Hound Dog
4 min read
Hound Dog (1956)
Song Overview
"Hound Dog" is one of Elvis Presley's most famous and culturally significant recordings. Released on July 13, 1956, as a double A-side single with "Don't Be Cruel," the combined single spent a remarkable eleven weeks at number one on the Billboard pop chart. "Hound Dog" became synonymous with Elvis and with the rock and roll revolution of the 1950s.
Recording Details
- Artist: Elvis Presley
- Released: July 13, 1956
- Recorded: July 2, 1956
- Studio: RCA New York (Webster Hall), New York City
- Label: RCA Victor (47-6604)
- Writers: Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller
- Producer: Steve Sholes
- A-side: "Don't Be Cruel" (double A-side)
Musicians
- Elvis Presley — vocals
- Scotty Moore — electric guitar
- Bill Black — upright bass
- D.J. Fontana — drums
- Shorty Long — piano
- The Jordanaires — backing vocals
Chart Performance
| Chart | Peak Position |
|---|---|
| Billboard Pop Singles | #1 (11 weeks, combined with "Don't Be Cruel") |
| Billboard Country Singles | #1 |
| Billboard R&B Singles | #1 |
| UK Singles Chart | #2 |
The double A-side single sold over four million copies in the United States alone.
Origin and History
"Hound Dog" was written by the legendary songwriting team of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller in 1952 for blues singer Big Mama Thornton. Thornton's version, recorded with Johnny Otis's band, reached number one on the R&B chart in 1953. The original was a ribald blues number with sexual double entendres — the "hound dog" in question being a no-good man, not a literal dog.
Elvis first heard a version of the song performed by a Las Vegas lounge act called Freddie Bell and the Bellboys, who had reworked the lyrics into a more literal (and less suggestive) song about an actual dog. It was this cleaned-up version that Elvis adapted.
The Milton Berle Show Performance
Elvis's performance of "Hound Dog" on The Milton Berle Show on June 5, 1956, became one of the most controversial moments in television history. Performing without his guitar (and thus with nothing to hide behind), Elvis launched into an extended, grinding performance that provoked outrage from critics and cultural commentators. The New York Times called his movements "suggestive" and "vulgar." The Catholic Church condemned the performance. Congressional inquiries were threatened.
This controversy, paradoxically, made "Hound Dog" one of the most anticipated recordings of the year. When the single was finally released a month later, demand was enormous.
Recording Session
Elvis reportedly required over 30 takes to get "Hound Dog" right in the studio — an unusually high number for him. He was determined to capture the raw, aggressive energy of his live performances on tape. The final version is stripped-down and ferocious, built on Scotty Moore's stinging guitar solo and D.J. Fontana's driving drums.
Leiber and Stoller were initially unimpressed with Elvis's version, feeling it missed the point of their original composition. However, its massive commercial success and cultural impact eventually led them to embrace it, and they went on to write many songs specifically for Elvis.
Significance
"Hound Dog" became a lightning rod in the cultural war over rock and roll. The song itself — simple, repetitive, and musically aggressive — embodied everything that conservatives feared about the new music. Its success, combined with Elvis's provocative performances, cemented rock and roll's position as the music of youthful rebellion.
The song also highlighted the complex racial dynamics of 1950s popular music. Big Mama Thornton's original was a blues classic that never crossed over to the pop chart; Elvis's version became one of the best-selling singles of all time. This pattern would be repeated throughout Elvis's career and would generate ongoing debate about cultural appropriation.
Legacy
"Hound Dog" has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame (1988) and included in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll." It remains one of the most recognizable songs in popular music history and a defining recording of the rock and roll era.