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In the movie, Thornton (played by Shonka Dukureh in her only film role, as she died shortly after the film's release) is shown as the original singer of the song "Hound Dog" and appears in the movie singing the song.
Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (December 11, 1926 -- July 25, 1984) was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952.
On August 13, 1952, four years before Elvis Presley would make “Hound Dog” his longest running no. 1 hit, the song is recorded for the very first time by the rhythm-and-blues singer Willie Mae...
Big Mama Thornton. On 13 August 1952, Willie Mae Thornton, now better known as Big Mama Thornton, recorded, with Johnny Otis and his orchestra a song that would become her signature forever: “Hound Dog.” And it was just a few days after that that she had become “Big Mama Thornton.”
History writes that in 1956, the "King of Rock 'n' Roll," Elvis Presley, released "Hound Dog," a tune that would later be known as one of his signature songs. CBS News reports that the track was an instant hit and stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard charts for an impressive 11 weeks.
Original "Hound Dog" Single was Recorded by Big Mama Thornton. Over the years, numerous critics have accused Elvis of stealing "Hound Dog" from Big Mama Thornton, who originally recorded it in 1953, but profited very little compared to what Elvis earned from his 1956 rendition.
Mike Stoller, one of the original writers of Elvis Presley’s 1956 hit “Hound Dog,” says the song was never stolen from blues singer and songwriter Big Mama Thornton.
Hound Dog is a blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that is recognized as one of the greatest songs of all time. Originally recorded by Willie Mae (‘Big Mama’) Thornton in 1952, it has since been recorded by dozens of artists, including a smash hit version by Elvis Presley in 1956.
In the original song, the titular hound dog was actually a slang term for the singer’s unfaithful male partner. But Freddie Bell’s version intentionally took out the sexual innuendos which marked Big Mama’s original.
“Hound Dog” co-writer Mike Stoller has refuted claims that Elvis Presley’s version of the classic rock’n’roll song was stolen from Big Mama Thornton.