"Elvis" has been topping the box office, significantly because of the classic songs included in the movie. One of them is "Hound Dog." However, rumors have it that Elvis Presley might have "stolen" this song from Big Mama Thorton.
It's not true though, Rolling Stone now confirms.
The movie did depict Big Mama Thornton (Shonka Dukureh) playing "Hound Dog," a tune she recorded in 1952, four years before Elvis Presley.
It omits Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, who penned "Hound Dog" as teenagers for Bobby Thornton and went on to write "Jailhouse Rock," "You're So Square (I Don't Care)," "Trouble," and other singles for Elvis Presley (as well as "Stand By Me" for Ben E. King and countless other famous songs).
Leiber passed away in 2011, but Stoller is thriving at age 89. As such, he got to be interviewed by Rolling Stone Music Now podcast. He has a lot to share, after decades of working behind the scenes. One of them is the fact that he didn't mind being left out and the other thing is that there was no stealing involved.
"Well, I didn't expect anything," he says in good spirits, "so therefore, I was not disappointed in that regard."
On the episode, Stoller recounts the entire history of "Hound Dog" and explains why he believes current observers who believe Presley "stole" the song from Big Mama Thornton are mistaken.
Firstly, although Presley was well-aware of Thornton's interpretation of the song, his version was directly influenced by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys' performance of "Hound Dog" and incorporates their melodic and lyrical modifications.
Stoller came to admire Presley's talents, but he never particularly liked his rendition of "Hound Dog."
"It didn't have the groove that Big Mama's record had, which was fantastic," says Stoller. But this does not mean Presley stole the song.
He also tells the whole story of the original Thornton studio session for the song. According to him, neither Leiber and Stoller nor Thornton were compensated much for her version of the song.
Stoller said this is truly tragic, not to mention the fact that there is a general lack of cultural recognition for her. "That's true of not only Big Mama, but of many black performers and songwriters," he shared. he added that he and Leiber "did, on occasion, send her some funds."
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