Big Mama Thornton did 'Hound Dog' first. But does that mean Elvis ripped her off? Legendary co-writer Mike Stoller weighs in
the song from Big Mama Thornton are misguided. For one thing, while Presley was well aware of Thornton’s version of the song, his rendition was directly inspired by yet another iteration of “Hound Dog,” by the group Freddie Bell and the Bellboys — and he uses their musical and lyrical alterations.
That said, while Stoller came to admire Presley’s talents, he never was all that fond of his take on “Hound Dog.” “It didn’t have the groove that Big Mama’s record had, which was fantastic,” says Stoller, who also tells the whole story of the original Thornton studio session for the song. Neither Leiber and Stoller nor Thornton ever got paid much for her version of the song, and Stoller acknowledges that as a tragedy, along with the general lack of cultural recognition for her.
Stoller also defends Presley against charges of cultural appropriation, accusations he says would be more appropriately leveled at Pat Boone, who did truly execrable and whitewashed versions of songs like Little Richard’s “Tutti Frutti.” “Pat Boone didn’t really love the music,” says Stoller. “He was just trying to make a buck off of it.”
Stoller also tells the stories behind “Jailhouse Rock,” gives his review of Luhrmann’s movie, recalls his time hanging out with Presley, and much more. Elsewhere in the episode, David Fear weighs in on the film’s successes and failures, andNews correspondent Delisa Shannon interviews Yola, who plays a key Presley influence, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, in the movie.
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