Big Maybelle !
Born Mabel Louise Smith, Big Maybelle was one of the most popular R&B singers of the 1950s, recording for Okeh, Savoy and other labels.the singer strolled off with top honors at a Memphis amateur contest at the precocious age of eight.
Gospel music was an important element in Maybelle's intense vocal style, but the church wasn't big enough to hold her talent.
Producer Fred Mendelsohn discovered Smith in the Queen City, re-christened her Big Maybelle, and signed her to Columbia's OKeh R&B subsidiary in 1952. She slipped into a diabetic coma and passed away in a Cleveland hospital in 1972.
She remains an old school blues shouter with an irrepressible spirit...
Watch out boys, Big Maybelle's back in town.
Big Maybelle - That's A Pretty Good Love
Big Maybelle - Rockhouse
Comments
Your Web site has done a world of good for me, by introducing me to songs that make up the heritage of all that I love in music.