Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984) was an American
rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record
Leiber and Stoller's "
Hound Dog" in 1952, which became her biggest hit. It spent seven weeks at number one on the
Billboard R&B charts in 1953 and sold almost two million copies. However, her success was overshadowed three years later, when
Elvis Presley recorded his more popular rendition of "Hound Dog". Similarly, Thornton's "
Ball 'n' Chain" (written in 1961 but not released until 1968) had a bigger impact when performed and recorded by
Janis Joplin in the late 1960s.