Big Mama Thornton-"Ball And Chain" (live 1984)

Selected viewer comments from

 

laflagg (1 year ago) Thank you for this video!!! She is soooo incredibly wonderful. The more I learn about Blues music the more I realize that I know nothing at all.

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amosmoses5321 (1 year ago) I have always loved Big Mama and i believe this video needs to be seen by more people so they can see what music is really about...

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sunfighter86 (1 year ago) Show Hide +2   Marked as spam Reply | Spam truly a national treasure

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hauwa3 (1 year ago) what guitar playing!!!!

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catgumart (1 year ago) wow what a powerful and organically spontaneous creative performance...

It scared me! It's amazing!

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kazzywopz (1 year ago) I had never heard of this woman until today - she is awesome!

Thank you so much for posting!!

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KosmicJanis (1 year ago) If you care to, check out her Hound Dog performance, she sang it in 1952, before Elvis. She never got the recognition he did, obviously. As we also know, this song was made famous by Janis Joplin, the difference being that Janis gave Willie Mae Thornton all the credit for the song, and was in awe of her. Hound Dog with Big Mama is posted on YT, it features Buddy Guy on guitar. Worth a moment of your time to check it out. Fantastic. Peace.

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KojiRecords (1 year ago) After viewing the exquisite clip, it is quite apparent that Big Mama Thornton could still rock the house after 3 decades of the blues. Sad to note that, at the same time, if someone could have placed her in a hospital to get cleaned up a little earlier, Thornton could have rocked for another couple of decades at least as she still had the blues in her. We lost Thornton so young. I just picked up her Vanguard Records lp "Jail" and wished I could have seen her live. Big Mama Thornton lives...

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ggoodmansings (9 months ago) This is amazing! A true diva in the tradition, showing everybody how it should be done! Rest in peace Mama!

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lebowskidude705 (9 months ago) Check out her earlier version with Lightening Hopkins when she was in her prime. She dwells in Heaven with Bessie Smith and Ma Rainey!

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musicloveranthony (9 months ago) who is that guitarist?!? he's insanely talented!

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MackFlyingV (6 months ago) Big Momma was awsome! That's my buddy Terry "Big T" DeRouen on that killer lead guitar. He's still playing around the So Cal area.

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MrBluesguy (5 months ago) NO WAY _ - that guitar is NOT "BIG T" Rouen - that is Bee Houston a wonderful guitarist from Texas who played with Big MAma at that time- check his album at Arhoolie "The Hustler"

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2009framat (2 months ago) Bee Houston quit the music bussiness in the 70's so I doubt that he played guitar on this. Especially when the guitarist is not shown I cannot imagine how you can be so sure.

The Hustler is a great album & it will be a mystery to me that Bee Houston never got the same stardom like Albert Collins got. There is NOTHING on youtube about him. And it is the 1st time that I read his name on youtube!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! A SHAME! To all BEE HOUSTON ADMIRORS_PLEASE CONTACT ME!

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boritomc (8 months ago)  man, dont know how old she was on that show but she sure got the energy and the glows of a young woman!
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jellowrestling (7 months ago) She was only 57. She died a couple of months later of heart and liver problems.

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jamirohertje (5 months ago) she looks so old in this video! not so long before she died that year isnt' it? She was only 57 years old...

Too bad such an awsome artist...

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SouthernBelleSmiles (5 months ago) hey jam---you are right......it is called Alcoholism, a terrible disease. She died at 58 July of that year weighing less than 100 lbs from her former 300 pound plus self.........

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jamirohertje (5 months ago)  Het SBS ;)

Nevertheless she made herself immortal through her music though! That's the only good thing that comes out of these kind of diseases....

Just like Elvis, Jim Morrisson, and now MIchael Jackson and much more...

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SouthernBelleSmiles (5 months ago) You are right Jam......but imagine what we might have gotten from them had they not been addicted........very complicated disease, and probably ran in her family.

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TheBlueslady1062 (6 months ago) big mama was the stuff the blues is alright the blues run through my veins i like all music but the blues is my music of choice

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danguitarflorida (6 months ago) A legendary performer . Janis Joplin loved her

as did all of us who understand the emotion of the blues .

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MalquiLans (3 months ago) I see a lot of typing here. I'm just goin to watch the vid..... Well, all I will say is that it's from the heart, not from the street

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