Big Mama Thornton: Sassy Mama Live at the Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club
Big Mama Thornton: Sassy Mama Live at the Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club
Format: CD
Wanting to order from us over the holiday period but need some more information. We are here to help! Please see our Christmas Shipping page for more information.
On average, orders containing available-to-ship items are processed and dispatched within 1-2 business days, although this is not guaranteed.
Orders containing preorder items will ship as 1 fulfillment once all items in the order are available to ship.
Please note, Tower Records Merchandise and Exclusives are dispatched separately. On average, these items take 3-4 business days to dispatch, although this is not guaranteed.
The estimated shipping times that are displayed at checkout are from the point of dispatch.
See our shipping policy for more information.
We have a 30-day return policy, which means you have 30 days after receiving your item(s) to make a return.
For orders created between November 20th 2024 and December 31st 2024, we have extended our normal return period. For orders made between this period, customers have up to 60 days from the receipt of goods to return an item. Please see our Christmas Returns page for more information.
To be eligible for a return of an unwanted item, your item must be in the same condition that you received it and in its original packaging.
In the unfortunate situation that a product is damaged/faulty/incorrect, let us know and we will endeavor to correct any issue as soon as possible.
Please see our refund policy for more information.
Artist: Big Mama Thornton
Label: Justin Time Records
Product Type: COMPACT DISCS
UPC: 068944916924
Genre: Blues
American Blues icon Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton is perhaps best known as the original singer of "Hound Dog" and as a powerful voice in the progression of black R&B into rock music in the 1950's.Born in 1926 to minister Thomas H. Thornton and singer Edna M. Richardson Thornton in rural Alabama, Willie Mae started singing as a child in her father's congregation and left home in her teens to pursue a music career. Thornton was billed as "the new Bessie Smith" the legendary blues singer who influenced Thornton along with blues greats Ma Rainey, Junior Parker and Memphis Minnie. In 1948, after years touring across America in blues revues, Willie Mae signed with Peacock Records and became known as "Big Mama" due to her bigger than life voice and physicality."Hound Dog" was released in 1953 and Willie Mae's gutsy vocal performance propelled the song to the top of the R&B charts and sold two million copies, while earning Thornton $500. In 1956, Elvis Presley's rendition produced for a mainstream white audience sold over 10 million copies and earned Presley considerable profit. Willie Mae was not the only Black musician cheated out of royalties during this time, and her injustice is still used as a fight for reparations to Black musicians.At the 1967 Monterey Pop Festival Janis Joplin performed the Thornton composition "Ball and Chain" after hearing Willie Mae perform the song at a club. Thornton released her original version in 1968 but the song had to wait for widespread acclaim until after Joplin's version was released later that year. In the 1970's Willie Mae was a familiar headliner at Montreal's 'Rising Sun Celebrity Jazz Club'; the venue was a favourite tour stop for blues artists like Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker and Lightnin' Hopkins. "Sassy Mama", recorded in 1977 by the Rising Sun's notorious owner and promoter Doudou Boicel, captures the voice of a true blues legend who had endured decades of financial exploitation and battles with addiction and was tragically about to live her final years in poverty despite her substantial contributions to American Blues. She died on July 25, 1984, at the age of 58.
Tracks:
1.1 Tell Me Pretty Baby
1.2 Rock Me Baby
1.3 Ball And Chain
1.4 Summertime
1.5 Medley: Hound Dog
1.6 Medley: Sweet Little Angel Three O’Clock Blues
1.7 Sassy Mama
1.8 Hound Dog (NerdStar Remix)
