Biography
Big Mama Thornton was a vibrant rhythm & blues shouter whose trademark growl was a major influence on generations of R&B and rock artists. While she never crossed over to the pop charts, two of her signature songs would become well known to rock fans -- she recorded "Hound Dog" four years before Elvis Presley had a hit with the tune, and she wrote "Ball & Chain," which Janis Joplin performed on Big Brother & the Holding Company's 1968 album Cheap...Read more