Ball and Chain (Big Mama Thornton song)

Last updated

"Ball and Chain Part 1"
Ball and Chain Part 1 single cover.jpg
Single by Big Mama Thornton
from the album Ball and Chain
B-side "Wade in the Water"
Released1968 (1968)
Genre Blues
Length2:25
Label Arhoolie
Songwriter(s) Willie Mae Thornton a.k.a. Big Mama Thornton

"Ball and Chain" (also "Ball 'n' Chain" or "Ball & Chain") is a blues song written and recorded by American blues artist Big Mama Thornton. Although her recording did not appear on the record charts, the song has become one of Thornton's best-known, largely due to performances and recordings by Janis Joplin.

Contents

Background and releases

In the early 1960s,Thornton recorded several songs for Bay-Tone Records. Two were released on a single, "You Did Me Wrong" and "Big Mama's Blues". [1] A review by Billboard magazine noted "moderate sales potential", [2] but it did not enter the magazine's R&B single chart. [3] According to music writer Gillian Gaar, Thornton also recorded "Ball and Chain" for Bay Tone, although it was never released. [4]

In 1968, Arhoolie Records released "Ball and Chain". [5] An edited version, titled "Ball and Chain Part 1" was released as a single, while the complete four and a half minute song is included on a joint album by Thornton, Lightnin' Hopkins, and Larry Williams titled Ball and Chain. [6] Thornton is backed by a small combo with her frequent guitar accompanist Edward "Bee" Houston. [7] She later recorded several live and studio performances of the song, including one on her 1969 Billboard Top 200 album Stronger Than Dirt. [8]

Janis Joplin / Big Brother and the Holding Company renditions

Janis Joplin, who frequently acknowledged Thornton's musical influence, recorded several live performances of "Ball and Chain". According to Big Brother and the Holding Company guitarist James Gurley, Joplin first heard the song during a performance by Thornton at a bar in San Francisco. [9] The group transformed the song into a slow minor-key blues with breaks. [9] They performed the song at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967 to an enthusiastic audience and critical reception. [10] The first performance on June 17 was not filmed, so the band was persuaded to perform the song again on the next day. Drastically edited footage of this second performance (cutting out the second verse and a lengthy guitar solo) featured in the 1968 film Monterey Pop , while the full June 17 performance was released in 1993 on the three-disc box set Janis. Another live version of "Ball and Chain", recorded March 8, 1968, at the Fillmore East, was included on Big Brother's 1968 breakthrough album Cheap Thrills . Other live versions are included on Cheaper Thrills , Live at Winterland '68 , Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968 , The Woodstock Experience , and In Concert .

According to Gaar, Thornton originally had recorded the song for Bay-Tone Records in the early 1960s, although the label did not issue it. [4] Gaar adds that "[Bay-Tone held] on to the copyright—which meant that Thornton missed out on the publishing royalties when Janis Joplin recorded the song later in the decade." [4] By another account, Thornton signed an agreement with Bay Tone which caused problems with later releases. [11] In a 1972 interview, Thornton acknowledged giving Joplin permission to record the song and receiving royalty payments from its sales. [12]

Recognition

Big Mama Thornton's "Ball and Chain" is included on the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame list of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". [13]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Janis Joplin</span> American singer (1943–1970)

Janis Lyn Joplin was an American singer and songwriter. One of the most successful and widely known rock performers of her era, she was noted for her powerful mezzo-soprano vocals, as well as her "electric" stage presence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Mama Thornton</span> American blues singer (1926–1984)

Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, was an American singer and songwriter of the blues and R&B.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lightnin' Hopkins</span> American singer-songwriter, pianist, and guitarist (1912–1982)

Samuel John "Lightnin'" Hopkins was an American country blues singer, songwriter, guitarist and occasional pianist from Centerville, Texas. In 2010, Rolling Stone magazine ranked him No. 71 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big Brother and the Holding Company</span> American rock band

Big Brother and the Holding Company is an American rock band that formed in San Francisco in 1965 as part of the same psychedelic music scene that produced the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver Messenger Service, and Jefferson Airplane. After some initial personnel changes, the band became well known with the lineup of vocalist Janis Joplin, guitarists Sam Andrew and James Gurley, bassist Peter Albin, and drummer Dave Getz. Their second album Cheap Thrills, released in 1968, is considered one of the masterpieces of the psychedelic sound of San Francisco; it reached number one on the Billboard charts, and was ranked number 338 in Rolling Stone's the 500 greatest albums of all time. The album is also listed in the book 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hound Dog (song)</span> 1952 song by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Recorded originally by Big Mama Thornton on August 13, 1952, in Los Angeles and released by Peacock Records in late February 1953, "Hound Dog" was Thornton's only hit record, selling over 500,000 copies, spending 14 weeks in the R&B charts, including seven weeks at number one. Thornton's recording of "Hound Dog" is listed as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll", ranked at 318 in the 2021 iteration of Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in February 2013.

<i>Cheap Thrills</i> (Big Brother and the Holding Company album) 1968 studio album by Big Brother and the Holding Company

Cheap Thrills is the second studio album by American rock band Big Brother and the Holding Company, issued by Columbia Records in 1968. Cheap Thrills was the band's final album with lead singer Janis Joplin before she left to begin a solo career. For Cheap Thrills, the band and producer John Simon incorporated recordings of crowd noises to give the impression of a live album, for which it was subsequently mistaken by many listeners. Only "Ball and Chain" was actually recorded in concert at the Winterland Ballroom.

Arhoolie Records is an American small independent record label that was run by Chris Strachwitz and is based in El Cerrito, California, United States The label was founded by Strachwitz in 1960 as a way for him to record and produce music by previously obscure "down-home blues" artists such as Lightnin' Hopkins, Snooks Eaglin, and Bill Gaither. Strachwitz despised most commercial music as mouse music. Arhoolie still publishes blues and folk music, Tejano music including Lydia Mendoza, Los Alegres de Terán, Flaco Jiménez, regional Mexican music, cajun, zydeco, and bluegrass.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piece of My Heart</span> 1967 single by Erma Franklin

"Piece of My Heart" is a romantic soul song written by Jerry Ragovoy and Bert Berns, originally recorded by Erma Franklin in 1967. Franklin's single peaked in December 1967 at number 10 on the Billboard Hot Rhythm & Blues Singles chart in the United States.

<i>I Got Dem Ol Kozmic Blues Again Mama!</i> 1969 studio album by Janis Joplin

I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! is the debut solo and third studio album overall by American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin, released on September 11, 1969. It was the first album which Joplin recorded after leaving her former band, Big Brother and the Holding Company, and the only solo album released during her lifetime.

<i>In Concert</i> (Janis Joplin album) 1972 live album by Janis Joplin

In Concert is a live album by Janis Joplin. It was released in 1972, after Joplin's death, as a double-LP record. The first record contains performances with Big Brother and the Holding Company and the second with the Full Tilt Boogie Band, recorded at various locations in 1968 and 1970. The album lacks any live recordings with her first solo effort with the Kozmic Blues band though songs that had been produced with that band were performed in the recordings of the Full Tilt Boogie Band. The photographs used for the gatefold album were taken by photographer David Gahr in New York City in 1969 and 1970.

<i>Live at Winterland 68</i> 1998 live album by Big Brother and the Holding Company

Live at Winterland '68 is an album by Janis Joplin with her band Big Brother and the Holding Company. It was recorded at the Winterland Ballroom on April 12 and 13, 1968, and includes live renditions of songs from their studio albums.

<i>Janis Joplins Greatest Hits</i> 1973 greatest hits album by Janis Joplin

Janis Joplin's Greatest Hits is a 1973 collection of hit songs by American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin, who died in 1970. It features live versions of Down on Me and Ball and Chain which were included on the album In Concert the previous year.

<i>Janis</i> (1975 album) 1975 compilation album by Janis Joplin

Janis is a collection of performances by Janis Joplin, issued in 1975 as a compilation album containing film soundtrack and live recordings. Disc one is subtitled "From the soundtrack of the motion picture Janis ". In addition to concert recordings from Toronto and Frankfurt, there are several short TV-interviews. Disc two contains recordings from Austin, Texas, plus four recordings from San Francisco (1965). The album booklet contains a photo documentary, with 22 pictures from Janis Joplin's life and career.

<i>Janis</i> (1993 album) 1993 compilation album by Janis Joplin

Janis is a compilation album by Janis Joplin, released in 1993. The album features a broad overview of her career from her very first recording in December 1962, to the last songs she recorded during the sessions for Pearl just a few days before her death in October 1970.

Francis Clay was an American jazz and blues drummer, best known for his work behind Muddy Waters in the 1950s and 1960s, and as an original member of the James Cotton band. Clay's jazz-influenced style is cited as an influence by many of the British Invasion rock 'n' rollers of the 1960s such as Charlie Watts and Ronnie Wood of the Rolling Stones and Faces, respectively.

"Kozmic Blues" is a song from American singer-songwriter Janis Joplin's I Got Dem Ol' Kozmic Blues Again Mama! album, her first after departing Big Brother and the Holding Company. It was a part of Joplin's set at the Woodstock Festival in 1969.

<i>The Woodstock Experience</i> 2009 album box set featuring musicians from the 1969 Woodstock Festival

The Woodstock Experience is a box consisting of a set of studio albums and live performances from the 1969 Woodstock Festival by the artists Santana, Janis Joplin, Sly and the Family Stone, Jefferson Airplane, and Johnny Winter. Each set consists of the 1969 studio album by the artist as well as each artist's entire Woodstock performance. The set was released as both a box containing all five artists, and also as individual releases separated by artist, each containing the studio album and live performance of that artist.

Sammy David Lawhorn was an American Chicago blues guitarist, best known as a member of Muddy Waters's band. He also accompanied many other blues musicians, including Otis Spann, Willie Cobbs, Eddie Boyd, Roy Brown, Big Mama Thornton, John Lee Hooker, James Cotton and Junior Wells.

<i>Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968</i> 2012 live album by Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin

Live at the Carousel Ballroom 1968 is a live album by Big Brother and the Holding Company featuring Janis Joplin. The album was recorded by Owsley Stanley in 1968, and released on 12 March 2012 through Columbia and Legacy, on the one-year anniversary of his death in an automobile accident. He had been supervising the development and release of this album right up to the time of his death on March 12, 2011. The album is dedicated to him, and set to the specifications Stanley set prior to his death.

Casey Hensley is an American female blues, swing, and rock and roll singer, songwriter and record producer. To date, Hensley has released two albums including her 2017 debut issue, Live.

References

  1. ↑ Bay Tone Records no. 107
  2. ↑ Billboard (May 15, 1961). "Reviews and Ratings of New Records". Billboard . Vol. 73, no. 19. p. 49. ISSN   0006-2510.
  3. ↑ Whitburn, Joel (1988). Top R&B Singles 1942–1988. Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin: Record Research. p.  411. ISBN   0-89820-068-7.
  4. 1 2 3 Gaar, Gillian (1992). She's a Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll . Seattle: Seal Press. p.  4. ISBN   978-1580050784.
  5. ↑ Dahl, Bill (1996). "Big Mama Thornton". In Erlewine, Michael (ed.). All music guide to the blues : The experts' guide to the best blues recordings. All Music Guide to the Blues . San Francisco: Miller Freeman Books. p.  251. ISBN   0-87930-424-3.
  6. ↑ Ball and Chain (Back album cover). Big Mama Thornton, Lightnin' Hopkins, Larry Williams. Arhoolie Records. 1968. 1039 – via Discogs.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  7. ↑ Schulte, Tom. Bee Houston: The Hustler – Review at AllMusic . Retrieved May 10, 2013.
  8. ↑ Mercury Records SR 61225
  9. 1 2 Friedman, Myra (2011). Buried Alive: The Biography of Janis Joplin. Crown Publishing Group. p. 334. ISBN   978-0307790521.
  10. ↑ Gilliland, John (1969). "Show 47 - Sergeant Pepper at the Summit: The very best of a very good year. [Part 3]" (audio). Pop Chronicles . University of North Texas Libraries.
  11. ↑ Spörke, Michael (2014). Big Mama Thornton: The Life and Music. McFarland Inc. p. 43. ISBN   978-0-7864-7759-3.
  12. ↑ Sporke 2014, p. 70.
  13. ↑ "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll". Rock and Roll Hall of Fame . 1995. Archived from the original on May 2, 2007. Retrieved May 10, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.