"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton in 1952.

Other early versions illustrate the differences among blues, country, and rock and roll in the mid 1950s.

The 1956 remake by Elvis Presley is the best-known version; it is his version that is #19 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

"Hound Dog" was also recorded by 5 country singers in 1953 alone, and over 26 times through 1964.

Big Mama Thornton version

The blues singer Big Mama Thornton's biggest hit was Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's "Hound Dog," which she recorded at Radio Recorders in Los Angeles on August 13, 1952.

Thornton’s "Hound Dog" was the first record Leiber and Stoller produced themselves. They took over the session because their work had sometimes been misrepresented, and on this one they knew how they wanted the drums to sound;

Johnny Otis was supposed to produce it, but they wanted him on drums. Otis received a writing credit on all 6 of the 1953 pressings.

This 1953 Peacock Records release (#1612) was number one on the Billboard rhythm and blues charts for seven weeks.

Thornton gave this account of how the original was created to Ralph Gleason.

“They were just a couple of kids, and they had this song written on the back of a paper bag.” She added a few interjections of her own, played around with the rhythm (some of the choruses have thirteen rather than twelve bars), and had the band bark and howl like hound dogs at the end of the song.

In fact, she interacts constantly in a call and response fashion during a one minute long guitar "solo" by Pete Lewis. Her vocals include lines such as: "Aw, listen to that ole hound dog howl…OOOOoooow," "Now wag your tail," and "Aw, get it, get it, get it."

Thornton's delivery has flexible phrasing making use of micro-inflections and syncopations. Over a steady backbeat, she starts out singing each line as one long upbeat.

When the words change from "You ain't nothin' but a HOUND Dog," she begins to shift the downbeat around:

You TOLD me you was high-class / but I can SEE through that, You ain't NOTHIN' but a hound dog.

Each has a focal accent which is never repeated

Elvis Presley's first, appearance in Las Vegas, as an “extra added attraction,” was in the Venus Room of the New Frontier from April 23 through May 6, 1956.

Freddie Bell and the Bellboys were the hot act in town, and Elvis went to the Sands to take in their show.

Elvis not only enjoyed the show, but also loved their reworking of "Hound Dog" and asked Freddie if he had any objections to him recording his own version.

By May 16 Elvis had added “Hound Dog” to his live performances.

The song was done as comic relief, and Presley based the lyrics, which he sometimes changed, and "gyrations" on what he had seen at the Sands.

The song always got a big reaction and became the standard closer.



..........Continued-------->>>>>>>>>>

Excellent reading Rex !

Again great reading Rex, I also very much like the Big Mama Thornton version, It sound very different indeed, but also very cool

Thankyou ANTJE and SHAUN... Wouldn't have started this without all these Waggy Tail "HOUND DOGS"

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Drummer D.J. Fontana put it this way: "We took that from a band we saw in Vegas, Freddie Bell and the Bellboys.

They were doing the song kinda like that. We went out there every night to watch them. He'd say: 'Let's go watch that band. It's a good band!' That's where he heard 'Hound Dog,' and shortly thereafter he said: 'Let's try that song.'"

Presley first performed "Hound Dog" to a nationwide television audience on The Milton Berle Show on June 5, 1956, his second appearance with Berle.

By this time Scotty Moore had added a guitar solo, and D.J. Fontana had added a hot drum roll between verses of the song.

ELVIS appeared for the first time on national television sans guitar.

Before his death, Berle told an interviewer that he had told Elvis to leave his guitar backstage. "Let 'em see you, son," advised Uncle Miltie

..........Continued-------->>>>>>>>>>

An upbeat version ended abruptly as Presley threw his arm back, then began to vamp at half tempo, "You ain't-a nuthin' but a hound dog, cuh-crying all the time. You ain't never caught a rabbit…"

A final wave signaled the band to stop. Elvis pointed threateningly at the audience, and belted out, "You ain't no friend of mine."

Presley's movements during the performance were energetic and exaggerated.

The reactions of young women in the studio audience were enthusiastic, as shown on the broadcast.

Over 40,000,000 people saw the performance and the next day controversy exploded.

Berle's network received many letters of protest. The various self appointed guardians of public morality attacked Elvis in the press.

TV critics began a merciless campaign against Elvis, making statements that he had a "caterwauling voice and nonsense lyrics" and was an "influence on juvenile delinquency," and began using the nickname, "Elvis the Pelvis."

..........Continued-------->>>>>>>>>>

Great info and some new pictures to me; here some additional info:

Hound dog was performed for the first time live on 15-05-56 in Memphis and became the closing song in concert during 1956/1957.
On the Peacock label the name Leiber is misspelled as Lieber. Otis was mentioned as co-writer but after the suit his name was not mentioned any longer.


Here a scan for the version by Freddie Bell on Teen records (Teen 101) as recorded in 1955.

colonel snow

Thats Great... thanks for the info "Colonel Snow"




Elvis next appeared on national television singing "Hound Dog" on the July 1 Steve Allen Show.

Steve Allen wrote:
"When I booked Elvis, I naturally had no interest in just presenting him vaudeville-style and letting him do his spot as he might in concert.

Instead we worked him into the comedy fabric of our program…

We certainly didn't inhibit Elvis' then-notorious pelvic gyrations, but I think the fact that he had on formal evening attire made him, purely on his own, slightly alter his presentation."

As Allen was notoriously contemptuous of rock 'n' roll music and songs such as "Hound Dog," he smirkingly presented Elvis "with a roll that looks exactly like a large roll of toilet paper with, says Allen, the 'signatures of eight thousand fans,'"

The singer had to wear a tuxedo while singing an abbreviated version of Hound Dog to an actual top hat-wearing basset hound.

Although by most accounts ELVIS.. was a good sport about it, according to Scotty Moore, the next morning they were all angry about their treatment the previous night.

The STEVE ALLEN SHOW, happened at the "Hudson Theater" New York City at 8.00pm

Elvis opened with I WANT YOU, I NEED YOU, I LOVE YOU... then appears a 2nd time in the Tuxedo to sing his yet to be recorded HOUND DOG, singing it to a Basset HOUND, wearing a Top Hat..

Elvis' TV Pay for 2 songs and a comedy skit was $5,000 dollars.

The morning after the Steve Allen Show performance, the studio version was recorded for RCA Victor by Elvis' regular band of Scotty Moore on lead guitar (with Elvis usually providing rhythm guitar), Bill Black on bass, D.J. Fontana on drums, and backing vocals from the Jordanaires.

Presley recorded this version along with "Don't Be Cruel" and "Any Way You Want Me" on July 2, 1956 at RCA's New York City studio.

The session started at 2.00pm and lasted 7 hours.

The producing credit was given to RCA's Steve Sholes, however the studio recordings reveal that Elvis produced the songs (as well as most of the RCA recording sessions) himself, which is verified by the band members.

Presley insisted on getting the song exactly the way he wanted it, recording 31 takes of the song.

While the Recordings are taking place... Elvis FANS are seen outside holding up "THE REAL ELVIS" Signs, in answer to Steve Allen's taming of Elvis in a Stiff Tuxedo.. so they got to voice a fast protest

Don't Be Cruel "had 28 takes" -(G2WW-5936) was the flip side of the "Hound Dog" single (G2WW-5935) released on July 13, 1956.

Both sides of the record topped the charts independently, A Rare Feat !

The single also topped all three of Billboard charts:

POP ~ COUNTRY & WESTERN ~ and RHYTHM & BLUES, the first record in history to do so.

The public-address called Elvis to the stage.
The musicians and the Jordanaires walked onto a set that could have been designed by Aristotle and Liberace.

In the background, Greek columns in perspective pointed to an urn of overflowing vines.

On the sides, plaster nymphs cradled candelabra and overhead, chandeliers provided the final offering to the classics of western civilization.

At the foot of this temple stood Elvis.

ALFRED WERTHEIMER – Remembers the HOUND DOG Rehearsals Continued....



The voice over the PA announced, "Okay Elvis, any time you're ready." With his arms hanging as loose by his side as the guitar hanging around his neck, Elvis counted the beat with his leg and crooned "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You." He sang without the passion I had seen in Richmond.

He sang like a professional who had his act down pat. He was competent. He didn't move, he didn't touch the microphone, he stood square, both feet spread and stuck to the ground.

After he had finished, the audience of professionals applauded.

Steve patted him on the back and told him it was great. Elvis smiled and in a slow, modest voice, he said, "Thank you, Mr. Alien."

Indeed this topic is a lot of fun with all the waggy tails, but also is your info

Great topic Rex!!
Congrats on the details!!

Sidenote: The parodysong "Bearcat"by Rufus Thomas is also an excellent blues classic!!

BEAR CAT
(Sam Phillips)
Rufus Thomas - 1953


You know what you said about me, don't you woman...
Well, you ain't nothin' but a bear cat
Been scratchin' at my door
You ain't nothin' but a bear cat
Been scratchin' at my door
You can purr pretty kitty
But I ain't gonna rub you no more

You said you was a long-hair
But I can see through that
You said you was a long-hair
But I can see through that
And mama I know
You're just an old bear cat

You ain't nothin' but a bear cat
Been scratchin' at my door
Ain't nothin' but a bear cat
You been scratchin' at my door
You can purr pretty kitty
But I ain't gonna rub you no more

Whoa, rub you!
Whoa, git with it now
Git it, git it, git it, git it!
Oh, listen to that old cat
Meooowwww... scat!
Oh, tip it miss kitty
Tip it honey, tip it!
Hey!
I'm tellin' you honey...

You made me feel so mean
Made me moan and groan
You made me feel so mean
You made me moan and groan
You ain't wantin' no man
You're just lookin' for an old soup bone

You ain't nothin' but a bear cat
Been scratchin' at my door
You're just an old bear cat
Been scratchin' at my door
You can purr pretty kitty
But I ain't gonna rub you no more

Meow, meow
Meoooww, meoooowwwww!

Thankyou ANTJE.. this is a 3 decade Song Journey.. just wondering if I will run out of 4 legged friends pictures before the end of this Topic (?)

ALFRED WERTHEIMER – Remembers the HOUND DOG Rehearsals Continued....



A stage-hand shoved a platform to the microphone and was followed by a trainer with a female basset hound.

As he dressed her in collar, bow tie and top hat,

Elvis laughed and the audience laughed with him.

The dog's woeful eyes seemed even more disconsolate with the constraints of her formal attire.

Thanks JOHAN.. I remember playing this around 1968-69.. its a fun tongue in cheek Number, if anyone hasn't heard it (try SPOTIFY etc.,) I had forgotten it was written by SAM PHILLIPS..... "Trust a Cat to get into this ~topic....."

ALFRED WERTHEIMER – Remembers the HOUND DOG Rehearsals Continued....



Elvis was instructed to sing to the dog.

Without the mike, he crouched down nose-to-nose with the dog and let her know,

"you ain't nothing but a hound dog." She heard that and ignored him for the rest of the song.

Now they had a problem.

Steve wanted the hound to listen to Elvis, so he suggested that they get to know each other.

ALFRED WERTHEIMER – Remembers the HOUND DOG Rehearsals Continued....



The top hat and bow tie were removed.

Elvis leaned over, caressed her neck and whispered in her ear. She turned away.

Elvis became intimate, speaking softly, touching her forehead with his hand to let her know she was the only one in his life.

She didn't believe him.

The director tried his technique, scratching her chin and speaking his own special dog language.

He convinced her to put aside her feelings and be the trooper he knew she was.

An excellent and enjoyable thread as always Rex

Hound Dog is one of - if not the best rock 'n' roll tracks of all time.....it's a true CLASSIC never to be equalled let alone bettered. Love the original recording.

1950s HOUND DOG really is a huge Ahead of its time Hit... It didn't need DON'T BE CRUEL on the other side (equally big!) the other pop entertainers of the time.. must have wondered how they could match such a DOUBLE SIDED MONSTER HIT.. Thankyou CHRIS..

------

ALFRED WERTHEIMER – Remembers the HOUND DOG Rehearsals Continued....



The director gave the cue.

Elvis extended his hand and she leaned forward and rested her chin in his palm.

He told her again she was nothing but a hound dog, and when he had her where he wanted her, his hand holding her face close to his,

he told her she "ain't never caught a rabbit."

ALFRED WERTHEIMER – Remembers the HOUND DOG Rehearsals Continued....



Elvis tried to keep a straight face when she turned away. Scotty, D. J. and Bill rocked through the refrain.

Elvis coiled like a runner at the starting blocks, shot his finger straight out at her and told her again.

She looked right back at him and took it, and when he finished telling her,

"you ain't no friend of mine," he patched it all up, hugging and caressing her, laughing as she licked his face.

ALFRED WERTHEIMER – Remembers the HOUND DOG Rehearsals Continued....



The audience applauded, the stagehands nodded, and Steve approved.

The Memphis Flash was okay.

Even with a positive reception from the assembly of journeymen, his slow Southern style of speaking — halting at times — made him appear unsure of himself.

He was working with established stars and still remained a little in awe of them, never addressing them by their first names.

The sketch they were to perform would be Elvis's first opportunity to act on live television, and though his part was small, it was still a part that he would have to portray with the same ease and spontaneity as his veteran partners had exhibited.

The rehearsal of the skit began immediately after the hound dog act.

Steve, Andy and Imogene kept it light hearted and easy going, and with their support, Elvis relaxed into the natural fellow I had come to know.

Given the unusual circumstances, Elvis is undoubtedly feeling a little awkward, even in his rehearsal.

"Away you Go" Steve Allen muttered, like an executioner.

But Elvis gamely sang HOUND DOG to the Bewildered Basset Hound.

Elvis courageously did his best, even Kissed the dog a couple of times
- an act surely beyond the call of duty.

The Audience approved of his willingness.

Great topic. ..... 'Hound Dog' is indeed a pretty iconic rock 'n' roll song, athough it apparently wasn't meant as such originally. Elvis' version on the Milton Berle show is pretty spectacular to watch even today. The audience reactions are rather interesting too, as it almost seems like they quite don't know how to react to EP's "vulgar" bumps and grinds... ...the audience on the second Ed Sullivan show some five months later gives a very different reaction to Elvis' wild moves...







I also like Thornton's original, so it's cool to hear on the '68 comback special when Elvis does a slight lyric alteration to his version, and adds the "snoopin' 'round my door" line in there... ..... As an 'end' note, as great as the song is, at the same time it's easy to see why Elvis wasn't too motivated to sing it properly after '70... he must've done it a million times in the 50s already, and let's face it, the lyrics aren't all that great... but on the other hand, maybe that's where some of the magic of Elvis' original version lies...

QUOTE (J @ Nov 1 2010, 03:33 PM)

Great topic. ..... 'Hound Dog' is indeed a pretty iconic rock 'n' roll song, athough it apparently wasn't meant as such originally. Elvis' version on the Milton Berle show is pretty spectacular to watch even today. The audience reactions are rather interesting too, as it almost seems like they quite don't know how to react to EP's "vulgar" bumps and grinds... ...the audience on the second Ed Sullivan show some five months later gives a very different reaction to Elvis' wild moves... ,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,and let's face it, the lyrics aren't all that great... but on the other hand, maybe that's where some of the magic of Elvis' original version lies...

Many thanks JOUNI... HOUND DOG on film was the backbone of many of my film shows in the 1970s, with the Ed Sullivan Shows and Steve Allen.
-----

On September 9, with the song topping the US charts

Presley performed an abbreviated version of "Hound Dog" on the Ed Sullivan Show hosted by Charles Laughton.

After performing "Ready Teddy," he introduced the song with the following statement,

"Friends, as a great philosopher once said"…”

Elvis's first time on the Sullivan show was an event that drew some 60 million TV viewers.

During his second Sullivan show appearance, October 28, he introduced the song thusly
(although unable to keep a straight face).

"Ladies and gentlemen, could I have your attention please.

Ah, I'd like to tell you we're going to do a sad song for you.

This song here is one of the saddest songs we've ever heard.

It really tells a story friends. Beautiful lyrics. It goes something like this"”

He then launched into a full version of the song. Elvis was shown in full during this performance.

Again, Presley drew more than 60 million viewers.

ELVIS' "Hound Dog" sold over 4 million copies in the United States on its first release.

It was his best selling single and starting in July 1956, it spent a record eleven weeks at #1.

It stayed in the #1 spot until it was replaced by "Love Me Tender," (3rd Nov: 56) also recorded by Elvis.

In March, 2005, Q magazine placed Presley's version at number 55 in its list of the Q Magazine's 100 Greatest Guitar Tracks.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked it #19 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time—the highest ranked of Presley's eleven entries.

Shorty Long had been hired to play piano on the session, but he was running late that morning.

Fortunately, in addition to being a solid vocalist, Stoker could also play the keyboard. Not wanting to wait for Long to arrive, Sholes asked Stoker to sit down at the ivories on the first day of the recording session.

Then Sholes sat back and gave control of the recording session to Elvis.

Elvis may not have wanted to record "Hound Dog," but he had a definite idea about how he wanted the finished product to sound.

Though he usually slowed it down and treated it like a blues number in concert, in the studio Elvis wanted the song to come off as fast and dynamic.

As he sang his up-tempo version for the studio musicians and backup vocalists, he began to beat his hands, in a machine-gun manner, against the body of his guitar—and anything else he could find.

Then, to emphasize to drummer Fontana what he wanted, he had the Jordanaires clap out the rhythm with him.

Again great pictures, this is still a great topic Rex!!!!!!

Yes... thankyou "ANTJE" just 2 more Decades to go.. Have the 60s sort of sorted out in my Mind.. just need to fashion it all together..







It would take the percussionist thirty-one takes to get it just like Elvis wanted, and even on the final version, the quartet's clapping can still be heard setting the pace.

Steve Sholes loved the final result of the session.

But what impressed him more than the perfect final take was the focus and determination that Elvis had exhibited as he toiled to get the number just right.

The producer usually worked with artists who simply recorded a song a time or two and said, "That will do"

When Elvis took over this session, it was obvious that the singer would settle for nothing less than perfection.

With its rapid beat and dynamic pacing, the song was a real rocker.

Because of this, "Hound Dog" probably had more to do with making Elvis the "King of Rock 'n' Roll" than anything he recorded before or after.

"Hound Dog" was shipped on July 13, 1956.

It was one side of what would become a huge double-sided hit.

The single remained on the pop charts for twenty-eight weeks.

Eleven of them at # 1.

It also held the top spot on the R&B chart for six weeks.

Plus it ruled the country charts for ten weeks.

Thus becoming one of the first records in history to earn the #1 spot on all the major play lists simultaneously.

With this accomplishment, the song easily eclipsed "Heartbreak Hotel” as the biggest Elvis release and seemed to assure the world that the singer was something more than a flash in the pan.

What "Hound Dog" meant to Elvis is easy to ascertain, but what did this version of the song mean to its writers?

After all, Leiber and Stoller were already well established in R &.B and pop music circles.

great stuff, much thanks

They had previously penned scores of hits.

Yet, as Stoller remembers, Elvis's decision to record the song was such big news to his partner that it all but overshadowed an actual life-and-death situation.

"I was sitting in a lifeboat with sixty or seventy other people somewhere in the Atlantic," Stoller recalls.

"I was relieved to be away from the sinking Andrea Doria, the beautiful Italian liner I had been on for the past eight days, which now had a large, gaping hole in its side and was going down fast.

The lifeboat had a broken rudder and couldn't be steered.

I wondered what would happen to me next.

Fifteen hours later I stepped on the dock in New York and was greeted by Jerry Leiber."

What was the first thing Leiber told the damp, cold, and traumatized Stoller?

"Elvis has cut “Hound Dog” and it is going to be his next single!"

Click to view attachment

A bit larger image

Wonderful stuff REX, Hound Dog was the first 78rpm record I bought way back in 1957.

People living near to our home back thenwould know it by heart. :-)

Thankyou SPIRTO / BESSIE yes the same image I used in Post # 36.. I reversed the picture due to seeing Scotty's Guitar !



Ha! ...an Auntie brought the record to my family's home in Cheltenham, on a visit... and our Volume Control moved to HIGH also.. I remember the kids at school singing it at playtime...

Tracklist:
Heartbreak Hotel, Long Tall Sally, I Was The One, Love Me Tender, Don't Be Cruel, Love Me, I Got A Woman, When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again, Paralyzed - closing with HOUND DOG

So much of this songs words are changed that, only the Title is the same (You ain't nothing but a) HOUND DOG

Elvis doesn't get to sing these first lyrics that are on BIG MAMA THORNTON's Version...

"you can wag your tail"
"but I ain't gonna feed you no more"

"and daddy I know - you ain't no real cool cat"
- & -
"you made me feel so blue ~ you made me weep and moan
you made me feel so blue ~well you made me weep and moan
'cause i'm looking for a woman ~ all your lookin' for is a home"

you ain't nothing but a hound dog
been snoopin' round the door (ELVIS: "Crying all the Time")
you ain't nothing but a hound dog
been snoopin' round my door
you can wag your tail
but i ain't gonna feed you no more

you told me you was high class
but i could see through that
yes, you told me you was high class
but i could see through that
and daddy i know
you ain't no real cool cat

you ain't nothing but a hound dog
been snoopin' round the door
you ain't nothing but a hound dog
been snoopin' round my door
you can wag your tail
but i ain't gonna feed you no more

you made me feel so blue
you made me weep and moan
you made me feel so blue
well you made me weep and moan
'cause i'm looking for a woman
all your lookin' for is a home

you ain't nothing but a hound dog
been snoopin' round the door
you ain't nothing but a hound dog
been snoopin' round my door
you can wag your tail
but i ain't gonna feed you no more

Much thanks for this grand thread. Steve Allen still should be kicked in the butt.
Have a great weekend