Bo-Bo Knows Elvis..."Hound Dog"

Today, in honor of what would have been Elvis's 74th birthday, I launch the official Bo-Bo Knows singalong feature. I submit the clip of Bo-Bo dancing to ambient "Hound Dog" as evidence that he approves of the move (kindly disregard Bo's yawn and the hand behind the camera wiggling his leash to keep him dancing).

So what exactly is a Bo-Bo Knows singalong? It's a space for talking about how we connect to music: song by song via the lyrics, riffs, and melodies that work their way beneath the skin, refusing to let go until we're sung at the top of our lungs or shaken what our mama's gave us (even if that's just tapping toes).

I launch with "Hound Dog" because it's Bo's favorite (clearly), but any song is fair game. Though I should warn you that I'm currently editing a novel about identity told through three unlikely Elvis impersonators, so the singalong is likely to head to the end of Elvis's lonely street quite often. And if you don't like that, you can just return to, oh, never mind.

So "Hound Dog." Hit play on the embedded copy of the song below to listen while you read:



OK, yes. This song may be one of the most overplayed Elvis songs of all time, but the raw gravel in Elvis's voice gets me with every listen. Elvis has my attention by the time he says "ain't." According to the handy counter provided by our friends at Youtube, that's about 1.5 seconds into the song.

But just because "Hound Dog" never gets old doesn't mean it couldn't have been better. Though I respect what Elvis was doing with quartets, I could have done without the Jordanaires in the middle of this song. Unless of course Elvis was trying to sanitize the ripped--my-heart-out feel his raw vocals brought to the song. Maybe that's why Elvis is Elvis and I'm just plain Cathy--he knew that the clean harmonies of the Jordanaires would make his voice seem all the grittier. Well played, Elvis. Well played.

"HOUND DOG" AT A GLANCE

RELEASE DATE: July, 1956

SONGWRITERS: Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller

TRIVIA: "Hound Dog" was Elvis's eighth single. Though I'd like to take credit for choosing to highlight the eighth single on the eighth day of January, I wanted to lead with a dog crossover. This is Bo-Bo knows, after all.

COVERS: Big Mama Thornton's version was likely Elvis's introduction to the song, but it's probably the version that Freddie Bell and the Bellboys performed at the Sands casino in Vegas that got Elvis excited about recording "Hound Dog" himself. The singers who have recorded this song read like a list of rock royalty. Here's a small sample:

• Eric Clapton (on Journeyman)
• The Everly Brothers (on Rock n Soul)
• Jimi Hendrix (on The Jimi Hendrix Experience)
• John Lennon (live--click here to have a listen)
  
• Robert Palmer (on Drive)
• James Taylor (on Covers)

Be warned. The James Taylor version sounds a bit like a love child between soul and jazz, but it still counts as a cover.