To showcase their musical culture, the City of New Orleans put on The International Jazzfest in 1968 & 1969, before George Wein, the founder of the Newport Jazz Festival, re-tooled into The New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival in 1970 — which has continued for over fifty years.

“[Big Mama Thornton] was a wonderful blues singer, with a great moaning style. But it was as much her appearance, as her blues style that influenced the writing of ‘Hound Dog’ and the idea that we wanted her to growl it.” – Mike Stoller, on writing Hound Dog Taylor for Big Mama Thornton

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