Big Mama Thornton

小簡(jiǎn)介
女歌手極少數(shù)能在藍(lán)調(diào)音樂(lè)（blues music）一片男聲中存活下來(lái).Big Mama Thornton卻是這少數(shù)人里的極品.她的肺活量不亞于男歌手,甚至有過(guò)之而不無(wú)及.她是Shouter的代表人物之一.她最初實(shí)際上只是以這個(gè)名字和Mamie Smith組成一個(gè)臨時(shí)的組合,但卻讓她聲名雀起.
Big Mama Thornton的本名是Willie Mae Thornton,她于1926年12月11號(hào)出生于Alabama州的Montgomery,家中兄弟姐妹有7個(gè).她的父親是在政府里擔(dān)任行政工作,母親則在教堂里唱歌.早期的教堂福音影響了Willie Mae,13歲時(shí),她在一次業(yè)務(wù)歌唱比賽中贏得了冠軍,她被Sammy Green發(fā)現(xiàn), 并邀請(qǐng)她去參加滑稽劇Hot Harlem Revue的表演.
正是因?yàn)檫@樣,1948年她搬到了Houston,她除了表演之外還在當(dāng)?shù)匾恍┚銟?lè)部里參加演出.在那里,她被制作人Don Robey看中,并簽約出了第一張專(zhuān)輯"Hound Dog".專(zhuān)輯的成功讓她得到了一個(gè)重要的機(jī)會(huì),可以和Bobby Bland,Junior Packer一起全國(guó)巡回演出.
在Houston停留幾年后,她來(lái)到了Texas州,她給Texas這個(gè)當(dāng)時(shí)比較封閉的州帶去的藍(lán)調(diào)音樂(lè)影響深遠(yuǎn).在當(dāng)時(shí)她和Little Esther,Mel Walker的組合表演贏得了無(wú)數(shù)掌聲和榮譽(yù).1952年她們被邀請(qǐng)去紐約參加表演,她的演出極具張力,表情夸張配合咆嚎的嗓音,現(xiàn)場(chǎng)的觀眾無(wú)不被她征服.
她的昵稱(chēng)"Big Mama",正是來(lái)自某個(gè)觀看完她紐約的第一場(chǎng)Show的贊嘆.因?yàn)樗纳聿暮蛡€(gè)頭加上粗野的嗓音.她還因?yàn)檫@樣寫(xiě)了一首歌"They Call Me Big Mama".
這張專(zhuān)輯賣(mài)了200萬(wàn)張.她的演唱影響了很多白人歌手,Elvis Presley翻唱過(guò)她的這首熱門(mén)單曲"Hound Dog",Janis Joplin翻唱過(guò)她的"Ball and Chain".在當(dāng)時(shí)Big Mama就是銷(xiāo)量和質(zhì)量的保證,誰(shuí)敢和她的嗓子一較高下?
Willie Mae Big Mama Thornton only notched one national hit in her lifetime, but it was a true monster. Hound Dog held down the top slot on Billboards R&B charts for seven long weeks in 1953. Alas, Elvis Presleys rocking 1956 cover was even bigger, effectively obscuring Thorntons chief claim to immortality.
Thats a damned shame, because Thorntons menacing growl was indeed something special. The hefty belter first opened her pipes in church but soon embraced the blues. She toured with Sammy Greens Hot Harlem Revue during the 1940s. Thornton was ensconced on the Houston circuit when Peacock Records boss Don Robey signed her in 1951. She debuted on Peacock with Partnership Blues that year, backed by trumpeter Joe Scotts band.
But it was her third Peacock date with Johnny Otiss band that proved the winner. With Pete Lewis laying down some truly nasty guitar behind her, Big Mama shouted Hound Dog, a tune whose authorship remains a bone of contention to this day (both Otis and the team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller claim responsibility) and soon hit the road a star.
But it was an isolated incident. Though Thornton cut some fine Peacock follow-ups — I Smell a Rat, Stop Hoppin on Me, The Fish, Just like a Dog — through 1957, she never again reached the hit parade. Even Elvis was apparently unaware of her; he was handed Hound Dog by Freddie Bell, a Vegas lounge rocker. Early-60s 45s for Irma, Bay-Tone, Kent, and Sotoplay did little to revive her sagging fortunes, but a series of dates for Arhoolie that included her first vinyl rendition of Ball and Chain in 1968 and two albums for Mercury in 1969-70 put her back in circulation (Janis Joplins overwrought but well-intentioned cover of Ball and Chain didnt hurt either). Along with her imposing vocals, Thornton began to emphasize her harmonica skills during the 1960s.
Thornton was a tough cookie. She dressed like a man and took no guff from anyone, even as the pounds fell off her once-ample frame and she became downright scrawny during the last years of her life. Medical personnel found her lifeless body in an L.A. rooming house in 1984.