Hound Dog

Big Mama Thornton recorded Hound Dog at Radio Recorders Annex in Los Angeles on August 13 1952 with Johnny Otiss band and writers Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller present at the session. The performance placed Thorntons vocal in front of a tough small-band arrangement led by guitarist Pete Lewis. Released by Peacock in 1953, the single became Thorntons biggest hit and topped the Billboard R&B chart. Its success established Hound Dog as a major early Leiber and Stoller composition before later pop versions transformed its audience. Hound Dog became one of the most famous songs in American popular music through later covers, especially Elvis Presleys 1956 version. Thorntons original remains central to the songs history and is recognized as a landmark performance of postwar rhythm and blues.