The evolution of Hound Dog

For reasons I can’t explain, the song Hound Dog was on my mind, and I went to look up the lyrics to see whether there was anything more to them than I remembered (there wasn’t). But that led me down a rabbit-hole, and I ended up listening to five versions. Here they are. The song is the work of the classic rock and roll songwriting team Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller (Jailhouse Rock, Yakkety Yak, Stand By Me), writing specifically for Big Mama Thornton. She recorded it on 13 August 1952, and it was released in February 1953. It became her only hit. Given that we hear this song through the filter of the Elvis version, this sounds very strange. It’s much more of a bluesy shuffle, with a sassy vocal that plays with the rhythm. And there are a lot more different words. It also features one of those 1950s endearing guitar solos that amount to playing the chords and walking up and down a scale or two. The song was picked up in 1955 by Freddie Bell and The Bellboys, a Las Vegas lounge act,…