes, Baby” from 1953. She wrote many of her own songs, but like many artists of her day, did not own the publishing rights, so when Joplin recorded her “Ball and Chain,” Big Mama Thornton didn’t get any royalties from it. This week, Matt The Cat dusts off Big Mama Thornton’s best sides from Peacock Records and even digs up her first recordings for the E&W label under the group name, The Harlem Stars (1950).
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