Blues legend Big Mama Thornton is getting some recognition in the small Dale County town where she was spent her the earliest years of her life.
Nearly four decades after her death, Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton will be honored by her hometown of Ariton with a street named in her honor – Big Mama Thornton Circle. A ceremony will be held Oct. 22 at 11 a.m.
There are people in Ariton who remember Willie Mae Thornton, but they didn’t always understand the influence she had on music and other artists. While her musical influence remained unknown to many Wiregrass residents, Thornton was revered by other blues artists. She recorded the song “Hound Dog” three years before Elvis Presley, and wrote and recorded “Ball and Chain” – a song Janis Joplin would later record.“Her stuff is still being recorded today by contemporary blues artists,” he said.
Thornton has been honored several times during the Wiregrass Blues Festival, including just this past spring. A mural of Thornton now adorns the side of Hoppergrass restaurant in Ozark, and there’s an effort underway to have Thornton at least moved to her own grave, if not back to Ariton.
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