Musical Influence Award: Rock Hall Honors Alexis Korner, John Mayall & Big Mama Thornton’s Impact On Pop Music

The blues may not be featured prominently on streaming and sales charts, but true music fans know the genre’s influence on pop music of the past and present, from The Beatles to Luke Combs to Derek Trucks, has never wavered, and its rebellious spirit lives on thanks to institutions like the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.

The foundation has honored the trailblazers for more than 40 years and evidently continues to do so by recognizing a trio of pioneers who had a hand changing all of pop music, influencing the legendary rock bands who spearheaded the British invasion of the 1960s and Elvis Presley, who borrowed heavily from blues musicians to break into the mainstream. This year, the Rock Hall is presenting the Musical Influence Award to standout singer Big Mama Thornton and British blues masters Alexis Korner and John Mayall.

Big Mama Thornton

Thornton, whose real name was Willie Mae, was a talented singer and dancer who defied racial and gender stereotypes and became a paradigm of the progressive rock and roll star with her gritty voice and a stage presence that demanded attention with her 6-foot, 200-pound frame.

Her biggest hit was the original (and definitive) version of “Hound Dog” in 1952, a song Presley recorded four years later and elevated him to international fame.

Thornton was a prominent figure in the Black community and blues scene but wasn’t received by the mainstream audience as Presley was, and more than seven decades later, the Rock Hall is giving the singer her much-deserved roses.

The Black Music Project, an online interactive exhibit that promotes the notion that “Black American music is the story of America,” advocated for Thornton to be recognized by the Rock Hall by posting content celebrating the influential singer who paved the way for female artists like Aretha Franklin.

“Since her death [in 1984], many have come to acknowledge her importance as the source of a river of rock and roll on many frontmen and women,” The Black Project video on Thornton stated. “Big Mama showed them how to sing and command a stage with swagger, broke barriers and set the template for boundary-pushing, gender-bending rockers who followed her like Elvis Presley, Mick Jagger, Janis Joplin, Robert Plant, Freddie Mercury and many others.”

Alexis Korner

Korner is another standout who was your favorite band’s favorite artist. Though born in Paris, he moved to London as a young teen and soon was entranced by the blues.

He played piano and was heavily influenced by Chicago boogie-woogie pianist James Yancey, and he partnered with harmonica player Cyril Davies in 1957 to run the London Blues and Barrelhouse Club, a venue that hosted developing blues talent from Britain and the U.S., including musicians who wound up forming a band named the Rolling Stones.

“Without his help in the very early days of the Stones, first off he was the only guy who had a gig going, and we all wanted to play with him,” Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards said in an “Ask Keith” video where he answers questions from fans. “He was, I don’t know if he liked this term, the ‘Godfather of British blues,’ at least in my generation or my term of life. Alexis is untiring in promoting and putting together and finding the right musicians and gathering this kind of crowd around him, of which we’re all a part of. And hats off to Alexis. … He was a damn good blues player.”

John Mayall

Another pioneer who earned the moniker of “the godfather of blues” was Mayall, having formed the Bluesbreakers in the early ’60s. The band included musicians who went on to become legends like Eric Clapton, Peter Green and John McVie of Fleetwood Mac, Mick Taylor of the Stones and Jack Bruce of Cream.

Mayall had an encyclopedic knowledge of music and would pass it down to all of his friends, including Paul McCartney, who referred to his friend as a “DJ-type guy” who would play records whenever they hung out late at night.

“He gave me a little evening’s education in that,” McCartney said in a quote posted on Mayall’s website. “I was turned on after that, and I went and bought an Epiphone. So then I could wind up with the Vox amp and get some nice feedback.”

The blues musician hailing from Macclesfield, Cheshire, essentially ran a school for the artists he worked with, and guitarists like B.B. King and Walter Trout credit him for giving them a platform that allowed them to shine.

“As far as being a blues-guitar sideman, the Bluesbreakers gig is the pinnacle. That’s Mount Everest,” Trout said in a quote provided by Mayall’s site. “You could play with B.B. King or Buddy Guy, but you’re just gonna play chords all night. This guy features you. You get to play solos. He yells your name after every song, brings you to the front of the stage and lets you sing. He creates a place for you in the world.”

Now, it’s the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame creating a place for these blues luminaries where they can be celebrated and they can continue to find new audiences to inspire.