The Original Hound Dog [Import]

Big Mama Thornton | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (July 8, 1986)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Ace Records UK
• ASIN: B0000009L8
• Also Available in: Audio CD
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #90,533 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #29 in Music > Indie Music > R&B > Classic R&B
  • #65 in Music > Blues > Regional Blues > West Coast Blues

Track Listings

1. Hound Dog

2. Walking Blues

3. My Man Called Me

4. Cotton Picking Blues

5. Willie Mae's Trouble

6. The Big Change

7. I Smell A Rat

8. I Just Can't Help Myself

9. They Call Me Big Mama

10. Hard Times

11. I Ain't No Fool Either

12. You Don't Move Me No More

13. Let Your Tears Fall Baby

14. I've Searched The World Over

15. Rock A Bye Baby

16. How Come

17. Nightmare

18. Stop A-Hoppin On Me

19. Laugh, Laugh, Laugh

20. Just Like A Dog (Barking Up The Wrong Tree)

See all 22 tracks on this disc

Editorial Reviews

In 1953, way before that skinny kid from Memphis turned it into one of the rock 'n' roll anthems, the somewhat intimidating sound of Big Mama Thornton could be heard singing those classic lines - ''You ain't nothin' but a hound dog'' - and you better believe it. Hound Dog opens this collection of 22 sides cut by Willie Mae 'Big Mama' Thornton during the 1950s for Peacock records. The Johnny Otis band can be heard cooking on most of these sides, as Big Mama Thornton's awesome voice works through some of the heaviest female blues committed to wax and now ladled on to one big value CD. Right up to her untimely death in 1984 she was cutting records and performing live at clubs and blues festivals all over the world maintaining her reputation as one of the most colorful blues performers of all time. Classic stuff.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Big Mama Is In The House, July 1, 2008

By 

Alfred Johnson (boston, ma) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Original Hound Dog (Audio CD)

Yes, Big Mama sang the original Hound Dog well before Elvis made it a classic rock and roll hit. Yes, he went on to make millions (although not off of that song as such but as a fresh sex symbol at a time when the youth of my generation were in desperate need of our own icons) while she made about five hundred dollars off of it. But that is not the whole story. Big Mama had a career of her own beyond that song that while not as financially rewarding (due in part to race but also her drinking problem) as Elvis's nevertheless placed her in the pantheon of female blue singers like Bessie Smith and Memphis Minnie- no little accomplishment in itself. That is what is being celebrated here. Other classics in this CD include How Come, Nightmare, They Call Me Big Mama and I Smell a Rat. Is this her best compilation. No, I believe that Ball and Chain is but this has a nice selection. Big Mama belts out the tunes but, as a rule, does not try to overpower them with that big voice. But big or small Mama means the electric blues raw and unchained and that ain't no lie.