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This was originally recorded in a Blues style by Big Mama Thornton in 1953. Her version was a #1 R&B hit and by far her biggest success. Like many Blues musicians, she never made much money, but was a big influence on many singers who did. In 1968, Janis Joplin recorded a song Thornton wrote called "
Ball and Chain," which appeared on several Joplin compilation albums after she died in 1970.
After hearing a Las Vegas band called Freddie Bell & The Bellboys performing a comedic version of this song when they opened for him in his 1956 Las Vegas gig, Elvis decided to record it himself. Elvis recorded the song during the same session as "Don't Be Cruel" - it was his debut as a producer, working himself and the band through an increasingly focused 31 takes.
Elvis took a different approach to the song, acting disappointed with his lover and repeating the lyrics, "Well, they said you was high-classed, but that was just a lie" six times. In Big Mama Thornton's original, she sings the line twice as "You told me you was high class, but I can see through that." (thanks, Jeff - Boston, MA)
This was one of the first big hits for the songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who were teenagers when they wrote it. Based on the success of this song, Leiber and Stoller were hired to write many more songs for Elvis, as well as the score for his movie Jailhouse Rock.
In a 2001 talk with
Rock's Backpages, Leiber and Stoller explained that they thought of themselves as black, and were always surprised when they passed by a mirror. They went on to explain what it was like writing and recording this song with Big Mama Thornton. Says Leiber: "We'd actually written 'Hound Dog' 90% on the way over in the car. I was beating out a rhythm we called the 'buck dance' on the roof of the car. We got to Johnny Otis's house and Mike went right to the piano... didn't even bother to sit down. He had a cigarette in his mouth that was burning his left eye, and he started to play the song. We took the song back to Big Mama and she snatched the paper out of my hand and said, 'Is this my big hit?' And I said, 'I hope so.' Next thing I know, she starts crooning 'Hound Dog' like Frank Sinatra would sing 'In The Wee Small Hours of the Morning.' And I'm looking at her, and I'm a little intimidated by the razor scars on her face, and she's about 280-320 pounds, and I said, 'It don't go that way.' And she looked at me like looks could kill and said - and this was when I found out I was white - 'White boy, don't you be tellin' me how to sing the blues.' We finally got through it. Johnny brought Mike back in the room and asked him to sit down at the piano, which was not easy because Johnny had this female piano player who was built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. They finally exchanged seats and did the song the way it was supposed to sound. And that was one of those where we said, 'That's a hit.' And I thought immediately: We both said it, it's gonna put a hex on it!"
The Big Mama Thornton original version was the first song that Leiber and Stoller produced. Mike Stoller told Mojo magazine April 2009 what happened: "Johnny Otis was supposed to run the session. We had rehearsed and he'd played drums. When we got in the studio (it was) his regular drummer. It wasn't happening. I said, 'Johnny, you've got to play the drums, do what you did in rehearsal.' So he said, 'Who's going to run the session.' I said, 'We will.'"
This was released as a single with "
Don't Be Cruel." It is the only single to have both sides reach #1 in the US. The single was #1 in the US for 11 weeks, a record that was not broken until 1992 by "
End of the Road" by Boyz II Men.
Regarding the #1 chart positions of the single, Joel Whitburn, who writes the
definitive books on the subject, told the Forgotten Hits newsletter: "As far as the two-sided Presley hit 'Hound Dog" / "Don't Be Cruel,' I've always tabulated that single 45 as two #1 hits. 'Hound Dog' was the first title to chart and the first one to be listed as the lead #1 song. Billboard's 'Best Sellers in Stores' chart listed the the #1 song on 8/18/56 as 'Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel.' It was also shown that way when it first topped the 'Most Played in Juke Boxes' chart on 9/1/56. There is absolutely no doubt that the initial sales and 'buzz' about this record was for 'Hound Dog.' It was a smash #1 hit right out of the box. As airplay began to favor 'Don't Be Cruel,' the two titles were flip-flopped at #1, with 'Don't Be Cruel' actually showing more weeks as the #1 lead song. Again, I have always tabulated these two titles as two #1 songs. There is no way you can consider this 4-times platinum record as one #1 hit. And, neither does RIAA who awards gold and platinum selling records. They show 'Hound Dog' / 'Don't Be Cruel' as both receiving platinum designations."
In 1958, the "Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel" single became just the third record to sell more than 3 million copies, following Bing Crosby's "
White Christmas" and Gene Autry's "
Rudolph The Red-Nosed Reindeer." (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
After writing this song with Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller got married and went on a trip to Europe. He was returning on the Italian ocean liner Andrea Doria in 1956 when it was rammed by another ship in fog off Nantucket Sound and eventually sank. Stoller and his new wife abandoned ship in a lifeboat and were rescued. About 50 of the 1,500 people on board died. When Stoller arrived at the dock at New York, Leiber was there to welcome him with the news that they had their first major hit with "Hound Dog," by a newcomer called Elvis Presley.
In the Rock's Backpages interview, Stoller recounts, "He assumed I was soaked, if I was alive. But he said, 'We got a smash hit on 'Hound Dog'.' And I said, 'Big Mama's record?' And he said, 'No. Some white guy named Elvis Presley.' And I heard the record and I was disappointed. It just sounded terribly nervous, too fast, too white. But you know, after it sold seven or eight million records it started to sound better. I should also say that the other things we did with Elvis I liked very much. (thanks, steve - Sydney, Australia)
Guitarist Scotty Moore played on a P-90-equipped Gibson L-5 plugged into a Ray Butts amp.
Especially in his later years, Elvis didn't like performing this live. At many of his shows, he rushed through the song or did a very short version. A good example can be seen on his 1973 "Aloha from Hawaii" concert. (thanks, Ed - Buffalo, NY)
In 1956, Elvis went on The Steve Allen Show and sang this to a Basset Hound. He was not allowed to dance on the show, since Allen ran a family-friendly program and Elvis' pelvis was not considered family-friendly.
When this was reissued in the UK in 1978, it went to #24.
This was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1988.
On the UK show Songbook Leiber and Stoller were asked what they thought of the Elvis version when they first heard it. Stoller said: "I thought it was nervous and too fast and they changed the words, some of them, because obviously the original lyric was a woman's song. I don't think they improved upon Jerry's lyrics."
Leiber: "Oh, I thought it ruined the song. It was a song that had to do with obliterated romance. In effect, she was saying, 'Get out of my house.' And 'you ain't caught a rabbit, and you ain't no friend of mine' is inane. It doesn't mean anything to me."
Stoller: "I agree with you and I always did. Except that after Elvis's record sold about 7 or 8 million the first release, I began to see some merit in it. (laughing)"
Asked what some of the original lyrics were, Leiber said: "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, quit snoopin' 'round my door. You ain't nothin' but a hound dog, quit snoopin' 'round my door. You can wag your tail, I ain't gonna feed you no more. You told me you was high class, but I can see through that."
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As for Big Mama Thornton singing Leiber n Stollers 'Hound Dog' have a listen to Rufus 'the hound dog man' Thomas singing 'Bear Cat'...same song dont ya think?? Elvis produced most of his early music though lost control when Parker started interfering in the output by bringing Elvis' voice to the forefront, after many years of doing below par films with crap soundtracks, who wouldnt lose interest in the songs he was being given...as is rightly said in some posts Parker was a conman and was threatening people when they were offering Elvis far better material than he was getting. He was basically forced to stay with the same song writers such as Giant/Baum/Kaye as they were happy to sign their material over .
Its not down to the songwriters as theres many bad versions of great songs, its the singer not the song...in the words of Mick Jagger. Parker wanted the 68 Comeback Special to be a Christmas show, only including Christmas songs...Elvis had enough by this time and he took aside the show producers and told them they were doing a show with real songs although he did include Blue Christmas. Elvis had 3 big recording sessions in my opinion, the Sun Session, his RCA sessions after he came out of the army and the 68-69 sessions with many many hits....Parker never had his hands on any of these. Elvis was and is a phenomenon, he broke new ground musically, visually and in entertainment so the guy deserves credit. Its a shame he couldnt live a normal life due to his huge success and Parkers interference as I think he would have been even more of an icon if that is possible
"Hound dog" written by Leiber and Stoller.
Andy
www.elvis-in-munich.de
Now, Freed didn't apply that term to a newly invented type of music, but to an already existing type of music. Again, it is my understanding that he applied the term to R and B, with the B standing for Blues and the R standing for rhythm, such as the up-tempo rhythm found in Boogie-Woogie. So, "Rock n Roll" the music would have existed before the name, but how far before?
Listening to historical recordings, I hear Rock n Roll in such songs as "Rebecca" recorded by Pete Johnson and "Big" Joe Turner, in 1944 (except that I know of no Rock n Roll performer, on any instrument, who can equal Pete Johnson's piano playing) and even in the song "Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy," as preformed by the Andrew Sisters in 1941. Going back even further I also hear Rock n Roll in such Boogie-Woogie, Barrelhouse songs such as Rufus Perryman's "The Right String - But the Wrong Yo Yo" recorded around 1930 and Eurreal Montgomery's "Frisco Hi-Ball Blues" recorded sometime in the 1930's. That doesn't mean that these songs were exactly the same as the Rock n Roll being played in the 1950's. Music changes over time. The Rock n Roll of the 1960's differed from that of the 1950's, as well as from that of the 1970's. It seem to me that Boogie-Woogie and Blues of the 1930's had more in common with the Rock n Roll of the 1950's, then it had in common with Big Band Jazz. That is Rock n Roll and Boogie-Woogie Blues, in my option, are more closely related, than Big Band Jazz and Boogie-Woogie Blues. Further, I would say that the differences between 1930's Boogie-Woogie Blues and 1950's Rock n Roll, are no greater and maybe even less great, than the difference between the Rock of the 1970's and 1950's Rock n Roll. In fact some may say that some of the Rock of the 1970's has more in common with Boogie-Woogie and Blues, than with 1950's Rock n Roll.
It could be claimed that Rock n Roll music is only music that was called Rock n Roll. That is one point of view, but not one I would be very favorable too. After all, "A rose by any other name would smell just as sweet." Fast tempo, strong rhythms, a narrow melody, somewhat, irreverent lyrics that includes nonsense and suggestive words, sung by performers with rough, earthy voices and a narrow note range are the characteristics held in common by many Boogie-Woogie and Rock n Roll songs. Songs with these characteristics are in essence part of the same form of music, no matter what names are used to describe them. I believe that if Alen Freed did not feel the need to come up with a new name in order to better attract white listeners, what we know as Rock n Roll, would be call Boogie-Woogie or Rhythm and Blues.
Again, some might say that Rock n Roll is a mixture of Rhythm and Blues with County and Western. County and Western was an important addition to Rhythm and Blues during the 1950's, but my guess is that Alen Freed didn't have that in mind in 1953. However, even if we take Rock n Roll to be a mixture of R and B and C and W, Presley was still was preceded by others. In particular Bill Haley and the Comets were primarily a County and Western group that would play Rhythm and Blues at times. In fact their 1955 hit "Rock Around the Clock" was an R and B tune. An important thing to remember is that one of the significant qualities of Rock n Roll is its ability for adaptation.
Presley did contribute to the growing popularity of Rock n Roll. There were three reasons why he was able to do so. One, he knew how to play and perform to the music that came to be known as Rock n Roll. Two, he was young and three he was white. However, Rock n Roll was becoming more popular even before Presley, in part because of the breaking down of the walls of segregation in the United States, but also because of the promotion of the music by Alen Freed and the use of "Rock Around the Clock" in the movie "Blackboard Jungle."
But, if one was to look for the real grandparent of modern music, both Jazz and Rock n Roll. That is the most influential composer and performer in the development of those modern genres; one would have to look to Scott Joplin. Listening to "Maple Leaf Rag," written in 1897, I hear the seeds of all Jazz and Rock n Roll. In short Scott Joplin is the American Bach.
Kevin goes completely over the top defending Elvis, citing "facts" he seems to have plucked from the air. Elvis was CERTAINLY not a great - or even good - guitarist, although he had a grasp of a few of the basics. I say this as a guitarist who saw many hours of Elvis playing over the years. I have no doubt the Sun Studios people tell all tourists what they told you about Elvis, but they have a vested interest in making their tours memorable, and protecting and perpetutaing the Elvis brand. Elvis was an outstanding singer who moved his audiences and gave a warmth and feeling to songs that no-one else could - that's why he was such a phenomenon in his day (and still is to some degree). As others state here, he will still be known just by saying his first name a hundred years from now. A great singer, performer and entertainer - doubtless. But a great musician - no. And in reply to Justin, who talks of the painter not mixing his own pigments but still being a painter - your analogy is unsound. A painter uses his elements - paints - to create something that wasn't there before - a painting. Anyone can LOOK at a painting and interpret it as they wish, but that doewsn't mean they ARE a painter. With songwriting, the writer uses his elements - words - to create something that wasn't there before - a song. Anyone can SING the song and interpret it as they wish, but that doesn't mean they're a songwriter. Or a musician - and there's the second fault with your analogy. You can be a songwriter without being a musician - look at Bernie Taupin as an example. You confuse the two, further muddling your argument. Then you go and completely blow your credibility by saying "The Beatles? they aren't even on the same totem as Elvis" THAT statement displays just as much ignorance as Catherine's statement. The Beatles were LIGHT-YEARS ahead of Elvis in terms of musicianship. Their songs have been covered by HUNDREDS of others. They are musically and structurally sublime. They are dissected and studied in universities. That doesn't necessarily mean they were BETTER or WORSE. Better or worse is an entirely subjective matter, so there can be no right or wrong answer as to who was "better".
It will be a daunting task for the historians to find anyone, before him or after, who has done more, or has given more of themselves to humanity. In spite of all the early social ill directed toward him, and later, the imposed contractual restraints and constraints which shackled his creative talent for most of his life, Elvis did it his way.. and in the process overcame it all. Elvis attained a greatness in his short time that surely has to dwarf most if not all of the great kingdoms of history. Not too shabby for a poor little insecure country mama's boy from Podunk USA.
He was a son, a father, a friend, a generally all around good guy and an inspiration to all... he stood tall and towered above most men... in the end he was Elvis, loved by many, missed by all.... God rest his mighty soul...!
I have done the tour of Memphis, Gracelands etc. in company with my wife. We have spoken to local people who knew Elvis. One thing strikes us above all. He treated people with kindness and respect. This is confirmable fact. So whatever your opinion of the King, do not cheapen yourself by deprecating his talent in a disrespectful manner. It's quite likely he was a better person than most of us.
I find most of Elvis's work to be tedious, as is the Beetles.
If I want MUSIC, I listen to Fleetwood Mac, Lynard Skynard or something that makes me FEEL something.
My opinion, of course
So overrated or not, Elvis will be remembered longer and more dearly than the beatles!
Who made the first ever physcidelic song? the beatles. Why is that a triumph? Getting stoned and recoding a song takes no talent.
John and Paul did write many great songs...that's what I would be proud of
By the way...who did the first ever satellite transmission of a performance to over 1 billion people? Elvis, Aloha from Hawaii. This was the largest audience that a performer ever played to.
I met Elvis in 1975 in a gas station in Memphis. Rather than try to leave hastily after a minute of conversation, he and I talked for almost 40 minutes about music, cars, movies and many other things. He was very personable and friendly and loved to talk to fans, unlike many other celebrities that I have read about.
So, Catherine of Glasgow, what does overrated mean to you? that he could not sing? He sang many different types of songs...songwriters wrote songs expressly for Elvis. They knew that if Elvis recorded their song then the writer would be on the raod to success.
that he had a mediocre voice? Very few singers had the range and power of voice that Elvis had (Roy Orbison was one who comes to mind).
that he was unfriendly and hard to work with? Hardly, in every book I ever read about Elvis, all the actors, actresses and dicrectors said that Elvis was a pleasure to work with.
Elvis also gave away millions of dollars to charities evety year and, rather than try to cheat the US Government on income taxes, he actually had several IRS agents do his taxes every year to make sure he paid his fair share.
Evlis oveerated? that's the most absurd thing any reasonable person could say
What he was known for , singing and entetaining, he did with a passion and talent not easily matched to this day.
The End
Yes, well said, ur comments are truly touching but maybe u should change "his accomplishments" to "someone else's work that he took the credit for" ur not a musician if you can't write a song. Even if Elvis had written his songs himself he would still be second best to the beatles. Elvis was terrified of the beatles and so he should've been, it's them the world will remember in a hundered years time HONEY. Shell, get your facts straight before you get critical you don't know me or how much i know about music.
By the way, whats all this c**p about him being fantastic because everyone knows him by his first name? what's what he was called got to do with anything? it's your songs that count when you call yourself a musician not your name.
if ignorance is bliss, you must be a very happy camper indeed. the following lines from your post are absolute nonsense, and totally incorrect factually:
"Elvis was a VERY GOOD guitar player.....he actually played guitar in about 75 % of his recordings. Elvis also co-wrote a ton of his songs. He couldn't read music very well so he just wrote lyrics. But it didn't matter because he was always his own producer and when he would record, he would end up changing the tempo and rythym and sometimes even the melody of the song. So therefore, Elvis actually did write alot of his own music. Certainly not all of it.. but alot. it gets on my last nerve when people talk about elvis being over rated......"
Elvis never wrote a note, and could barely play. his producers were sam phillips, felton jarvis, and others. Elvis had a say in how things went i the studio sometimes, but he knew very little about music.
he IS massively over-rated. a singer of songs, and a good one. but not a producer or writer. Elvis couldn't carry Buddy Holly's guitar pick.
29 top 10 hits-more than any band or artist ever
17- number 1 hits-second to only the beatles
over 1 BILLION records sold worldwide-more than any artist or band by 600 million! the beatles have sold about 400 million!
If you call that being over rated-then you have no business being on this site, you think you know about music. Anyone who hates elvis and doesn't realize what he did for music knows NOTHING about music. Don't think i am one of those people who all i listen to is elvis. I listen to elvis often, but not as often as i do Led Zeppelin, Guns N' Roses, Pink Floyd, The Eagles, etc. I took the tour of Sun Studios in memphis a few months ago, and learned some things i didnt kno. Elvis was a VERY GOOD guitar player- they had proof on recording there. He owned george harrison in guitar. He just never played on stage cuz he felt it held his singing down. But he actually played guitar in about 75 % of his recordings. Elvis also co-wrote a ton of his songs. He couldn't read music very well so he just wrote lyrics. But it didn't matter because he was always his own producer and when he would record, he would end up changing the tempo and rythym and sometimes even the melody of the song. So therefore, Elvis actually did write alot of his own music. Certainly not all of it.. but alot. it gets on my last nerve when people talk about elvis being over rated and that he didnt do anything for music. People, he brought out rock n roll. He influenced many artist like bob dylan, the beatles, the rolling stones, led zeppelin, and pink floyd. Everytime you even put elvis down, you prove how ignorant you are, he is an american icon-the greatest and most famous singer of all time-he always will be known is that-he is a legend- and NO ONE will ever surpass elvis presley. so next time you have an OPINION about elvis not being anything- shove it up your ass cuz your jus an ignorant jack off if you think that. you dont have to think he is the immortal Jesus Christ of music. but always respect the man and respect what he did for music.