AFRAM Blog Post 1

Cole Pugliano - AFRAM 337 - Blog Post 1

Reflecting on Maureen Mahon’s “Big Mama Thornton’s Voice” and the interview of Maylei Blackwell, it is clear that there is a nuanced but significant distinction between giving a voice to an individual and listening to the individual’s own voice. In giving a voice to an individual, as benevolent as it may be, the true history seems to be distorted. Mahon writes on this topic. In previous, well-meaning documentations of history, Thornton becomes reduced to a tragic symbol, a black woman who was exploited and left poor. To me, this re-telling of history takes power away from Thornton. Instead, Mahon compiles accounts of Thornton’s own voice. As a musician, performing songs she wrote and being covered by the press, Thornton was distinctly not voiceless. 

In an interview, Maylei Blackwell speaks on this distinction, “early on, a lot of early oral historians, especially women’s oral history, would be about: ‘to give voice to the people’,  and you know, the people already have a voice”. The key, then, is to listen to those voices. I think that Mahon does this well. In hearing from Thornton herself, her opinion on Elvis, her hopes and aspirations in music, the true history is illuminated. This history is one of more depth, a story where Thornton has the power, celebrated for her skills in songwriting and performance, her charisma and swagger appreciated, and celebrated for her defiance of gender norms of the time. While it is true that she was exploited, exploitation does not define Thornton.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pM8_HuQ0b34

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQmmM_qwG4k

After hearing about the story of “Hound Dog”, I was curious about other instances of songs being taken/covered and becoming more popular than the originator’s. “You Need Love”, which is written by Willie Dixon, performed by Muddy Waters in 1963 was taken by Led Zeppelin six years later. While I generally thought of small artists having their work stolen and popularized by a much larger artist, it is interesting to me that the original was popular and performed by a big name, and Zeppelin still drew from the song without giving credit. In 1985 Dixon won a lawsuit, an undisclosed settlement, and  is now credited for the song.