Black “queer” blues singer inducted into the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame

Big Mama Thornton, a Black, gender-nonconforming blues musician known for her men’s apparel and distinct growl, has been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame for her seminal influence on the genre. According to ‘LGBTQ Nation’, while Thornton did not personally identify as LGBTQ+, her “queer” impact on mid-20th-century music has been highlighted by contemporary observers.

The self-taught artist is best recognised for her 1952 hit ‘Hound Dog,’ which later achieved immense popularity through Elvis Presley’s cover, though she received no royalties from this version or some of her other original works due to lack of copyright ownership. “My singing comes from my experience… I never had no one teach me nothing,” she once declared. “I never went to school for music or nothing. I taught myself to sing and to blow harmonica and even to play drums by watching other people. I can’t read music, but I know what I’m singing. I don’t sing like nobody but myself.”

Image Credit: Canva

Born the daughter of a Baptist minister in Ariton, Alabama, Thornton grew up influenced by blues songs from bisexual Black singer Bessie Smith. After her mother’s death in 1939, a 13-year-old Thornton left school and started working various jobs. By the next year, she successfully auditioned for ‘Sammy Green’s Hot Harlem Revue.’

From 1951 to 1954, Thornton toured nationally with “Johnny Otis’ California Rhythm and Blues Caravan,” often performing in a men’s suit jacket, tie, and cowboy boots. In 1952, her commanding presence earned her the nickname “Big Mama” from Apollo Theatre manager Frank Schiffman.

That same year, she recorded ‘Hound Dog,’ a song about leaving a selfish, exploitative partner. The track sold over 500,000 copies and topped the national R&B charts for seven weeks. Despite its success, she received a mere $500 (approximately £405) in royalties (equivalent to about $5,900 or £4,800 today). Nonetheless, as a Black woman in a racially segregated and male-dominated industry, Thornton's ‘Hound Dog’ was celebrated as an “anthem of black Women’s power.” However, a parody by the all-white Freddie Bell and the Bellboys stripped the song of its original themes, focusing instead on a literal dog—this version inspired Elvis Presley's 1956 recording, which sold around 10 million copies.

Although her career waned in the late 1950s and early ‘60s, Thornton penned ‘Ball And Chain’ in 1961, a poignant song about enduring love for an abusive partner, which gender is unspecified. Its popularity was rejuvenated following Janis Joplin’s 1969 cover, from which Thornton finally earned royalties.

In 1965, Thornton toured Europe, performing at jazz festivals with legends like Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Eddie “Cleanhead” Vinson. She passed away on July 25, 1984 in Los Angeles at age 57 from heart and liver disorders related to alcohol abuse, and was buried in a pauper’s grave in Inglewood Park Cemetery in Los Angeles County, California.

Lynnée Denise, in her 2023 book ‘Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters,’ remarked on Thornton’s significant nonconformity: “Queerness also is about a level of comfort with the nonnormative. It doesn’t necessarily mean you’re sleeping with the same sex or that you can be simply clocked as lesbian because of how you present. It does mean that she modeled a refusal to adhere to what has been called traditional femininity.”

Queer writer Pamela Sneed noted, “There are debates about her sexuality, but no doubt in presentation and in life she was queer.”

This year, Thornton was awarded the Rock-and-Roll Hall of Fame’s Musical Influence award, alongside British musician Alexis Korner and English musician John Mayall. Alongside them, other inductees included LGBTQ+ ally Cher, A Tribe Called Quest, Kool & The Gang, and rapper Mary J. Blige.

Read related myGwork articles here:

Queer Rock’N’Roll Icon Little Richard Has Passed Away

This Out Bisexual Singer Reigned As Empress Of The Blues In The 1920’s

British Singer-Songwriter Becky Hill Comes Out As Queer

Keep up to date with the latest myGnews

LGBTQ+ professionals, LGBTQ+ Graduates, LGBTQ+ professional network, LGBTQ+ professional events, LGBTQ+ networking events, LGBTQ+ Recruitment, LGBTQ+ Friendly organizations, LGBTQ+ Friendly companies, LGBTQ+ jobs