An heir apparent to urban-blues icons like Bessie Smith and Memphis Minnie, Alabama-born singer, songwriter, and harp player Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton is best known for her 1952 recording of “Hound Dog,” a song made ubiquitous by Elvis later in the decade. However, Thornton’s was a smash in its own right, a classic-on-arrival thanks to her guttural delivery of the refrain. “Ball N' Chain,” too, is a heart-wrenching slow-burner in Big Mama’s treatment, though it is now generally associated with Janis Joplin’s subsequent version. Though the great Ms. Thornton’s studio discography is modest in size, there’s more to savor outside of those definitive cuts—see the seething “I Smell a Rat” and her rave-up take on the spiritual “Wade in the Water.”