Big Mama: Big Mama Thornton

Wikipedia

She was the first to record the hit song "Hound Dog" in 1952. The record was #1 on the Billboard R&B charts for seven weeks in 1953... Three years later, Elvis Presley recorded his even more broadly successful rendition of "Hound Dog," based on a version performed by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. Similarly, Thornton wrote and recorded "Ball 'n' Chain", which became a hit for her, yet Janis Joplin's later recording of it made a bigger impact in the late 1960s

Texas State Historical Association

The nickname "Big Mama" came from somebody after the first show, and it stuck. She was a large, tall woman, and the name suited her vocal tension and coarseness.