Big Mama Thornton

Was Hound Dog written specifically for Big MamaThorton?

Lieber: Absolutely, the afternoon we saw her. Johnny Otis told us to come down to his garage in the back of his house, where he used to rehearse. He wanted us to listen to his people and see if we could write some tunes for them. MORE [via LAMENT FOR A STRAIGHT LINE, Jim Macnie’s Music Blog from: David Fricke‘s interview with Leiber & Stoller in 1990.]

At the risk of offending Elvis fans, I prefer Thorton’s version.

Jerry Lieber, the lyricist half of the team of Lieber & Stoller (Hound Dog and Jail House Rock among others), died on August 22.

In 1953, Big Mama’s version was on Billboard’s R & B charts for seven weeks. Presley’s version in 1956 made Billboard’s R & B, pop, and country-and-western charts. It was on the charts for eleven weeks.

Author: Jamie Dedes

Jamie Dedes is a Lebanese-American poet and free-lance writer. She is the founder and curator of The Poet by Day, info hub for poets and writers, and the founder of The Bardo Group, publishers of The BeZine, of which she was the founding editor and currently a co-manager editor with Michael Dickel. Ms. Dedes is the Poet Laureate of Womawords Press 2020 and U.S associate to that press as well. Her debut collection, "The Damask Garden," is due out fall 2020 from Blue Dolphin Press. View All Posts

3 thoughts on “Big Mama Thornton”

What an amazing face for music! Here’s a strange connection, but my other favorite animated singer is Cecelia Bartolli. Blues and baroque….doesn’t matter. What is felt in the music comes out in expression.

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