Blues Singer. Born Mabel Louise Smith in Jackson, Tennessee, one of six children of Alice Easly and Frank Smith. She sang gospel with her sisters in the local church from an early age; a precocious talent, she won an amateur singing contest at Memphis' Cotton Carnival when she was eight years old. In 1936, she sang with Memphis band leader Dave Clark before joining the all-girl swing group the Sweethearts of Rhythm, who toured extensively in the South. She made her first record as vocalist with the Christine Chatman Orchestra in 1944, then signed with Cincinnati's King Records in 1947 for three singles with Oren 'Hot Lips' Page. A commanding stage presence with her beautiful face, almost six feet of height, and well over 250 pounds, her voice was a powerhouse corrugated alto. When Columbia revived the OKeh label in 1952, Mabel was re-dubbed Big Maybelle and cut 'Gabbin' the Blues', which put her near the top of the Billboard R&B Chart. In 1953, she hit again with 'Way Back Home' and 'My Country Man.' She recorded 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On' in 1955, well before Jerry Lee Lewis did so. Upon her move to Savoy Records, her interpretation of the pop song 'Candy' gave her another hit in 1956. She appeared in the documentary, 'Jazz on a Summer's Day,' filmed at the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival. At her best, she was such a strong performer that Billie Holiday once refused to follow her opening act, claiming she had been out-performed. Reportedly, pressures of career and health led to an abuse of heroin to debilitating effect. Her releases of 'Ring Dang Dilly,' 'That's a Pretty Good Love,' and 'Tell Me Who' all benefited Savoy Records, but her hits became fewer. She recorded for a number of labels after 1959, releasing 'Yesterday's Kisses' and a surprise hit, the cover of '96 Tears' in 1967. With her health deteriorating due to diabetes and drug abuse, she lapsed into a diabetic coma before succumbing at the age of 47. Her final album, 'Last of Big Maybelle' was released posthumously the following year. Her hit single, 'Candy,' received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999. She was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2015, her cover of 'Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On' was featured in the popular 'Fallout' video game franchise.