3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Big Mama Is In The House, July 1, 2008
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.
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