Elvis Presley was fast becoming the biggest star in the world in 1956, following massive number one hits with Heartbreak Hotel and I Want You, I Need You, I Love You. The American (and soon worldwide) youth adored him, but the establishment, including TV hosts and executives, felt very differently.
On July 2 he was due to go into the studio to record Hound Dog, but appeared the night before on the popular Steve Allen Show. The King was ambushed during the live broadcast, and it was just one of the attacks he faced over his new song.
But he always spoke of this particular night with anger and embarrassment. Elvis always faced criticism over Hound Dog, starting with the fact he was accused of “stealing” it from the original singer, Big Mama Thornton.
The songwriters Lieber and Stoller later said Elvis actually rooted his version in a cover by Freddie Bell and the Bell Boys. Their version had already been cleaned up from the original with provocative lyrics replaced.
Big Mama had sung of withholding sex in the lines, “You can wag your tail but I ain’t gonna feed you no more.” This was replaced by, “Well, you ain’t never caught a rabbit and you ain’t no friend of mine.”
