Big Mama Thornton

Willie Mae ("Big Mama") Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984) was an American blues singer.

Her introduction to music, as with most fellow blues legends, started in the Baptist church. The daughter

Willie Mae ("Big Mama") Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984) was an American blues singer.

Her introduction to music, as with most fellow blues legends, started in the Baptist church. The daughter of a minister, she and her six siblings began to sing at a very early age. While still a child, Willie Mae taught herself to play the drums and harmonica, and by the age of 14, she had run away from home to make her career in secular music.