If anyone reading this likes Big Mama, you’ll likely enjoy Sister Rosetta Tharpe too (‘The Godmother of Rock and Roll’).
m.youtube.com/watch?v=4xzr_GBa8qk
m.youtube.com/watch?v=l9bX5mzdihs
Rosetta actually played on Wilbraham Rd Station platform in Manchester once, in the rain, unsurprisingly!
There is an excellent documentary on Sam Cooke on Netflix at the moment, illustrating the conditions that black musicians were working under at the time. It was particularly hard for women to break through (and those that weren’t conventionally attractive due to age/size were shit out of luck).
Big Mama was a bigger talent than Elvis (imo!) but everyone knows how that played out.
One of the greatest things about the internet, for me, personally, is the enormous archive of vintage music and dance available via YouTube. The stuff from before and during the Civil Rights Era, documenting black musicians and dancers is particularly precious. Massive thanks to all the hobbyists that located and uploaded it.
Right, i’m off to use Emma’s suggestions as the background to my to do list!