d every teen boy longed to be. Hound Dog was a drastic break from the status quo, both musically, and socially. It was one of the most controversial songs of the 1950's. It helped to make Elvis what he is known as today, the undisputed King of Rock and Roll.

The lyrics of the original Hound Dog by Big Mama Thornton were from a woman's point of view. Hound Dog was black slang for a man who cheated on his woman. It also had some lyrics that would have offended black people: lyrics about knives, scars, fighting, all negative. Even when Johnny Otis took out some of these lines, the song still had sexual imagery: "You can wag your tail, but I ain't gon'feed you no more." When Elvis sang it, Hound Dog took on a completely different meaning. The lyrics of Hound Dog by Elvis Presley are sung from a man's point of view. The singer is speaking to a woman whom he sees as useless, she's of no more value to him than a hound dog who is unable to catch a rabbit. These lyrics add to Elvis' bad boy reputation. Elvis is cracking a good-natured musical joke. He is not exploiting the original version of the song, as some people still think. It's an extension, a reformed version of the original. The only line in the original that Elvis used is "You ain't nothin' but a hound dog." It should be noted however, that although he rewrote the lyrics, he accepted no writer's credit. Elvis has turned this song into a protest against conformity. He saw this song as the perfect way to express his ambition, rebellion, and vision of Rock and Roll. In most opinions, he succeeded. Although Elvis took a blues song and cleaned up the lyrics, he still put sex into his performances by suggestive positions and hip gyrations.

The only recording technology, which is not used on a regular basis, is called the slap-back echo. This is a single echo on a recorded track, which is sometimes referred to as simplified doubling. When used, the listener can hear one distinct repeat of a sound. The slap-back echo thickens the singer's voice, and sometimes clouds the sound. It is quite hard to simulate, and wasn't perfected at RCA like it had been with Sam Phillips at Sun. It was first produced using tape recorders with multiple playback heads, whose outputs were mixed with the original sound. Reverberation sound effects were also used, to exaggerate the music's pulse, giving a throbbing feeling. The sound on this recording has been labeled "an earthquake, a cataclysm for which no one was prepared (Greil Marcus)." "A prison riot (Jim Miller, Newsweek)."

There were many cover versions of Hound Dog. Elvis' version was actually one of them. It was originally written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller, and Johnny Otis for Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton, and recorded in 1952. This was the first version to be released, and proved Leiber and Stoller to be talented songwriters. (Johnny Otis' name was later removed after a court battle for the royalties). Big Mama made it to number one on the R& B chart for seven weeks. Hound Dog is how most people remember her. Another version, which would now seem to be important, was sung by Freddie Bell and His Bell Boys for Teen Records. Elvis heard the group performing a parody version of the song in Las Vegas, and decided to start playing it. He liked the more upbeat tempo. Other covers and remakes were done by Little Esther, Tommy Duncan, Eddie Hazelwood, Betsy Gay, Jack Turner, Billy Starr, Homer and Jethro, and

Some topics in this essay:
Hound Dog, Scale Mixing, Elvis Presley, Rock Roll, Tupelo Mississippi, Wertheimer RCA, Hugh Jarrett, Mama Thornton, Phillips Sun, Blues Progression, hound dog, rock roll, mama thornton, sam phillips sun, elvis' hound, phillips sun, sam phillips, beats minute, lead guitar, elvis presley, elvis' hound dog, rock roll 1950's, johnny otis, hound dog recorded,