Mabel Louise "Big Maybelle" Smith

Mabel Louise "Big Maybelle" Smith is a Tennessee historical marker in TIPTON COUNTIES, Madison County.

South Highland Avenue (West Side) near Maybelle” Smith intersection with Martin Luther King Drive in Jackson HISTORICAL MARKERS INVENTORY FAYETTE, LAUDERDALE, SHELBY, TIPTON COUNTIES

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

Born circa 1924 in Jackson, Tennessee, "Big Maybelle" became a powerful Rhythm & Blues Singer. With her emotive delivery, and as one of the premier R&B chanteuses of the 1950s, she served as an essential link between raucous 1950s R&B and the soul sounds that emerged in the next decade. Her recordings include Candy, which received the Grammy Hall of Fame Award in 1999, and the original version of Whole Lot of Shakin Going On. Her career led her to sing at the famous Apollo Theatre in New York City. She died January 23, 1972 in Cleveland, Ohio, and later buried there in Evergreen Cemetery. In 2011 Smith was inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1862 · Johnson's Kentucky & Tennessee (1862) (Barry Lawrence Ruderman Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1864 · Kentucky And Tennessee (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1895 · Gen. map XVIII. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1924 · Tennessee. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1950 · Jackson South, Tennessee (USGS Historical Topographic Map Collection)

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

Upload your family tree and TreeAlive finds the markers near where your own ancestors lived.

See your family's markers

Start with a tree file, a FamilySearch sign in, or a WikiTree ID.

Report a problem with this page

The marker isn't at this spotOur pin may be off. If you know where it stands, tell us.I couldn't find the markerWe record what the source recorded. We have not been to look.The sign reads differentlyThat would be an error, and we can pass it to the program.The historical map looks wrongThe period map behind the pin, not the marker itself.Something else

We may pass what you report to the state's marker program. Please don't include personal details.

Marker text and location from the Tennessee Historical Commission, as the Commission publishes them on its marker map.

More markers nearby

Mother Liberty CME Churchunder 1 mi
Butler Race Track c. 1825 / Memphis Conference Female Institute 1843-1923under 1 mi
Jackson Spoke Hereunder 1 mi
Christine Chatman Circa 1920-1979under 1 mi