THORNTON, WILLIEMAE (BIGMAMA
). Blues singer ( in Montgomery, Alabama.) She won first prize on an amateur show at the age of fourteen, attracted the attention of
Sammy Green
of Atlanta, Georgia, and was engaged to tour with his show, The Hot Harlem Review. In 1948 she left the show and settled in Houston, where she sang in clubs and worked with local bands. During the early 1950s she joined the
Johnny Otis
show. She first recorded in...
THORNTON, WILLIE MAE
(*1926)> BLUES SINGER