A new Blues musical, Big Mama! The Willie Mae Thornton Story, stars Canadian jazz legend Jackie Richardson backed by an all-star band including Juno nominee Bill Johnson, Ron Casat and Andy Graffiti.
Willie Mae Thornton began singing in her fatherB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s Baptist Church in Montgomery, Ala., and by the age of 14 she was touring with the Hot Harlem Revue.
In 1951, Thornton signed a recording contract with Peacock Records and subsequently recorded Hound Dog, the Leiber and Stoller-penned tune that was written for her and stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks. Three years later, the song would launch the career of Elvis Presley.
Like Big Mama, Richardson got her start singing in church. A multi-faceted performer, Richardson has won two Dora Awards (Toronto Theatre Awards) for AinB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™t MisbehavinB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™ and CookinB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™ at the Cookery; a Gemini Award for The Gospel According to the Blues and sheB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s been nominated for Junos, Jessies (Vancouver theatre awards), Betties (Calgary theatre awards) and, in the U.S, an NAACP Image Award.
The soulful revue pays homage to blues singer Thornton: the godmother of rock and roll. With a vocal style not easy to imitate, only a few B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·“ like Janis Joplin B´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·“ have been able to summon ThorntonB´ÎÔª¹ÙÍøÍøÖ·™s mix of raw power and deep emotion.
The show runs until Sunday Aug. 19 in the Belfry Theatre Mainstage, 1291 Gladstone Ave. Tickets start at $25 and are available at 250-385-6815 or online at tickets.belfry.bc.ca.