Additionally, Big Mama Thornton did not write “Hound Dog.” Songwriting credit goes to the popular songwriting and producing duo Jerry Leiber and Michael Stoller. The two also wrote such hits as The Coasters “Yakety Yak,” and “Searchin” and Elvis “Jailhouse Rock.” The duo also shares writing credit for Ben E. Kings “Stand By Me” and “Spanish Harlem.” Together they wrote over 70 hit songs.
Many credit Big Mama Thornton and “Hound Dog” for infusing black cultural influence into the evolution of Rock & Roll music. This is the point of contention raised earlier where people accuse Elvis of stealing or culturally appropriating a piece of music from the African-American dominated blues genre.
In a time dominated by White males, Big Mama Thornton opened the field for black women in Music by projecting power in an era of female subversiveness and opened the doors for females to discuss sexuality in music where it was once taboo.
But…in spite of her not being the songwriter, its still Big Mama Thorntons song. Why? Well…the song was actually written for and inspired directly by Big Mama Thornton. After meeting Thornton, Leiber and Stroller were so inspired and awestruck by the 350lb woman riddled with scars on her face, they wrote the piece to match her “brusque and badass” presence in an estimated 12 minutes.
Over the years, numerous critics have accused Elvis of stealing “Hound Dog” from Big Mama Thornton, who originally recorded it in 1953, but profited very little compared to what Elvis earned from his 1956 rendition.
Elvis Presley became an icon of rock ‘n’ roll. Willie Mae Thornton ended up in a pauper’s grave.
As a Black artist during segregation, Thornton was unable to cross over to a white radio audience. But it was different for Presley. In 1956 he performed his version of “Hound Dog” for a national TV audience on “The Steve Allen Show.” The song “crossed over,” charting on R&B and country charts and then the pop chart.
In 1941, Thornton joined Sammy Green’s Georgia-based show, The Hot Harlem Revue, and remained with him for seven years. She sang and danced throughout the Southeast. She later acknowledged the influence of contemporary artists including Bessie Smith, Ma Rainey, Junior Parker and Memphis Minnie.
Throughout March, Alabama NewsCenter is recognizing Alabama women of distinction, past and present, in celebration of Women’s History Month.
She was found dead in 1984 in a Los Angeles boarding house. She was 57. That same year, she was posthumously inducted into the Blues Hall of Fame. She was inducted into the Alabama Music Hall of Fame in 2020.
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“Hound Dog” co-writer Mike Stoller has refuted claims that Elvis Presley’s version of the classic rock’n’roll song was stolen from Big Mama Thornton.
In an interview with Brain Hiatt for Rolling Stone Music Now podcast, Stoller, 89, told the complicated story of “Hound Dog” and suggested that Presley’s version was actually inspired by another group’s rendition of the song.
“Hound Dog”, was originally written by Stoller and his writing partner Jerry Leiber (who died in 2011). It was recorded by Big Mama Thornton in 1952 and released by Presley four years later.
Although Presley knew about Thornton’s version, his rendition of “Hound Dog”, however, was based on a version recorded by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys, Stoller said.
Their version, released in 1955, had a more simplified chord structure and included alternate lyrics which made the song about a dog, not a man.
When asked if he thought Presley had stolen the song from Thornton, Stoller said “no” and explained that Presley “was doing it pretty much the way they [Freddie Bell and the Bellboys] had written the song and it seemed to be about a dog”.
Some critics have suggested over the years that the problem stems not from the track being stolen, but from the public’s willingness to embrace a song when performed by a white man and not by a Black woman.
Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis, currently in the cinemas, does include blues singer Thornton (played by Shonka Dukureh), but Stoller and Leiber were left out of the film.
“I didn’t expect anything, so therefore, I was not disappointed in that regard” said Stoller.
He added that he was happy Thornton “was depicted” in the film and that their original rendition (as opposed to the modified version) of “Hound Dog” was performed: “It’s a song that a woman sings to a man, not a man to a dog!” he laughed.
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The writing pair, who went on to write a series of classic songs, including “Stand by Me” for Ben E. King and “Jailhouse Rock”, “King Creole” for Presley, originally wrote “Hound Dog” as teenagers within “15 minutes” of seeing Thornton sing.
Speaking of the first time he saw her perform, Stoller said: “I don’t remember exactly what the song was, but she knocked us out.”
Thornton’s “Hound Dog” was also a big hit in 1953, but the writing pair didn’t get any compensation, and neither did Thornton.
The song’s writing credits weren’t even listed correctly, with Stoller saying: “I was very upset with what happened.”
The pair did eventually get royalties from “Hound Dog” after Presley’s version became a smash hit, but Thornton was left without financial reward.
In the podcast, Hiatt said that Thornton’s lack of recoginton was the tragic result of “systematic racism” and “a business that was quite literally full of theivary”.
Stoller agreed: “That’s true of not only Big Mama, but of many black performers and songwriters.”
Stoller said he preferred Thornton’s “Hound Dog”, commenting that Presley’s version “didn’t have the groove that Big Mama’s record had, which was fantastic”.
Elvis Presley “Hound Dog” (October 28, 1956) on The Ed Sullivan Show
Over the years, numerous critics have accused Elvis of stealing “Hound Dog” from Big Mama Thornton, who originally recorded it in 1953, but profited very little compared to what Elvis earned from his 1956 rendition.
Many credit Big Mama Thornton and “Hound Dog” for infusing black cultural influence into the evolution of Rock & Roll music. This is the point of contention raised earlier where people accuse Elvis of stealing or culturally appropriating a piece of music from the African-American dominated blues genre.
However, accusing Elvis of song theft is not really fair considering the music business of the 1950s. Back in the 50s, there wasnt necessarily a one-song/one-artist relationship. Many musical artists performed different renditions or covers of the same song that popular song-writers penned. In fact, in the early 1950s, many renditions of the same song topped the charts at the same time.
Additionally, Big Mama Thornton did not write “Hound Dog.” Songwriting credit goes to the popular songwriting and producing duo Jerry Leiber and Michael Stoller. The two also wrote such hits as The Coasters “Yakety Yak,” and “Searchin” and Elvis “Jailhouse Rock.” The duo also shares writing credit for Ben E. Kings “Stand By Me” and “Spanish Harlem.” Together they wrote over 70 hit songs.
But…in spite of her not being the songwriter, its still Big Mama Thorntons song. Why? Well…the song was actually written for and inspired directly by Big Mama Thornton. After meeting Thornton, Leiber and Stroller were so inspired and awestruck by the 350lb woman riddled with scars on her face, they wrote the piece to match her “brusque and badass” presence in an estimated 12 minutes.
During the recording session, Stroller recalled Thornton attempted to sing the tune in a subdued crooner fashion…and he was disappointed, but nudge her back into the soulful blues belting he had imagined. When Leiber tried to give her constructive criticism after the first take, she was clearly insulted. Is a white Jewish man from Maryland really going to tell a black ministers daughter from Alabama how she should sing the blues? However, Leibers good-natured criticism finally broke through, and as a result, we all get to hear the second and final take.
And before Elvis even got a chance to record it, 10 other covers had already been recorded, includin a cover by The Quarrymen (later know as the Beatles- sadly, no recording exists). The plain and simple is – its just a good song, so people were bound to cover it. Besides covers, the song was blatantly ripped off twice, with eerily similar songs stealing the basic song structure and melody. Additionally, it warranted multiple “answer-songs” which were meant to provide the perspective from the man she accused of being a hound dog. The most popular answer song was “Bear-Cat” which details the narrators woman being firey and hot-blooded. The song has also spurred numerous parodies.
Big Mama Thornton claimed she didnt need a microphone because of the power of her voice. We think thats true- she had power.
In a time dominated by White males, Big Mama Thornton opened the field for black women in Music by projecting power in an era of female subversiveness and opened the doors for females to discuss sexuality in music where it was once taboo.
“Hound Dog” is also one of the most litigated songs in history. The numerous lawsuits mainly deal with copyright infringement from the various parodies, covers, and copies, but also address the original owner of the written material itself. The lawsuits do not include Elvis Presley. He was subjected to claims of infringement when Johnny Otis (the drummer for the original recording) claimed he deserved 1/3 writing credit for the original song claiming he was entitled to royalties.
Big Mama Thornton died from illnesses relating to alcohol abuse in 1984. Her weight dropped from an estimated 350lbs to 95 lbs at the time of her death.