Any love for "Hound Dog"? - Updated with serious post on Pg5

[SteamrollerBlues]

I like it a little.

It's no "Kissin' Cousins", however.

[Juan Luis]

Is this a trick question?!

[Arvis Paisley]

Scotty's guitar work on Hound Dog is exceptional. It's some of the best in the history of rock.

[minkahed]

Easily one of the greatest Rock N Roll songs laid to tape.

I played it to the point my Mom took my "Elvis' Golden Records" tape and thru it out the window, literally.

[Juan Luis]

Scotty's guitar work on Hound Dog is exceptional. It's some of the best in the history of rock.

Two classic guitar solos in one song.

[brian]

Some of the posters in another thread really got me thinking about what sorts of topics we should discuss here on FECC. Now, me, I've always come to FECC for interesting, well-researched discussion topics about every aspect of Elvis Presley's career, from little known factoids about his biggest hits, to details of recordings sessions and film shoots, from news about the latest releases from Sony, FTD and even bootlegs, to something as simple as people just sharing their appreciation for a song they think others might have overlooked.

But lately, there have just been so much negativity here - too many people talking about points of Elvis' career that are just not that great. People saying they like movies that are bad, songs and soundtracks that were simply not successful artistically or commercially, and even discussing many elements of Elvis' life that were not good for him. However, posters like drjohncarpenter, Davelee, fn2drive, and r&b (just to name a handful of inspirational figureheads) have really brought to light that these topics just don't have any value and shouldn't be discussed on an Elvis forum by passionate fans who might have a variety of subjective opinions that might lead to someone learning something new. We just can't have that here!

You should be aware that this is common on the internet and not just on this forum.

When you don't like something it brings about more discussion and debate than when everyone agrees that a song or movie etc. is good.

The negativity on this forum and on the internet as a whole can get annoying at times but I wouldn't want to discuss only things that I liked.

If this forum turned into what you are suggesting then the number of replies for topics will go down.

[Lonely Summer]

Wait a minute, are we talking Hound Dog, that 45 second song Elvis rushed through in Aloha? Why would anyone think that song was anything great?

[minkahed]

Wait a minute, are we talking Hound Dog, that 45 second song Elvis rushed through in Aloha? Why would anyone think that song was anything great?

Uh, no, we're talking about the revolutionary number 1 record that changed the whole music world upside down.

[MikeFromHolland]

(..) posters like drjohncarpenter, Davelee, fn2drive, and r&b (just to name a handful of inspirational figureheads) have really brought to light that these topics just don't have any value and shouldn't be discussed on an Elvis forum by passionate fans who might have a variety of subjective opinions that might lead to someone learning something new. We just can't have that here!

It's clear now that FECC has no place being a great resource of information on all aspects of Elvis' career, good and bad - a veritable wellspring of invaluable research and trivia.

Spot on Oh, the irony

Elvis sounds like a frog on Hound Dog. Won't play it at parties. Love Scotty though. Bill Black married a 16 yo girl. Yes, Hound Dog was in the charts, but that doesn't mean anything. Elvis was a copy cat. I prefer Big Mama's version. In '56 the boys who would become the Beatles were already brewing on something much much bigger anyway. At the time Elvis was unfaithful to all his girlfriends. A sad sad period for him. He didn't get much sleep, you can see that in his eyes. He looked very unhealthy on July 1 that year already. It went downhill from that moment on. All facts! Other people who think otherwise are all wrong!



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[GLAISTER]

Some of the posters in another thread really got me thinking about what sorts of topics we should discuss here on FECC. Now, me, I've always come to FECC for interesting, well-researched discussion topics about every aspect of Elvis Presley's career, from little known factoids about his biggest hits, to details of recordings sessions and film shoots, from news about the latest releases from Sony, FTD and even bootlegs, to something as simple as people just sharing their appreciation for a song they think others might have overlooked.

But lately, there have just been so much negativity here - too many people talking about points of Elvis' career that are just not that great. People saying they like movies that are bad, songs and soundtracks that were simply not successful artistically or commercially, and even discussing many elements of Elvis' life that were not good for him. However, posters like drjohncarpenter, Davelee, fn2drive, and r&b (just to name a handful of inspirational figureheads) have really brought to light that these topics just don't have any value and shouldn't be discussed on an Elvis forum by passionate fans who might have a variety of subjective opinions that might lead to someone learning something new. We just can't have that here!

It's clear now that FECC has no place being a great resource of information on all aspects of Elvis' career, good and bad - a veritable wellspring of invaluable research and trivia. Instead, I propose that we should only focus on discussing in-depth the very best of Elvis' life and career. After all, discussing anything less than the best is hardly worth the time and effort. I'm sorry to say that anyone who comes here with ideas of fanatical concepts of individuality and subjectivity need not bother. This board just gets too far out of hand when people have a variety of opinions, so let's try to #MakeFECCGreatAgain and focus ONLY on the best of Elvis' life and music.



Today, I'd like to talk about Hound Dog, a Jerry Leiber-Mike Stoller composition. It's a wonderful song from one of Presley's most remarkable songwriting teams. Of the hundreds of Presley songs the general public could call to mind in a nanosecond, this is the one that is most closely associated with Elvis Presley, despite it being recorded by so many other artists before and after.

Unfortunately, Hound Dog has, I feel, become a truly underrated tune. The genius of the original recording has really been lost on a lot of people. It is also one of the examples most closely tied to the perception that Elvis stole black people's music, an opinion still widely held by young urban people. If you took this song to a party of teenagers and played it today, most would not understand or appreciate just how great this recording was! I don't care what anyone else says, I love it! But, hey, maybe I'm in the minority on this one.

Anyone else like Hound Dog? If you do, give your thoughts. When was the first time you heard it? Do you listen to it often? Do you have a favorite version from a concert or TV performance? What do you think of the fact that Elvis' version has less lyrical content than the original? If you don't like Hound Dog, "well you're wrong, and unfortunately your intelligence don't see" how good this song is!

And remember - ONLY discuss the very best! #MakeFECCGreatAgain

..

Totally agree - great post. There is way too much negativity on this board theses days, especially when someone expresses a minority view.

As for "Hound Dog" ? Incomparable, perfect imperfection - and the Jordanaires don't even get on my nerves !

[jurasic1968]

The day he sang the song on Milton Berle show was when Rock and Roll music had a king. God bless Uncle Miltie for this show. Elvis conqered the young people from America this day. Hound Dog-pure perfection!

[Davelee]

I'm gonna try and explain this the best I can:

Clearly, if you want FECC to be a better place without any arguments, then you shouldn't have posted this topic and wrongly accusing members of this forum, like myself, of making FECC a negative place to be, which is absolutely wrong, and you know we're gonna come back and comment on such bizarre accusations. You should have just posted about the song.

Everyone has their opinions, whether we agree with them is another matter, but that doesn't make any of us better or worse then one another. My opinions, and the others you have accused of in , your initial post, are based mainly on facts and reality and not fantasy, unlike some people who don't speak in reality terms, another poster has every right to point that out - Unfortunately it upsets people when such things are pointed out and confronted and it destroys their little fantasy world, then they insult that person by accusing them of being rude, when in reality it's just pointing out facts which is better then non facts.

Elvis' career had many highs and lows points and these have been discussed many, many times. If someone discusses a low point in his career and makes comments that are not in a positive light, that's not putting Elvis down as such, it's stating a fact that deserves to be stated, it's all part of discussing Elvis on a discussion forum. Elvis' career, and as a person, was not perfect and he deserves to be criticized for the many mistakes he did for wasting his enormous talent, and he is the only person to blame for allowing it to happen. That's the wonderful thing about FECC we can discuss these issues with our thoughts, it's all part of this amazing story.

As for your assertion about FECC not being a place for great info on well-researched topics and factual info, there are plenty here on FECC, past and present, and the majority of them come from the very person (don't accuse me of being his yes man) you are accusing of being negative, drjohncarpenter. I, for one, Always look forward to his posts because they are intelligently written, well-researched with factual info. Of course, there are others who put up great topics, such as, Mike Windgren and MikeFromHolland, some of them (including the Docs) might not be the greatest subjects for like mediocre songs but they are still well-researched, obviously the Doc is the main man, i've learnt a lot from his posts. I also enjoy r&bs posts and agree with much of what he says and he gives us his memories what what it was like being an Elvis fan at the time the king was reigning the charts and so forth, and he's very realistic about it.

So there you have it.

[MikeFromHolland]

I'm gonna try and explain this the best I can:

Clearly, if you want FECC to be a better place without any arguments, then you shouldn't have posted this topic and wrongly accusing members of this forum, like myself, of making FECC a negative place to be, which is absolutely wrong, and you know we're gonna come back and comment on such bizarre accusations. You should have just posted about the song.

So there's a thought police after all

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[MikeFromHolland]

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The essence:

there are others who put up great topics, such as, Mike Windgren and MikeFromHolland, they are well-researched.

Can't argue with that

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[Ryan73]

For whatever reason, my 2 favourite Elvis rock and roll songs are Hound Dog and 1968's sit down performance of Baby, what you want me to do.

[Davelee]

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The essence:

there are others who put up great topics, such as, Mike Windgren and MikeFromHolland, they are well-researched.

Can't argue with that

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That's all you've got to say about my well thought out reply?

Any thoughts on the rest of it?

[Hobbes]

I don't see much negativity here. What I see is perspective, and that's a good thing. I happen to like the song Suppose. But it would be silly to argue that it rises to the same level of greatness as Hound Dog, or to argue that it is great, period. Just because I enjoy it doesn't mean anything in a historical context. In order to understand how great Elvis was it's necessary to understand the peaks and valleys of his career. That doesn't mean you can't like something or post about it.

[elvis-fan]

Clearly, if you want FECC to be a better place without any arguments, then you shouldn't have posted this topic...

It's quite clear what his intentions are...

[Arvis Paisley]

This has been an enlightening thread.

[Arvis Paisley]

It seems to me the problem facing us is that certain members are very knowledgeable, but with that knowledge comes the belief in the "correct" view of Elvis, and others who are willing to enforce that view. The enforcers have a black and white mentality where they see things in terms of "real and untrue," or "us versus them," and they tend to rush members into certain categories based on their false judgments that come from these dichotomies. I have witnessed firsthand how making one comment can cause certain well-respected (or maybe not so well-respected) members to 1. Misinterpret that comment and 2. Falsely place you in a category based on that misinterpretation. You are either with the party line interpretation of Elvis, or you're an outcast. That's rather boring, don't you think?

We should welcome and respect varying viewpoints and ideas.

[r&b]

Hound Dog is an amazing song. It started my Elvis fandom. It features everyone at their best, Elvis' raw vocal, Scotty's fabulous guitar solos, and DJ's machine-gun drumming. Not a bad thing about it, I'd say. Too bad Elvis dismissed it so badly after returning to live performing. Thanks, needed a break from Kismet.

[goldbelt]

Hound Dog is an amazing song. It started my Elvis fandom. It features everyone at their best, Elvis' raw vocal, Scotty's fabulous guitar solos, and DJ's machine-gun drumming. Not a bad thing about it, I'd say. Too bad Elvis dismissed it so badly after returning to live performing. Thanks, needed a break from Kismet.

It may be worth considering:

1) You don't need to open and read topics that don't interest you if you don't want to

2) You can start topics on stuff you do like for others to contribute to

Thanks for sharing that in depth analysis of Hound Dog, now that you have found a topic devoted to a song with so much worth.

[r&b]

Hound Dog is an amazing song. It started my Elvis fandom. It features everyone at their best, Elvis' raw vocal, Scotty's fabulous guitar solos, and DJ's machine-gun drumming. Not a bad thing about it, I'd say. Too bad Elvis dismissed it so badly after returning to live performing. Thanks, needed a break from Kismet.

It may be worth considering:

1) You don't need to open and read topics that don't interest you if you don't want to

2) You can start topics on stuff you do like for others to contribute to

Thanks for sharing that in depth analysis of Hound Dog, now that you have found a topic devoted to a song with so much worth.

Most every topic interests me if it has to do with the music he recorded and I will comment as I see fit to do so. The topics about wondering which TV show he may have watched or did he prefer Skippy to Jif do not interest me and I dont open them.

[Juan Luis]

Scotty's guitar work on Hound Dog is exceptional. It's some of the best in the history of rock.

I admit, I also took this recording for granted for quite a while. A couple years ago, I sat down & really listened hard to it. The guitar work is so frenetic, ditto DJ's drums. Everyone playing & singing sounds like they're being pushed beyond their limitations and it really is just the epitome of what rock is.

Juan, no tricks! Though my original post is drenched in sarcasm, I sincerely love this song and the other thread about specific songs didn't seem to indicate an appreciation thread had been done for Hound Dog in recent times... Sometimes you really do need to stop and listen with fresh ears to remember how groundbreaking it was... And still is!

The song made me a fan at the age of eleven in 1974. My introduction to rock and roll music as well. My mother had singles, an album by Elvis she purchased as an original fan 1956-1958. On some songs Elvis was singing so fast I couldn't make out the words. She told me. "Don't worry. It's rock and roll. The words don't mean anything." LOL...Elvis said the same thing more or less at the same time my mom told me the same! The important thing was the beat, the beat, the beat!

[Juan Luis]

Hound Dog is an amazing song. It started my Elvis fandom. It features everyone at their best, Elvis' raw vocal, Scotty's fabulous guitar solos, and DJ's machine-gun drumming. Not a bad thing about it, I'd say. Too bad Elvis dismissed it so badly after returning to live performing. Thanks, needed a break from Kismet.

Not you or anyone was forced to open that thread, and much less feel compelled to offer the board your dislike of it not once, or even twice. But many times. As a few others. I surely don't bother to comment on many threads that do not interest me. It's not that hard really.