YouTube Gold: Big Mama Thornton’s Hound Dog

American R&B singer and songwriter Big Mama Thornton (1926 - 1984) in concert, circa 1965.There’s a new Elvis movie out and by all accounts, including that of Priscilla Presley, Austin Butler does a brilliant job.

Presley is a much more complicated figure than a lot of people realize. He grew up in Tupelo, Mississippi in a poor area where segregation was not as strict. So Presley, who was fascinated by Black music from an early age, absorbed as much as he could.

In 1948, the family moved to Memphis and Presley, though still quite young, began to meet local musicians like BB King and Ike Turner and soon began performing himself.

When he first emerged as a star, Presley mostly did bluegrass but…