Big Mama Thornton in Post War Blues Forum

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Big Mama Thornton

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Tom 1960

Big Mama Thornton

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 6152

Jan 20 05 9:06 PM

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I saw her mentioned in a review written by our own BW and thought she would make for good discussion. Have at it guys and gals.

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Les Forgue

#1

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 6205

Jan 20 05 9:40 PM

She is OK for dance music, rock& rolly jump stuff, which is not my favorite kind of blues, I saw her in Toronto on Yonge Street she did Hound Dog (nice) and Watermelon Man (blah), and I forget what else,
but I don't much care for her slow dragged out songs like Bawl and Chain, if I never hear that again I don't mind at all. (Janis's either).

Les from Chicago

"Nobody sits on a rolling stone".
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tMRWhmqJwHc

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porkpie

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 792

Jan 20 05 10:17 PM

QUOTE (Tom 1960 @ Jan 20 2005, 09:06 PM)

I saw here mentioned in a review written by our own BW and thought she would make for good discussion. Have at it guys and gals.

I am a large Big Mama fan. I saw her many times in the 60's at the Filmore in SF and the like . Below is a previously unpublished Photo of Big Mama.
in the Photo. Photo courtesy of Bay Area Blues Society and Billy Dunn.
The "Russell City Country Club' 1961
Big Mama Thornton on drums, Billy Dunn on keyboard, and Jimmy Mamou on guitar.
Billy Dunn is Keyboard player and Vocalist in the band I work in the Bay Area Blues Society's Caravan of All Stars.Jimmy Mamou has just opened a night club in Mexico called " Mamou Blue"
Cheers
Pork Pie

user posted image

Pork Pie Phillips
West Coast Blues Hall of Fame
Comeback Artist of the Year 2005
http://www.porkpieblues.com

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Blueswriter

#3

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 6748

Jan 20 05 10:33 PM

I'm another who'll openly admit that I'm not often captivated by female blues singers. I've got what I consider the essential works of Koko Taylor, Ruth Brown, Etta James, and a few others, which doesn't take up an awful lot of space in my collection. I've got loads of Memphis Minnie (a personal favorite) and a scant few others who were around some decades ago (Bessie Smith, Lucille Bogan, etc.)...

Aside from the above artists, Big Mama Thornton stands out (for me) as an essential addition to any blues collection. While it's understandable that Hound Dog and Ball And Chain might be overplayed to a fault, her work on Arhoolie is superb, in my opinion. Anyone with an ability to drum, play solid harp, and deliver vocals that could crack plaster gets my attention... and I think the newly-released disc Tom mentioned marks her best work.

user posted image

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porkpie

#4

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 792

Jan 20 05 10:47 PM

BluesWriter
What's the provinence of that Photo you posted ?
Cheers
Pork Pie

Pork Pie Phillips
West Coast Blues Hall of Fame
Comeback Artist of the Year 2005
http://www.porkpieblues.com

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Blueswriter

#5

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 6748

Jan 20 05 10:51 PM

I don't see a credit for it but I found it here...

Year of the Blues

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sethr

#6

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 6071

Jan 20 05 11:46 PM

There are some crazy stories out there about Big Mama Thorton. James Harman and Johnny Dyer had me in stitches one long night awhile back. Don't try and make me repeat them, though. My memory of that night is short on specifics, and they were probably exagerated anyway. Let's just say she was a very interesting character.

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Skyla

#7

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Posts: 2110

Jan 21 05 12:53 PM

I'm a big fan

She was a hell of singer, songwriter, harp player and drummer. It's a damn shame and a crime that in her whole life all she ever received from "Hound Dog" was a lousy $500 bucks.

It may be overdone but we'll pull out her version of hound dog sometimes, I love to sing it - can't do it the justice she does but it's fun trying!

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BlueGuitar

#8

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 3412

Jan 21 05 5:42 PM

Johnny Otis' book, Upside Your Head has a few great stories about Big Mama including one about her kicking some asses when some guy called her a bulldyke. Johnny wrote that Big Mama was pretty open about which way she swang but if someone were to give her any shit about it, it was clobberin' time!

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Bluesman666

#9

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Deepest Blue

Posts: 496

Jan 21 05 10:17 PM

I don't have any Big Mamma Thornton stuff (yet) but there is an interesting story and some great photos of her in the Dick Waterman book " Between Midnight & Day " Don't think she was a woman that you would like to get in her bad books...

Steve
Birmingham, UK

The Sutton Blues Collective
Gamblers Blues on Myspace

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