Nothing But a Hound Dog

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“Hound Dog” recorded by Elvis in 1956 happens to be one of the biggest and right away recognizable pop songs. This song became his longest running number one hit staying on the charts for eleven weeks in the summer of 1956. The original version of this song was recorded by rhythm-and-blues singer Ellie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton in Los Angeles, California. Big Mama came from Montgomery, Alabama and began her career singing R&B songs during the 1940s. She began her career at the age of 14. \in 1952 Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller were asked to write up something especially for Big Mama. They came up with a 12-bar country blues tune “Hound Dog”. In 1953 Big Mama recorded the song and it became a hit on the R&B charts and rose to number one. Elvis’ inspiration to record this particular song didn’t come from this recording. It came from a rewrite by a singer named Freddie Bell. Bell changed the lyrics adding the lines “Cryin’ all the time” and “You ain’t never caught a rabbit”. It was in Las Vegas that Elvis first heard Freddie Bell and the Bellboys perform the new version of “Hound Dog”. He liked it and the rest is history. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/hound-dog-is-recorded-for-the-first-time-by-big-mama-thornton