Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton documentary online for free on PBS.org
Posted: September 18th, 2025, 11:05 am
If you go on here: https://www.pbs.org/video/big-mama-thor ... kid-bm2wsa , you can view it as it is titled "Big Mama Thornton: Alabama Kid" & it's almost 57 minutes. It was only seen in the Alabama PBS affiliate, Alabama Public Television (APT) & according to the film director, Robert Clem, there's no plans to show this in any other PBS affiliate at this time & there's no plans on a DVD or Blu-ray release either.
However a longer version [1 hour & 28 minute] of this documentary now titled “Big Mama Thornton: "I Can't Be Anyone But Me" has gotten a couple of articles in Australia advertising this:
https://www.filmink.com.au/reviews/big- ... ne-but-me/
Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me
This is a wonderful doco, and emphatically recommended.
Still got the blues
by Mark Demetrius
Year:
2025
Director:
Robert Clem
Release:
31 August 2025
Running time:
88 minutes
Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Strobe Music Film Festival
Cast:
Lynn Denise, Charlie Musselwhite, Mike Stoller
Intro:
This is a wonderful doco, and emphatically recommended.
Willie Mae (“Big Mama”) Thornton had one of the greatest blues voices of the twentieth century. If you’ve ever heard her thunderous original version of Lieber and Stoller’s ‘Hound Dog’, you’ll understand what Mike Stoller means when he says here that Elvis sang it like he was talking to a dog, but she sang it like she was talking to a man. And, for that matter, why Janis Joplin — who covered Thornton’s own composition ‘Ball And Chain’ — saw herself as a rock star version of her.
Big Mama (1926-1984) was born in Alabama, and started her musical career as a child, travelling around that state as part of a variety show. There’s a stack of evocative footage in this documentary, particularly the black-and-white stuff from the Thirties and Forties. And it also boasts fascinating and entertaining interviewees/raconteurs, not least among them being the veteran harp player Charlie Musselwhite. Throw in all the important musicians who are mentioned, incidentally or otherwise, and the film is a virtual roll call of American cultural history.
Although Big Mama was a very tough customer indeed, her life story is in part the all-too-familiar one of a black artist — and of course a black woman — being ripped off and exploited. It has its share of tragedy and violence too, notably her presence at the self-inflicted (but accidental) death of the R&B singer Johnny Ace.
Times changed radically and for the better for some blues players in the 1960s, when white audiences started to ‘discover’ them, initially in Europe. The turning point for her was the 1966 Monterey Jazz Festival, and it’s at this point that the film bursts into colour — like the Sixties themselves. But her fortunes eventually took a downturn, and there were serious drinking and health problems along the way.
Big Mama Thornton wasn’t just a phenomenal singer – she was also a harp player and drummer, and had a sharp line in stage patter. Although she was widely believed to be gay, she never actually came out — but her disdain for conforming to gender stereotypes was groundbreaking.
This is a wonderful doco, and emphatically recommended.
https://www.ourgoldenage.com.au/film/big-mama-thornton
Big Mama Thornton: I Can't be Anyone but Me
(M)
WATCH TRAILER:
Sydney Premiere presented by Groovescooter for STROBE Festival
Year:
2025
Rating:
M
Director:
Robert Clem
Cast:
Lynnee Denise, Charlie Musselwhite, Mike Stolle
Duration:
88 minutes
Language:
English
Overview
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.
Why You Should See This Film
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton was a towering figure in American popular music for over four decades. Born in rural Alabama, she defied gender norms with her commanding presence—often wearing jeans, a cowboy hat, and boots. Standing over six feet tall and weighing nearly 300 pounds, she carried herself with a bold, unapologetic demeanour. Songwriter Mike Stoller recalled that her attitude—and the two scars on her forehead—inspired him and Jerry Leiber to write “Hound Dog” specifically for her. Thornton’s 1952 recording of the song became a No. 1 R&B hit.
Despite that early success, Big Mama struggled for much of the following decade. Her fortunes shifted in the mid-1960s when she gained acclaim in Europe through the American Folk Blues Festival. She soon became a key figure in the U.S. blues revival of the late 1960s and 1970s. Audiences in both America and Europe were captivated by her unique performance style, sharp humor, and raw emotional power.
One of her own compositions, “Ball & Chain,” caught the attention of Janis Joplin, who famously performed it at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, helping to launch her own career.
According to biographer Lynnee Denise, Thornton lived the archetypal life of a bluesman—constantly on the road, drinking heavily, rarely staying in one place, and too often unpaid for her performances. This hard life eventually took a toll on her health. Thornton died at the age of 57 and was buried in a pauper’s grave. But not before delivering a rousing final performance in Los Angeles—a show that proved her voice and presence remained powerful until the very end.
However a longer version [1 hour & 28 minute] of this documentary now titled “Big Mama Thornton: "I Can't Be Anyone But Me" has gotten a couple of articles in Australia advertising this:
https://www.filmink.com.au/reviews/big- ... ne-but-me/
Big Mama Thornton: I Can’t Be Anyone But Me
This is a wonderful doco, and emphatically recommended.
Still got the blues
by Mark Demetrius
Year:
2025
Director:
Robert Clem
Release:
31 August 2025
Running time:
88 minutes
Worth: $17.00
FilmInk rates movies out of $20 — the score indicates the amount we believe a ticket to the movie to be worth
Strobe Music Film Festival
Cast:
Lynn Denise, Charlie Musselwhite, Mike Stoller
Intro:
This is a wonderful doco, and emphatically recommended.
Willie Mae (“Big Mama”) Thornton had one of the greatest blues voices of the twentieth century. If you’ve ever heard her thunderous original version of Lieber and Stoller’s ‘Hound Dog’, you’ll understand what Mike Stoller means when he says here that Elvis sang it like he was talking to a dog, but she sang it like she was talking to a man. And, for that matter, why Janis Joplin — who covered Thornton’s own composition ‘Ball And Chain’ — saw herself as a rock star version of her.
Big Mama (1926-1984) was born in Alabama, and started her musical career as a child, travelling around that state as part of a variety show. There’s a stack of evocative footage in this documentary, particularly the black-and-white stuff from the Thirties and Forties. And it also boasts fascinating and entertaining interviewees/raconteurs, not least among them being the veteran harp player Charlie Musselwhite. Throw in all the important musicians who are mentioned, incidentally or otherwise, and the film is a virtual roll call of American cultural history.
Although Big Mama was a very tough customer indeed, her life story is in part the all-too-familiar one of a black artist — and of course a black woman — being ripped off and exploited. It has its share of tragedy and violence too, notably her presence at the self-inflicted (but accidental) death of the R&B singer Johnny Ace.
Times changed radically and for the better for some blues players in the 1960s, when white audiences started to ‘discover’ them, initially in Europe. The turning point for her was the 1966 Monterey Jazz Festival, and it’s at this point that the film bursts into colour — like the Sixties themselves. But her fortunes eventually took a downturn, and there were serious drinking and health problems along the way.
Big Mama Thornton wasn’t just a phenomenal singer – she was also a harp player and drummer, and had a sharp line in stage patter. Although she was widely believed to be gay, she never actually came out — but her disdain for conforming to gender stereotypes was groundbreaking.
This is a wonderful doco, and emphatically recommended.
https://www.ourgoldenage.com.au/film/big-mama-thornton
Big Mama Thornton: I Can't be Anyone but Me
(M)
WATCH TRAILER:
Sydney Premiere presented by Groovescooter for STROBE Festival
Year:
2025
Rating:
M
Director:
Robert Clem
Cast:
Lynnee Denise, Charlie Musselwhite, Mike Stolle
Duration:
88 minutes
Language:
English
Overview
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.
Why You Should See This Film
Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton was a towering figure in American popular music for over four decades. Born in rural Alabama, she defied gender norms with her commanding presence—often wearing jeans, a cowboy hat, and boots. Standing over six feet tall and weighing nearly 300 pounds, she carried herself with a bold, unapologetic demeanour. Songwriter Mike Stoller recalled that her attitude—and the two scars on her forehead—inspired him and Jerry Leiber to write “Hound Dog” specifically for her. Thornton’s 1952 recording of the song became a No. 1 R&B hit.
Despite that early success, Big Mama struggled for much of the following decade. Her fortunes shifted in the mid-1960s when she gained acclaim in Europe through the American Folk Blues Festival. She soon became a key figure in the U.S. blues revival of the late 1960s and 1970s. Audiences in both America and Europe were captivated by her unique performance style, sharp humor, and raw emotional power.
One of her own compositions, “Ball & Chain,” caught the attention of Janis Joplin, who famously performed it at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, helping to launch her own career.
According to biographer Lynnee Denise, Thornton lived the archetypal life of a bluesman—constantly on the road, drinking heavily, rarely staying in one place, and too often unpaid for her performances. This hard life eventually took a toll on her health. Thornton died at the age of 57 and was buried in a pauper’s grave. But not before delivering a rousing final performance in Los Angeles—a show that proved her voice and presence remained powerful until the very end.