R&B
royalty: Roy Brown, Big mama Thornton, and Pee Wee Crayton.
Roy Brown, best known for "Good Rockin' Tonight," had 17 top 20 R&B hits,
and influenced everybody from Elvis to James Brown. Big Mama Thornton
was the last of the real brag-and-swagger mamas. In 1953 she breathed
fire into a song written by two white boys, and the rest is "Hound Dog"
history. Pee Wee Crayton brought T-Bone Walker-style guitar to California
and helped shape the West Coast blues sound of the 40's and 50's. He had
a number 1 R&B hit with "Blues After Hours."RETURN TO PHOTO PAGE |