Hooks & Runs

191 - Hound Dog: The Song that Changed Popular Music and America w/ Ben Wynne

March 16, 2024 Ben Wynn, author of "A Hound Dog Tale: Big Mama, Elvis and the Song that Changed Everything" Season 5 Episode 191
Hooks & Runs
191 - Hound Dog: The Song that Changed Popular Music and America w/ Ben Wynne
Show Notes Chapter Markers

Dr. Ben Wynne, Ph.D. (Univ. of N. Georgia) is our guest this week to talk about his latest book, "A Hound Dog Tale: Big Mama, Elvis and the Song that Changed Everything"  (Louisiana State Univ. Press 2024). This is a fascinating interview about a song that was a major rhythm & blues hit for Big Mama Thornton and a ground-breaking success for Elvis Presley a few years later. Through his research, Wynne is able to explain how this song through is many incarnations and having spurred two major lawsuits defined and re-defined the culture and business of popular music in the years that followed and to this day. This book is highly recommended!

Errata: Craig got the title wrong both times ... it's "A Hound Dog Tale...," not "Hound Dog...."

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Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (Premium Beat)    
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Introducing Dr. Ben Wynne and "A Hound Dog Tale"
Leiber & Stoller write "Hound Dog" for Big Mama Thornton
Segregated record business vs integrated radio airwaves
Everyone wants in on the Big Mama's "Hound Dog" hit.
Elvis introduces Freddy Bell's version of "Hound Dog" into his live act
Hound Dog and the aftermath
The man who punched Jefferson Davis
Conclusion