HOUND DOG

Three years before Presley’s version of this bluesy tune appeared, Houston singer Big Mama Thornton sold more than half a million copies with her witty take on “Hound Dog,” written by Mike Stoller and herry Leiber. But Presley hadn’t heard her version when he decided to record it. He was inspired instead by a campy performance of the tune by an act he had seen in Vegas: Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. It was Elvis’ biggest money-maker that year.