Black Excellence: Big Mama Thornton
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big_Mama_Thornton
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984),[1] was an American singer and songwriter of blues and R&B.
The Encyclopedia of Pop, Rock and Soul described Thornton by saying: “Her booming voice, sometimes 200-pound frame, and exuberant stage manner had audiences stomping their feet and shouting encouragement in R&B theaters from coast to coast from the early 1950s on”.[2]