Move over Elvis!
I thought it would be fitting to write about the roots of Elvis in today's post (after featuring the King yesterday). Although Elvis' version of Hound Dog is the most famous, Big Mama (Willie Mae) Thornton was the original performer (and possibly even the writer, though Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller receive credit for that). She recorded the song three years before Elvis!
In case you were wondering how Willie Mae got the name "Big Mama," well, she weighed 300 pounds! The B-Side to Hound Dog is the song "They Call Me Big Mama" with lyrics that include:
Well they call me Big Mama because I weigh 300 pounds
call me Big Mama because I weigh 300 pounds
I get rockin' and a rollin'
I can really go to town
I highly recommend Hound Dog- The Peacock Recordings for these and other songs. Without further ado, here is a video of Big Mama singing her rendition of Hound Dog.
Related Tags: Elvis, Big Mama Thornton, Hound Dog, music, lyrics, Youtube
Patricia said,
April 26, 2006 at 7:58 pm
Wow! That’s so interesting. I would have never known that if it weren’t for lostmelodies!