Search results
People also ask
When did 'hound dog' come out?
When did Elvis Presley release 'Hound Dog'?
How many 'Hound Dog' songs were released in 1953?
Who owns 'Hound Dog'?
Recorded originally by Big Mama Thornton on August 13, 1952, in Los Angeles and released by Peacock Records in late February 1953, "Hound Dog" was Thornton's only hit record, selling over 500,000 copies, spending 14 weeks in the R&B charts, including seven weeks at number one.
Elvis' version of this song is based on how he heard it performed by a Texas group called Freddie Bell and The Bell Boys, who released the song on the Teen label in 1955. In April 1956, Elvis was booked for two weeks at The New Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas.
- Song’S Narrative
- Elvis Presley’s Version
- Who Wrote “Hound Dog”?
- Big Mama Thornton Records “Hound Dog”
- Commercial Performance
- Other Versions
- Freddie Bell’s Version
- Elvis Presley’s Version of “Hound Dog”
- Elvis Officially Releases “Hound Dog”
- A Big Hit For Elvis
And basically, what is transpiring is that Big Mama is kicking the addressee out of her house. And keeping within the titular theme of the song, she uses canine-related metaphors in the chorus to detail how he is responding. For instance, he is “snooping around her door”, meaning that he is still trying to get into her home (or perhaps more specifi...
But Elvis’ cover is more sanitized, with the sensual references of Big Mama’s original being intentionally omitted. In fact Elvis’s cover was conceived to be literally about a hound dog, i.e. a hunting companion to the singer. In other words, he is complaining about his pet, not his lover. And what he is saying is that said dog complains a lot (i.e...
This song was written by a couple of artists who themselves greatly influenced the American music scene– Michael Stoller and Jerry Leiber (1933-2011). Hound Dog itself went on to be covered by a plethora of musician. Here we will take a lot at some of the more-prominent renditions.
Stoller and Leiber wrote this track specifically for an R&B singer by the name of Big Mama Thornton (1926-1984). In fact the lyrics themselves were based on the way they perceived her appearance and personality. Moreover they were able to scribe the song, according to Leiber, “in about 12 minutes”. Additionally, both Leiber and Stoller were 19 year...
According to some estimates it has sold 750,000 copies and in the very least 500,000. And it would have sold even better than that. But this was back in the days when it was not as easy to control copyright infringement. In other words, a number of covers to “Hound Dog” by other artists as well as answer songs were in circulation concurrently with ...
As aforementioned, shortly after this song came out a bunch of artists began covering it. Many of them were actually White and belonging to the country genre. Also concerning the answer songs, the most-popular amongst them was one called “Bear Cat”, written by a White producer named Sam Phillips (1923-2003) and performed by an African-American musi...
The first truly significant cover of “Hound Dog” came with the rendition released by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys in 1955. Although it did benefit from the success of the original as well as a later (Elvis Presley) version, it wasn’t really that big of a hit. Rather the reason it is significant is because, despite still being credited to Michael S...
As significant as “Hound Dog” proved to Elvis’s career, his rendition was not without its controversies. For instance, he performed it on a widely-viewed episode of The Milton Berle Show in June of 1956. His performance was meant to be sort of a comedy, i.e. a White artist attempting to perform sexualized Black music. But instead some critics, incl...
Elvis Presley went on to record Hound Dog on 2 July 1956 in New York City at RCA’s studio. And it was officially released about a week later, on 13 July 1956. On the same day he recorded it, Elvis also laid down another of his classic, “Don’t Be Cruel”. The reason he had not recorded “Hound Dog” earlier, despite already performing it a few times li...
Well in dissing Elvis, Allen may have done him a favor instead, as “Hound Dog” proved to be a monumental hit. For instance it topped 8 different Billboard charts, including the Hot 100 itself. Moreover it scored a number one on Cash Box’s Top Country & Western Singles listing. And it also peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, in addition to...
Aug 6, 2024 · Hound Dog is a blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller that is recognized as one of the greatest songs of all time. Originally recorded by Willie Mae (‘Big Mama’) Thornton in 1952, it has since been recorded by dozens of artists, including a smash hit version by Elvis Presley in 1956.
- Alison Eldridge
"Hound Dog" is a song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stroller originally for Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, and re-recorded by Elvis Presley in 1956. One of Presley's most successful and recognizable songs[1], his version would overshadow Thornton's version[2] and fight against the single's...
Sep 4, 2020 · In Rolling Stone‘s 2004 compilation of the world’s greatest songs of all time, “Hound Dog” was placed at the 19th position. And what makes this feat more remarkable is that the list comprises of 500 great classics! Covers . It should be noted that “Hound Dog” wasn’t originally recorded by Elvis Presley. It was first released by ...
Jun 16, 2022 · History writes that in 1956, the "King of Rock 'n' Roll," Elvis Presley, released "Hound Dog," a tune that would later be known as one of his signature songs. CBS News reports that the track was an instant hit and stayed at No. 1 on the Billboard charts for an impressive 11 weeks.
