Elvis presley, version of Hound dog Essay Example

Elvis presley, version of Hound dog Essay Example Elvis presley, version of Hound dog Paper Elvis presley, version of Hound dog Paper As most of us know, Elvis Preserve, Hound Dog was one of his most famous singles, however there are many people that do not know of the original written by Willie Mae, Big Mamma Thornton. Why did Elvis have more commercial success with his version? Big Mamma Thorns version was released just four years before Elvis and was number one for seven weeks. Rather than it being recorded as a pop song, it was a blues/Ran single. The tonality of this version is dramatically telling of the introduction of blues music into the mainstream in the early asss. In the same ear of her release two major political events changed the history of the U. S and the world. Firstly the NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) approved their European army. The organization, which Involved Great Brutal and the U. S. Was constructed to protect the freedom of the North Atlantic community against the Soviet union during the Cold war. The Cold war was a consequence of the Korean War. The second major event was Americas first use of the Hydrogen bomb in Antennae. Which was ordered to be developed by President Truman only a couple of years before. The old war effected citizens by putting restrictions on political views, such as communism. Thoughts of communism remained within secret groups as a result could lead to arrest or death. Also the restrictions affected all the arts, as there was lots of censorship, this militant way of life, meant that families at the time were very straight in their decisions and appearance. Only four years after World War two into the early years of the Cold War, the world experienced a dramatic Increase in population, 77 million babies were born from 1946-1964 in America alone. This was ladled The Baby Boom. This new generation of babies were the focus of marketing campaigns and business plans. It was around the same year of Hound dogs first release, that the color T. V was created, but many homes didnt own one. This could suggest that in this decade music and artists such as Big Momma Thornton could receive wider coverage across a bigger audience due to the accessibility. Many commercials between 1950-1960 did not feature the songs of popular musicians; it was more the nature and image created by the adverts that affected the audiences assign and musical taste. For example popular products that were advertised were cigarettes and hair products for men and cleaning and cooking products for women. You can see that the image of the typical man and women in these adverts, correlate with the popular musicians of that time such as Little Richard, Buddy holly and Elvis Presley. Elvis version of the song was sonically very different to the original and to recordings he had done previously, as well as the way he performed before. One of Elvis first television performances, on the Milton Berne Show in 1956 was deemed ere controversial due to the overtly sexual hip thrusts. This sexual performance was the first of Its kind, and with It being able to be viewed wealth the homes of conservative families, the impact it had on young teens was significant. Elvis was believed to named the first frontal of rock and roll, therefore creating a new era of music and fashion. As well as changing the style and performance of the song Elvis also changed and added some of the lyrics. The line, you anti never caught a rabbit and you anti no friend of mine, was added to the original. However the argument of track after seeing Freddie and The Bellboys perform it in L. A. Although theres speculation as to who wrote this lyric, Elvis did step in as a producer for this track and was known to change the line Well you said you was a high class which was repeated twice, to, Well you said you was a high class but that was Just a lie. How has Elvis version of hound dog had an impact on culture today? Firstly some may argue that Elvis was the creator of Rock n Roll. Although he wasnt the first to sing in his style, he popularized the style with this single, making it go to number one for eleven weeks which was a new record for its time. Elvis did manage to, however combine different musical genres and gave rockabilly a new sound. Elvis fused the country-western music of the South with the rhythm and blues of African Americans and the pop music that dictated the radio and recording industries. Others may say that his integration of genres, causing a new movement in music Just prior to the civil rights movement, may also be the reason for his great success.