On December 11, 1926, Willie Mae Thornton was born in Ariton, Alabama to a Baptist minister, and a choir singer. Seeing that she was brought up in a church family, her parents introduced her to music at a very young age. She along with her six other siblings would sing in her church’s choir with their mother, but when her mother died when she was fourteen, she was the only one to pursue a career in singing. Working at the saloon to help with money, Sammy Green soon discovered Willie Mae, and recruited her to his Atlanta-based Hot Harlem Revue. Staying with the band seven years, Willie Mae contributed by singing, drumming, and playing the harmonica. In 1948, she settled down in Houston, Texas determined to advance her singing career. Later,
