Watch on Soap2day. Inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2024, Alabama-born Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton defied the gender norms of her time to become one of the greatest blues singers of her generation. Known for her powerful voice and uncompromising style, she rose to fame with the original recording of “Hound Dog” and later wrote “Ball & Chain,” a song that gained iconic status through Janis Joplin’s rendition.