Hound Dog: A Song by BigMama Thornton and Interpreted by Elvis Presley and Othe [Paperback]

Many listeners first heard “Hound Dog” when Elvis Presley’s single topped the pop, country, and R&B charts in 1956. But some fans already knew the song from Big Mama Thornton’s earlier recording, a giant but exclusively R&B hit. InHound DogEric Weisbard examines the racial, commercial, and cultural ramifications of Elvis’s appropriation of a Black woman’s anthem. He rethinks the history and influences of rock music in light ofRolling Stone's replacement of Presley’s “Hound Dog” with Thornton’s version in its 2021 “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” list. Taking readers from Presley and Thornton to Patti Page’s “Doggie in the Window,” the Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog,” and other dog ditties, Weisbard uses “Hound Dog” to reflect on one of rock’s fundamental dilemmas: the whiteness of the wail.USEric Weisbard uses Elvis Presley’s 1956 recording of Big Mama Thornton’s song “Hound Dog” to reflect on the history of rock music, race, commodification, and popular culture.Eric Weisbard is Professor of American Studies at the University of Alabama and author ofSongbooks: The Literature of American Popular Music, also published by Duke University Press.“Eric Weisbard has long been one of my favorite music historians and writers. His professorial love for both the high- and the lowbrow (and the latter's relevance to the trends and movements that followed), mixed with his punchy, minimalistic voice, makes a great combination.”Patterson Hood, performer, writer, and Drive-By Truckers cofounder

“Bringing together the music of Big Mama Thornton, Elvis, Patti Page, Iggy Pop, George Clinton, DMX, Nirvana, and Patti Smith, among others, Eric Weisbard steers us through some of the most contentious debates in the American pop music landscape and somehow manages to make it a