Blues Rock
Rock
Big Mama Thornton first recorded “Hound Dog” in 1952 (written by Lieber & Stoller), and her gritty blues version held #1 on the R&B charts for seven weeks:contentReference[oaicite:39]{index=39}. Elvis Presley later made the song famous to rock audiences, but it was Thornton’s raw, commanding original that broke musical barriers. The song launched songwriter duo Leiber and Stoller’s career with BMI, and Thornton’s recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame.