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Length: 2:48
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Been snoopin' 'round the door
You ain't nothing but a hound dog
Been snoopin' 'round my door
You can wag your tail
But I ain't gonna feed you no more
You told me you was high class
But I could see through that
Yes, you told me you was high class
But I could see through that
And daddy I know
You ain't no real cool cat
You ain't nothing but a hound dog
Been snoopin' 'round the door
You're just an old hound dog
Been snoopin' 'round my door
You can wag your tail
But I ain't gonna feed you no more
You made me feel so blue
You made me weep and moan
You made me feel so blue
Well you made me weep and moan
'Cause you ain't looking for a woman
All you're lookin' for is a home
You ain't nothing but a hound dog
Been snoopin' 'round the door
You ain't nothing but a hound dog
Been snoopin' 'round my door
You can wag your tail
But I ain't gonna feed you no more
As an old pasty white guy, gotta say for all those who are dissing Elvis' cover, it was people like him who brought a whole new generation to music we would never have been exposed to, just as Benny Goodman did. Without them i may never have discovered the joy of John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters, Buddy Guy, et al.
Very well stated!
BIG 10
10+
Yes, for true! I was just watching clips of early Elvis and Janis Joplin last night-thinking these exact thoughts …want to get back to an epic performance of Ball and Chain.
She was the ORIGINAL performer, recorded in August, 1952, Written by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller! ...made famous by Elvis, which drew attention to her, and helped her career. She also wrote "Ball and Chain", which was made famous by Janis Joplin while with Big Brother and the Holding Company.
YES! I Agree!



She was the ORIGINAL performer, recorded in August, 1952, Written by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller! ...made famous by Elvis, which drew attention to her, and helped her career. She also wrote "Ball and Chain", which was made famous by Janis Joplin while with Big Brother and the Holding Company.
It is very different. Glad we have BOTH!
YES! I Agree!



This kicks the shit out of Elvis's rendition!
It is very different. Glad we have BOTH!
Nice cover!
Mouahaha
SARCASM? ...eh?
To be fair, Elvis was a pasty weak white boy
"Pecunia non olet". But we must whitening this wild N* Music - the born of Rock'n'Roll. Fucking racism.
To be fair, Elvis was a pasty weak white boy
White yes. Not sure about weak. At least not the voice. This version is still better.
Mouahaha
We wont talk about the others who gave it less than '5'
They have a different 'hell' to me

"You can wag your tail
But I ain't gonna feed you no more"
Great line....
Old blues can be full of understated lines sometimes. One of my favorite ones I read in a Leadbelly songbook is from the song The Water Is Wide (originally an old folksong):
“I leaned my back up against some young oak,
Thinking he was a trusty tree.
But first he bended, and then he broke,
And thus did my false love to me.”
Would that be preferable to all you insufferable virtue signalers?

For some interesting historical context, check this out:
https://www.amazon.com/Chitlin...
There are at least two surviving Chitlin' Circuit venues in our county. It is likely Ms. Thornton performed at both.
c.
Thank You for the info!
I'll never understand the need to slag one artist whilst praising another.
I Agree! Very well stated!
Sure but Elvis is more famous in every country on this earth than anybody. Wonder why that is?
Elvis (and I'm not a big fan) was a terrific singer and oozed charisma onstage. That second aspect can't be underestimated.
Damn! I think I'm in love. This version makes Elvis look like a pasty, weak white boy.
I'll never understand the need to slag one artist whilst praising another.
https://www.amazon.com/Chitlin...
There are at least two surviving Chitlin' Circuit venues in our county. It is likely Ms. Thornton performed at both.
c.
No doubt. The anger is what makes it genuine. Elvis' cover was so Vanilla.
I prefer this version as well - it was written for her - but I wouldn't call the Elvis version "vanilla". By today's standards perhaps, it could seem tame, but it was a pretty rocking record in 1956.
Because it was easier to get rich selling Elvis than Big Mama Thornton. Don't overthink it.
It's easier to make money with Britney Spears than with Renee Fleming too. Wonder why that is?
If I was 30 years younger, I'd had said most people have shitty taste and can't tell a mudslide from a masterpiece. Now I say there's no accounting for taste.
Great record because it has that swing.
You bet!
Because it was easier to get rich selling Elvis than Big Mama Thornton. Don't overthink it.
It's easier to make money with Britney Spears than with Renee Fleming too. Wonder why that is?
You bet!! Unfortunately, too true!!
Sure but Elvis is more famous in every country on this earth than anybody. Wonder why that is?
Because it was easier to get rich selling Elvis than Big Mama Thornton. Don't overthink it.
It's easier to make money with Britney Spears than with Renee Fleming too. Wonder why that is?
Sure but Elvis is more famous in every country on this earth than anybody. Wonder why that is?
I would say racism against black people was a significant factor.
her stuff with Mississippi Fred McDowell is unreal
Sorry, the Elvis cover is no match for this.
Sure but Elvis is more famous in every country on this earth than anybody. Wonder why that is?
Damn! I think I'm in love. This version makes Elvis look like a pasty, weak white boy.
Applies here: "Was it her sweet love or the way that she could sing?"
It just works better with a woman singing about a philandering man - the hound.
Not that philandering doesn't happen in the opposite direction, but the term just seems masculine.
The Elvis version has all of the sex stripped out. "You ain't nothing but a hound dog crying all the time. You ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine". Is there sexual innuendo in there? Only if you say there's sexual innuendo in virtually everything.
Well, all I can say to that is... if you've never had your rabbit caught, then you've no idea how enjoyable it can be!

It just works better with a woman singing about a philandering man - the hound.
Not that philandering doesn't happen in the opposite direction, but the term just seems masculine.
The Elvis version has all of the sex stripped out. "You ain't nothing but a hound dog crying all the time. You ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine". Is there sexual innuendo in there? Only if you say there's sexual innuendo in virtually everything.
Yes, and no :) Robert Palmer's version of "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On" was originally recorded by a woman. Palmer wrote in the liner notes of his hits CD vol.2 that he thought it would be more interesting to have the song sung my a man, and his version was really cool for the way the tables were turned in the song.
I always thought of Elvis's "Hound Dog" as an utterly failed seduction, more a song lamenting rejection by the woman he's singing about, a kind of hurt response to it. Never thought of it as particularly sexy for that reason.
It just works better with a woman singing about a philandering man - the hound.
Not that philandering doesn't happen in the opposite direction, but the term just seems masculine. . . .
Agreed. Good point.
(All due respect to Elvis.)
But I ain't gonna feed you no more"
Great line....
http://www.cc.com/video-clips/rtkelu/the-daily-show-with-trevor-noah-shafted--willie-mae-thornton-s--hound-dog-

Precisely why I recognize Elvis as a great cultural icon and full of charisma. But a harmless vanilla white dude singing like a harmless vanilla white dude never enthralled me.
To be fair, Elvis was a pasty weak white boy
It just works better with a woman singing about a philandering man - the hound.
Not that philandering doesn't happen in the opposite direction, but the term just seems masculine.
The Elvis version has all of the sex stripped out. "You ain't nothing but a hound dog crying all the time. You ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine". Is there sexual innuendo in there? Only if you say there's sexual innuendo in virtually everything.
Uh hound dogs come in two sexes.

No doubt. The anger is what makes it genuine. Elvis' cover was so Vanilla.



Lieber and Stoller wrote it specifically for her. In an interview with them, they said when they gave it to her, she sang it like a dirge at first. Wha? Once they got her rockin' it, well, you know the rest.
I'm sure Colonel Parker insisted it be cleaned up before Elvis recorded it. Couldn't risk further alienating white parents, who were already terrified of what 'The Devil's Music' was doing to their kids...
c.
It just works better with a woman singing about a philandering man - the hound.
Not that philandering doesn't happen in the opposite direction, but the term just seems masculine.
The Elvis version has all of the sex stripped out. "You ain't nothing but a hound dog crying all the time. You ain't never caught a rabbit and you ain't no friend of mine". Is there sexual innuendo in there? Only if you say there's sexual innuendo in virtually everything.
must say I agree. grabs you by the throat from the first note.
"Otis...my man!"
the Elvis version of this never made sense to me


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Don't get me wrong. Elvis has been my idol ever since I (as a young and impressionable teenager) saw him before a concert he did in Daytona Beach in '57 (or thereabouts, my memory is getting hazy). He stayed in a beachfront motel right across the street from my good boyhood chum's parents' restaurant. My pal and I got to sit in the same booth and have hamburgers and Cokes with him the afternoon before the concert.
This is the one Elvis covered.....made HIM rich......
That's mainly a function of performing at concerts and building a following, it is a lot of work. Just because you write something does not mean you deserve ALL the money made from the song.

Just walk in and get a beer and maybe borrow a guitar from behind the bar...
good place to be while the heat of the day passes
Isn't that how this was recorded?

Just walk in and get a beer and maybe borrow a guitar from behind the bar...
good place to be while the heat of the day passes
..and maybe a little barefoot shimmying thrown in there. Sing it, Mama, sing it!



welcome to the real world......

This is the one Elvis covered.....made HIM rich......
Just walk in and get a beer and maybe borrow a guitar from behind the bar...
good place to be while the heat of the day passes
I wonder how many know that Elvis sung a cover, not his own composition. I for sure didn't until I heard this, and IMO it's a definite improvement on Elvis's cover. Plus the lyrics make a heck of a lot more sense when sung by a woman about a man. Thanks for digging out this gem and enlightening me, RP. 8 from the Nottingham jury.
Respectfully speaking
Maybe the best. I think Lieber and Stoller wrote it with her in mind. Everybody else is a pale imitation.
Get it? Pale? Elvis was white.
Exactly. I never rated Elvis and never could understand the fuss. However I will concede he opened the door through to rock and roll. . .
Man, imagine seeing this live at about 2 am in a roadhouse somewhere in the South, the whole place shaking.

Boy, this song makes a lot more sense when sung by a woman!

True that! this is smokin' - love it
Man, imagine seeing this live at about 2 am in a roadhouse somewhere in the South, the whole place shaking.
" "Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton in 1952. Other early versions illustrate the differences among blues, country, and rock and roll in the mid 1950s. The 1956 remake by Elvis Presley is the best known version. This is the version that is #19 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time"
"Hound Dog"
" Actually, it was Big Mama Thornton's song before it was anybody else's. Lieber and Stoller wrote it.
Love Lennon's response when he was pressed for a quote when Elvis died: "He died when he went into the army."
Kidding! 9 from me.


9
another reason to love RP! i had never heard this before,(much to my chagrin) and it is a much better song sung by a woman....drink up big mama!

somebody asked a while back who played guitar on that track, as far as I can tell, it was Buddy Guy
Yes! it was Buddy Guy. He is still alive and kicking. Some of his recent tunes are on the RP playlist.