LAS VEGAS (FOX5) — Elvis made it famous, but he was not the first to record the iconic song “Hound Dog.” In fact, only a chance encounter here in Las Vegas led him to make the record in the first place.
On this day in history — August 13, 1952 — Big Mama Thornton recorded the song for the first time in Los Angeles. The song spent seven weeks at number one on the R&B charts before fading in popularity.
Four years later, during his first Vegas booking, Elvis heard another band perform the song and decided it needed to be on his next album. That version spent eleven weeks at number one.
It’s so closely associated with “The King,” many wrongly assume he recorded the original.
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