Willie Mae Reid is an African-American politician who ran as the Socialist Workers Party candidate for Mayor of Chicago in 1975, winning 16,693 votes but coming in third place against Richard Daley.^[1] The number had fallen from the number of signatures she'd acquired to get on the ballot, 66,000^[2] She also ran as their vice presidential candidate in 1976 (Presidential candidate: Peter Camejo) and 1992 (Presidential candidate: James "Mac" Warren), winning 91,314 votes.^[3]

Bibliography[link]

• The racist offensive against busing: the lessons of Boston, how to fight back‎ (1974)

• Last hired, first fired. Affirmative action vs seniority NY: Pathfinder Press. 1975.

• Black Women's Struggle for Equality NY: Pathfinder Press. (1976) (co-author)

• Which way for the women's movement? How to win against the attacks on women's rights NY: Pathfinder Press. (1977) (co-author)

References[link]

1. ^ Metro Chicago almanac: fascinating facts and offbeat offerings 1991 p.37.
2. ^ "Socialist Aims for the Vice-Presidency". Milwaukee Journal: pp. 3. January 6, 1976. http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=OiohAAAAIBAJ&sjid=jn4EAAAAIBAJ&pg=3641,2178708. Retrieved January 17, 2010. 
3. ^ Facts about the presidents (1993). p.314.

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Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton (December 11, 1926 – July 25, 1984) was an American rhythm and blues singer and songwriter. She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952.^[1] The song was #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks in 1953.^[2] The B-side was "They Call Me Big Mama," and the single sold almost two million copies.^[3] Three years later, Elvis Presley recorded his version, based on a version performed by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. In a similar occurrence, she wrote and recorded "Ball 'n' Chain," which became a hit for her.^[1] Janis Joplin later recorded "Ball and Chain," and was a huge success in the late 1960s.

Biography[link]

Early life[link]

Thornton was born in Montgomery, Alabama, United States. Her introduction to music started in a Baptist church, where her father was a minister and her mother a church singer. She and her six siblings began to sing at very early ages. Thornton left Montgomery at age 14 in 1941, following her mother's death.^[4] She joined Sammy Green's Georgia-based Hot Harlem Revue.^[5] Her seven-year tenure with them gave her valuable singing and stage experience, and enabled her^[vague] to tour the South. In 1948, she settled in Houston, Texas, where she hoped to further her career as a singer She was also a self-taught drummer and harmonica player, and frequently played each instrument onstage.

Career[link]

Thornton began her recording career in Houston, signing a recording contract with Peacock Records in 1951. While working with another Peacock artist, Johnny Otis, she recorded "Hound Dog", a song that composers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller had given her in Los Angeles.^[6] The record was produced by Johnny Otis, and went to number one on the R&B chart.^[7] Although the record made her a star, she saw little of the profits.^[8] She continued to record for Peacock until 1957 and performed with R&B package tours with Junior Parker and Esther Phillips. In 1954, Thornton was one of the eyewitnesses to the accidental self-inflicted handgun death of blues singer Johnny Ace.^[9]

Thornton's account was, that Johnny was sitting with girlfriend Olivia on his lap, waving his pistol around, pointing it at Willie Mae. "Don't snap that on me," she told him. Johnny grinned and put the gun to Olivia's head. "Stop that, Johnny, you'll git someone killed," Willie Mae shouted at him. "Nothin' to worry about," Johnny replied, coolly, "ain't but one bullet here and I know exactly where it is." He turned the gun on himself, put it to his temple and pulled the trigger.

Her career began to fade in the late 1950s and early 1960s.^[1] She left Houston and relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she mostly played local blues clubs.

In 1966, Thornton recorded Big Mama Thornton With The Muddy Waters Blues Band, with Muddy Waters (guitar), Sammy Lawhorn (guitar), James Cotton (harmonica), Otis Spann (piano), Luther Johnson (bass guitar), and Francis Clay (drums). Songs included "Everything Gonna Be Alright", "Big Mama's Blues", "I'm Feeling Alright", "Big Mama's Bumble Bee Blues", "Looking The World Over", "Big Mama's Shuffle", and "Since I Fell For You", amongst others.

Her Ball 'n' Chain album in 1968, recorded with Lightnin' Hopkins (guitar) and Larry Williams (vocals), included the songs "Hound Dog", "Wade in the Water", "Little Red Rooster", "Ball 'n' Chain", "Money Taker", and "Prison Blues".

One of Thornton's last albums was Jail (1975) for Vanguard Records. It captured her performances during a couple of mid 1970s concerts at two northwestern prisons. She became the talented leader of a blues ensemble that featured sustained jams from George "Harmonica" Smith, as well as guitarists Doug Macleod, B. Huston and Steve Wachsman, drummer Todd Nelson, saxophonist Bill Potter, bassist Bruce Sieverson, and pianist J.D. Nicholson.

Thornton performed at the Monterey Jazz Festival in 1966 and 1968, and at the San Francisco Blues Festival in 1979. In 1965 she performed with the American Folk Blues Festival package in Europe.^[10] While in England that year, she recorded Big Mama Thornton in Europe and followed it up the next year in San Francisco with Big Mama Thornton with the Chicago Blues Band. Both albums came out on the Arhoolie label. Thornton continued to record for Vanguard, Mercury, and other small labels in the 1970s and to work the blues festival circuit until her death in 1984, the same year she was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

During her career, she appeared on stages from New York City's Apollo Theater in 1952 to the Newport Jazz Festival in 1980, and was nominated for the Blues Music Awards six times.^[11] In addition to "Ball 'n' Chain" and "They Call Me Big Mama," Thornton wrote twenty other blues songs.^[12]

In the 1970s years of heavy drinking began to hurt Thornton's health. She was in a serious auto accident but recovered to perform at the 1973 Newport Jazz Festival with Muddy Waters, B.B. King, and Eddie "Cleanhead" Vinson, a recording of which is called The Blues—A Real Summit Meeting on Buddha Records.

Thornton died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on July 25, 1984, at age 57.^[13]

Legacy[link]

In 2007, in the film, Hounddog, singer Jill Scott played Thornton.^[14]

Thornton is also the namesake of the Willie Mae Rock Camp for Girls.^[15]

Discography[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Biography portal

• Big Mama Thornton at Find a Grave

Mae
Mae performing at the Soundwave festival 2008.
Background information
Origin	Norfolk, Virginia, USA
Genres	Emo[1][2] Alternative rock[3] Christian rock[4][5]
Labels	Tooth & Nail (2003-2007) Capitol (2007-2008) Cell Records (2009-2010)
Associated acts	River James
Website	http://www.whatismae.com/
Members
Dave Elkins Zach Gehring Jacob Marshall Rob Sweitzer Mark Padgett
Past members
William Clark Matt Beck Jacob Clemons

Mae is an American alternative/indie band that formed in Norfolk, Virginia^[6] in 2001. The band's name is an acronym for "Multi-sensory Aesthetic Experience," based on a course taken by drummer Jacob Marshall while a student at Old Dominion University.^[7]

History[link]

Jacob Marshall and Dave Elkins began what would become Mae by writing their first song, "Embers and Envelopes", in Marshall's living room. The band signed with Tooth and Nail Records and released their first album, Destination: Beautiful, in 2003. They released their second full-length album, The Everglow, in 2005. The band toured extensively to promote it, and also performed on the Vans Warped Tour. Mae re-released The Everglow in 2006, adding three new songs and a two-hour DVD.

Later in 2006, the band signed to Capitol Records for their third full-length album. Mae began recording the album in the fall of 2006, working with producer Howard Benson (who has produced albums for Saosin, My Chemical Romance, Blindside, and Relient K). The album, titled Singularity, was released on August 14, 2007. On June 19, 2007, the band released the first single from Singularity, "Sometimes I Can't Make It Alone".

On September 24, 2007 Padgett and Sweitzer parted ways with Mae.^[8] The following year, Mae announced that they had split ways with Capitol Records.^[9] They also stated that they would embark on a new, experimental project, releasing one new song for each month of 2009. Each song would be available to download on their website for a minimum donation of $1, with proceeds going to humanitarian projects of Mae's choosing. Additionally, they would be compiling the monthly songs into three separate EPs entitled (m)orning, (a)fternoon and (e)vening, respectively.

In July 2009, Mae announced they were starting their own label called "Cell Records" through which they would release their three-EP set. In order to get in-store distribution Mae returned to their original label Tooth and Nail Records and signed a distribution agreement with the label. The (m)orning EP was released in stores and online on September 22, 2009. There was a limited edition scratch-and-sniff disk that was only available on their spring US tour and which was scented like the ocean (the band encouraged members in the crowd of their live shows to smell the disc during their song "The Ocean"). Mae released the (a)fternoon EP in stores and online March 30, 2010. The final EP, (e)vening, was initially available in a limited edition on the band's "Goodbye, Goodnight" tour. The EP was then released in stores and online on March 8, 2011 bundled with a DVD of their hometown farewell show filmed at The Norva in Norfolk, VA. The farewell show features 20 songs, with songs from each of their full length records and their three most recent EPs.

On May 7, 2010 word began spreading of Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer rejoining Mae for their upcoming fall tour. On June 19, 2010, Mae played a show in Singapore, and it was the first show since 2007 that included both Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer. On June 22, 2010, Mae's Dave Elkins confirmed on the band's forums that Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer have reunited with Mae.^[10] On June 28, 2010 Mae announced that their upcoming "Goodbye, Goodnight" Tour would be their last for the foreseeable future, marking their indefinite hiatus.^[11] On August 23, 2010, the newly reunited Mae including Mark Padgett and Rob Sweitzer played their first show back home in the US at Eureka College in Eureka, IL - evidently gearing up for the Goodbye, Goodnight tour. On Saturday November 27, 2010, the band played what was billed as its last show at the Norva in Norfolk, VA. The show was filmed to be released on DVD. What were believed at the time to be Mae's actual final performances consisted of two shows played on February 23 and 24 2011 at the Shibuya and Shinsaibashi locations of Club Quattro in Japan.^{[12][better source needed]} However, in late December of 2011, the band announced on its web site that it would play eight shows in the U.K. and Europe as part of the Goodbye, Goodnight tour from Jan. 3-10, 2012.

Members[link]

Current members[link]

• Dave Elkins (born Dave Gimenez) – vocals, guitar (2001–Present)
• Zach Gehring – guitar (2003–Present)
• Jacob Marshall – drums, piano (2001–Present)
• Mark Padgett - bass (2002–2007, 2010–Present)
• Rob Sweitzer - keyboards (2002–2007, 2010–Present)

Former members[link]

• William Clark – bass (2001–2002)
• Matt Beck – guitar (now with Spitfire) (2001–2003)
• Jacob Clemons – saxophone (went on to host "One Cubed" (USA) which aired on ABC Family)

Touring Members[link]

• Josiah Schlater – bass (From the band Tokyo and Color)
• Robert Smith – keyboard (From the band Tokyo and Musicplayer)
• David Pogge – bass (For the (a)fternoon tour)
• Tyler Strickland - guitar (For the (a)fternoon tour)

Related projects[link]

Before forming Mae, Dave Elkins was co-founder and lead vocalist for the indie band Sky's the Limit. Two songs that Elkins originally wrote for Sky's the Limit have been recorded and released by Mae – "Skyline Drive", on Destination: Beautiful, and "Tisbury Lane", on Destination: B-Sides.^[13]

After Mae finished their final tour, Dave Elkins began a new project called This Is Schematic. The project focuses on collaboration between artists, producers, and their supporters. Elkins created Schematic as a label since he feels the "music industry is broken and that a drastic improvement is necessary." Submissions for the label are currently being accepted and Elkins is currently working his own EP also under the name Schematic.

Jacob Marshall has formed the band River James with members of the band Army of Me

Discography[link]

Albums[link]

EPs and B-Sides[link]

Singles[link]

DVDs[link]

• From Toledo to Tokyo (Astorya Entertainment, 2005)
• The Everglow: Special Edition DVD (Tooth & Nail Records, 2006)
• Destination: Beautiful Five Year Anniversary (Mae Recording Company, 2008)
• (M)orning (Cell Records, 2009)
• (A)fternoon (Cell Records, 2010)
• (E)vening (Cell Records, 2011)

Compilation Appearances[link]

• Happy Christmas Vol. 4 (2005, contributed Carol Of The Bells)
• Punk Goes 90's (2006, contributed March of the Pigs)

Song of the Month[link]

Throughout 2009, Mae released 'Songs of the Month' (proceeds benefiting Habitat for Humanity and Donorschoose.org), with the first four tracks going onto the (M)orning EP, the second set of four going onto the (A)fternoon EP, and the final four on the (E)vening EP:

• January: The House that Fire Built
• February: Boomerang
• March: A Melody, The Memory
• April: Night/Day
• May: Over and Over
• June: The Cure
• July: The Fight Song
• August: In Pieces
• September: I Just Needed You To Know
• October: Seasons
• ^†November: Sleep Well
• ^†December: Bloom

† - Release delayed due to the theft of Mae's instruments and gear in Philadelphia

References[link]