Hound Dog, is the very song most people fell in love with years ago and continues to be remembered as America’s number one song. Willie Mae Thornton, better known as “Big Mama”, is perhaps best recognized as the woman who primarily sang hound dog on August 13, 1952. After hound dog came out to the public, it was not long unit it rose to the top of many charts spending 14 weeks as the number one song. Thornton’s version of hound dog was so popular it iniatated multiples covers before Elvis Presley famous cover came out. The Big Mama Thornton original version was the first song that Leiber and Stoller produced. Many believed Elvis Presley himself did the best version of Hound Dog making this one of this his best-selling singles of all time, that sold around 10 million copies globally. (Hound Dog by Elvis Presley Songfacts)
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Her mother sang in the church choir while her father was a minister. This benefited Big Mama tremendously, because she began singing for her church choir at a young age as her mother did. This later helped her receive the notice from Atlanta music promoter, Sammy Green. Green was said to have heard Big Mama’s voice in El Dorado Ballroom, leaving him awestruck with her ability to play various instruments and sing. He later signed her to a five-year contract with his Peacock Records Label. (Tina Spencer Dreisbach) Equality amongst colored people especially females were very prevalent around this time, which explains why Big Mama received only $500 despite her sale of two million copies. On the other hand, Elvis Presley's 1956 version brought him both fame and substantial financial reward. This is a prime example of injustice that habitually occurred when a white artist covered a black original song during the 1950’s. (Tina Spencer
Her mother sang in the church choir while her father was a minister. This benefited Big Mama tremendously, because she began singing for her church choir at a young age as her mother did. This later helped her receive the notice from Atlanta music promoter, Sammy Green. Green was said to have heard Big Mama’s voice in El Dorado Ballroom, leaving him awestruck with her ability to play various instruments and sing. He later signed her to a five-year contract with his Peacock Records Label. (Tina Spencer Dreisbach) Equality amongst colored people especially females were very prevalent around this time, which explains why Big Mama received only $500 despite her sale of two million copies. On the other hand, Elvis Presley's 1956 version brought him both fame and substantial financial reward. This is a prime example of injustice that habitually occurred when a white artist covered a black original song during the 1950’s. (Tina Spencer