Hound Dog Research Paper

Hound Dog The first person who comes to mind when people think of rock and roll is Elvis Presley. He is often referred to a the the King of Rock. “Hound Dog” is one of Elvis’s early songs and is also one of his most popular. He recorded it in 1956 and it quickly became widely popular all across the United States and especially among teenagers. Teenagers were the driving force of the rock and roll because they now had spending money and they needed something to spend it on. Teenagers also had more freedom with the ability to drive cars and the 50s was the first time teenagers were actually advertised to as a separate group of people. Rock and roll appealed to teenagers because it was rebellious. “Hound Dog” is a great example of how music was changing to be more rebellious and …show more content…
“Hound Dog” was originally recorded by Willie Mae Thornton and has been recorded over 250 times since then. Willie Mae Thornton was an African American women which is probably why it didn’t take off as much as Elvis’s version of the song. There was a big double standard for women during the 1950s and racism was still very prevalent. The civil rights movement was just starting but had not yet made a big difference in the music industry. Rock and roll was a big factor in the start of the civil rights movement because it was often sang by African Americans and white teenagers loved the music. Elvis Presley's version is the one most people think of today. Like most of the songs sung by Elvis, “Hound Dog” was very popular because it sounded like it was sang by an African American but Elvis was actually white. The fact that the song was performed by a white person made it easier for the older generation to accept and more radio stations played this song. “Hound Dog” was inducted into the grammy hall of fame in 2012 and is number 19 on the Rolling Stone magazines list of greatest songs of all