Song 183 - Hound Dog by Elvis Presley

Hound Dog has been recorded by over 250 artists. A snappy, foot-tapping song that transports you straight to a 1950s dance hall with teddy boys and a milk bar. This week marks the 40th anniversary of Elvis Prestley's death on the 16th August 1977. Elvis should be in everybody's jukebox because so much of what he did inspired the British pop scene in the 1960s. Along with artists like Little Richards, he became one of the front runners in the musical revolution of the youth.

Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, Hound Dog is a 12-bar blue song that was originally recorded by Willie Mae 'Big Mama' Thorton.  When 'Big Mama' released it in February 1953, it sold 500,000 copies and seven weeks at number one. Due to Elvis' version, it is now listed as one of the 500 songs that shaped Rock and Roll.

Unsurprisingly, Elvis's recording of Hound Dog, is by far the most popular ever recorded.  Elvis's version came out in July 1956 and sold in the region of 10 million copies worldwide.  The song became a favourite of Elvis' and he would end his live performance with the track.

Elvis recorded the song over a period of seven hours in New York, together with songs Don't be cruel and Any Way You Wanted.  During the recording session, Elvis and his band recorded over 30 versions of the song, which moved the song away from the original way he had performed it live.  Version 28, "an angry hopped-up version", was  eventually chosen for the single, and  Colonel Parker, Elvis's manager, called it though, predicting (rightly) that Hound Dog would rewrite the meaning of a global hit.

On the original release, the song was the B side to Don't be cruel. But it was clear which was the bigger hit and the sides were reversed. On its first release, it sold over 4 million copies and stayed at number one for 11 weeks (a record for the US chart that wasn't broken until 1992) until Love Me Tender replace it.

To hear one of the King's classic number one
Hound Dog by Elvis Presley