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

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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Chapters

• 0:00 Introducing Dr. Ben Wynne and "A Hound Dog Tale"
• 2:33 Leiber & Stoller write "Hound Dog" for Big Mama Thornton
• 7:30 Segregated record business vs integrated radio airwaves
• 16:29 Everyone wants in on the Big Mama's "Hound Dog" hit.
• 20:07 Elvis introduces Freddy Bell's version of "Hound Dog" into his live act
• 31:32 Hound Dog and the aftermath
• 39:45 The man who punched Jefferson Davis
• 44:27 Conclusion