Big Maybelle

• Name — Big Maybelle • Birth Name — Mabel Louise Smith • Born — 1 May 1924 • Birthplace — Jackson, Tennessee, U.S. • Died — 23 January 1972 • Place of death — Cleveland, Ohio, U.S. • Genre — R&B, blues, gospel • Occupation — Vocalist • Years Active — 1936–1972 • Label — King Records, Okeh, Savoy, Epic, Brunswick, Scepter, Chess, Port, Rojac, Encore

Born in Jackson, Tennessee, on May 1, 1924, Big Maybelle sang gospel as a child; by her teens, she had switched to rhythm and blues. She began her professional career with Dave Clark's Memphis Band in 1936, and also toured with the all-female International Sweethearts of Rhythm. She then joined Christine Chatman's Orchestra, and made her first recordings with Chatman in 1944, before recording with the Tiny Bradshaw's Orchestra from 1947 to 1950. Her debut solo recordings, recorded as Mabel Smith, were for King Records in 1947.

In 1952, she was signed by Okeh Records, whose record producer Fred Mendelsohn gave her the stage name 'Big Maybelle' because of her loud yet well-toned voice. Her first recording for Okeh, "Gabbin' Blues", was a number 3 hit on the Billboard R&B chart, and was followed up by both "Way Back Home" and "My Country Man" in 1953. In 1955, she recorded the song "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On", produced by up-and-coming producer Quincy Jones, a full two years before rockabilly then rock and roll singer Jerry Lee Lewis's version. Lewis credited Smith's version as being the inspiration to make his version much louder, raunchy and raucous, with a driving beat and a spoken section with a come-on that was considered very risque for the time.

More hits followed throughout the 1950s, particularly after signing with Savoy Records later in 1955, including "Candy" (1956), one of her biggest sellers. During this time, she also appeared on stage at the Apollo Theater in New York City in 1957, and at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival she sang "All Night Long/I Ain't Mad at You", as seen in Bert Stern's film of the festival, Jazz on a Summer's Day, in which Mahalia Jackson and Dinah Washington also performed.

After 1959, she recorded for a variety of labels, but the hits largely dried up. She continued to perform into the early 1960s. Her last hit single was in 1967, a cover of "96 Tears" by Question Mark & the Mysterians. By the 1960s, Maybelle's heroin use began detrimentally impacting her career.

Smith died of a diabetic coma on January 23, 1972, in Cleveland, Ohio. She had been frequently ill during the previous 18 months. She was survived by her only child, Barbara Smith, and five grandchildren. Her final album, Last of Big Maybelle, was released posthumously in 1973.

• Year — Title — Genre — Label • 2016 — The Complete King, OKeh & Savoy Releases 1947-61 — R&B — Acrobat [UK] [2CD] • 2007 — I've Got a Feelin' (OKeh & Savoy Recordings 1952-56) — R&B — Rev-Ola Bandstand • 2004 — The Chronological Big Maybelle 1944-1953 — R&B — Classics 'Blues & Rhythm' • 2001 — Maybelle's Blues — R&B — Sony Music Special Products • 2001 — Candy! (Savoy Blues Legends) — R&B — Savoy Jazz [2CD] • 2001 — Half Heaven, Half Heartache (The Brunswick Recordings) — R&B — Westside [UK] • 1998 — The Very Best of Big Maybelle "That's All" — R&B — Collectables • 1995 — Blues, Candy and Big Maybelle — R&B — Savoy Jazz • 1994 — Maybelle Sings the Blues — R&B — Charly [UK] • 1994 — The Complete OKeh Sessions 1952-55 — R&B — Epic/Legacy EK-53417 • 1983 — The OKeh Sessions — R&B — Epic EG-38456 [2LP] • 1973 — The Last of Big Maybelle — R&B — Paramount PAS-1011 • 1969 — Saga of the Good Life and Hard Times — R&B — Rojac 123 • 1968 — The Gospel Soul of Big Maybelle — Gospel — Brunswick BL-754142 • 1968 — "Gabbin' Blues" and Other Big Hits — R&B — Encore EE-22012 • 1967 — Got a Brand New Bag — R&B — Rojac 122 • 1965 — The Soul of Big Maybelle — R&B — Scepter 522 • 1962 — What More Can a Woman Do? — R&B — Brunswick BL-754107 • 1959 — The Blues: Mamie Webster Sings W.C.Handy — R&B — Cub (MGM) 8002 • 1958 — Blues, Candy and Big Maybelle — R&B — Savoy MG-14011 • 1958 — Big Maybelle Sings — R&B — Savoy MG-14005 • 1954 — Big Maybelle — R&B — Epic EG-7071

• Year — Single (A-side, B-side) Both tracks from same album except where indicated — Chart Positions — Album • US Pop — US R&B • 1948 — "Sad and Disappointed Jill" b/w "Bad Dream Blues" — - — - — Non-album tracks • "Indian Giver" b/w "Too Tight Mama" — - — - • The above two records as shown as by Mabel Smith • 1953 — "Gabbin' Blues" b/w "Rain Down Rain" — - — 3 — "Gabbin' Blues" and Other Big Hits • "Way Back Home" b/w "Just Want Your Love" — - — 10 • "Send for Me" b/w "Jinny Mule" (from "Gabbin' Blues" and Other Big Hits) — - — - — Non-album track • "My Country Man" b/w "Maybelle's Blues" — - — 5 — "Gabbin' Blues" and Other Big Hits • 1954 — "You'll Never Know" b/w "I've Got a Feelin'" — - — - • "I'm Getting 'Long Alright" b/w "My Big Mistake" — - — - • 1955 — "Don't Leave Poor Me" b/w "Ain't No Use" (Non-album track) — - — - • "Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On" b/w "One Monkey Don't Stop No Show" (from "Gabbin' Blues" and Other Big Hits) — - — - — Non-album tracks • 1956 — "Such a Cutie" b/w "The Other Night" — - — - • "Candy" b/w "That's a Pretty Good Love" — - — 11 — Blues, Candy & Big Maybelle • "Mean to Me" b/w "Tell Me Who" — - — - • "New Kind of Mambo" b/w "Gabbin' Blues" (from "Gabbin' Blues" and Other Big Hits) — - — - — Non-album tracks • 1957 — "I Don't Want to Cry" b/w "All of Me" — - — - — Big Maybelle Sings • "Rock House" b/w "Jim" — - — - • "Silent Night" b/w "White Christmas" — - — - — Non-album tracks • "So Long" b/w "Ring Dang Dilly" — - — - — Blues, Candy & Big Maybelle • 1958 — "Blues, Early Blues"—Part 1 b/w Part 2 — - — - • 1959 — "Baby Won't You Please Come Home" b/w "Say It Isn't So" — - — - — Big Maybelle Sings • "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" b/w "Pitiful" (from Blues, Candy & Big Maybelle) — - — - — Non-album tracks • "I Understand" b/w "Some of These Days" — - — - • 1960 — "I Got It Bad and That Ain't Good" b/w "Until the Real Thing Comes Along" — - — - • 1961 — "Going Home Baby" b/w "I Ain't Got Nobody" — - — - • 1962 — "Candy" b/w "Cry" — - — - — What More Can a Woman Do • 1963 — "Cold Cold Heart" b/w "Why Was I Born" (from What More Can a Woman Do) — - — - — The Last of Big Maybelle • "How Deep Is the Ocean" b/w "Everybody's Got a Home But Me" — - — - — What More Can a Woman Do • 1964 — "Oh Lord, What Are You Doing to Me" b/w "Same Old Story" — - — - — The Soul of Big Maybelle • "My Mother's Eyes" b/w "Careless Love" — - — - — Saga of the Good Life & Hard Times • "I Don't Want to Cry" b/w "Yesterday's Kisses" — - — - — Non-album tracks • | 1965 — "Let Me Go" b/w "No Better for You" (from The Last of Big Maybelle) — - — - • 1966 — "It's a Man's Man's World" b/w "Maybelle Sings the Blues" (from Saga of the Good Life and Hard Times) — - — - • "Don't Pass Me By" b/w "It's Been Raining" (from Saga of the Good Life & Hard Times) — - — 27 • 1967 — "96 Tears" b/w "That's Life" — 96 — 23 — Got a Brand New Bag • "Turn the World Around the Other Way" b/w "I Can't Wait Any Longer" (Non-album track) — - — - • "Mama (He Treats Your Daughter Mean)" b/w "Keep That Man" — - — - — Non-album tracks • 1968 — "Quittin' Time" b/w "I Can't Wait Any Longer" — - — - • "Heaven Will Welcome You, Dr. King" b/w "Eleanor Rigby" (from Got a Brand New Bag) — - — - • "Do Lord" b/w "Nobody Knows the Trouble I've Seen" — - — - — The Gospel Soul of Big Maybelle • 1969 — "Old Love Never Dies" b/w "How It Lies" — - — - — Saga of the Good Life & Hard Times • 1973 — "Blame It on Your Love" b/w "See See Rider" — - — - — The Last of Big Maybelle