Why Willie Mae Thornton Matters

by DJ Lynnée Denise

A queer, Black "biography in essays" about the performer who gave us "Hound Dog," "Ball and Chain," and other songs that changed the course of American music.

Born in Alabama in 1926, raised in the church, appropriated by white performers, buried in an indigent's grave--Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton's life events epitomize the blues--but Lynn e Denise pushes past the stereotypes to read Thornton's life through a Black, queer, feminist...

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1477321187
• ISBN13: 9781477321188
• Release Date: September 2023
• Publisher: University of Texas Press
• Length: 240 Pages
• Weight: 0.80 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.9" x 5.3" x 8.3"