Elvis Presley Gold Standard 447-0608 Hound Dog/Don’t Be Cruel VG/EX

$

43

Artist: Elvis Presley

Release: RCA Victor 447-0608 Hound Dog / Don't Be Cruel (45) Dog On Side

Release Date: 4/1964

Gold Standard Series

Picture sleeve is in VG condition with ring wear and wrinkles. Review photos and ask any question. Labels and vinyl in beautiful excellent condition with just a little wear on the Don’t Be Cruel label. I think was factory issue. No returns or refunds. I’ve read that the dog on side version is fairly rare but I’ve seen several.

“Hound Dog" has been recorded more than 250 times. The best-known version is the July 1956 recording by Elvis Presley, which ranked number 19 on Rolling Stone's list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time in 2004, but was excluded from the revised list in 2021 in favor of Thornton's version; it is also one of the best-selling singles of all time. Presley's version, which sold about 10 million copies globally, was his best-selling song and "an emblem of the rock 'n' roll revolution". It was simultaneously number one on the US pop, country, and R&B charts in 1956, and it topped the pop chart for 11 weeks—a record that stood for 36 years. Presley's 1956 RCA recording was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 1988, and it is listed as one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's "500 Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll".

"Hound Dog" has been at the center of controversies and several lawsuits, including disputes over authorship, royalties, and copyright infringement by the many answer songs released by such artists as Rufus Thomas and Roy Brown. From the 1970s onward, the song has been featured in numerous films.

"Don't Be Cruel" was the first song that Elvis Presley's song publishers, Hill & Range, brought to him to record. Otis Blackwell was more than happy to give up 50% of the royalties and a co-writing credit to Presley to ensure that the "hottest new singer around covered it". But unfortunately he had already sold the song for only $25 ($289 in 2024), as he stated in an interview of American Songwriter.

Freddy Bienstock, Presley's music publisher, gave the following explanation for why Presley received co-writing credit for songs like "Don't Be Cruel". "In the early days Elvis would show dissatisfaction with some lines and he would make alterations, so it wasn't just what is known as a 'cut-in'. His name did not appear after the first year. But if Presley liked the song, the writers would be offered a guarantee of a million records and they would surrender a third of their royalties to Elvis'."

Presley recorded the song on July 2, 1956, during an exhaustive recording session at RCA Victor Studios in New York City. During this session he also recorded "Hound Dog", and "Any Way You Want Me". The song featured Presley's band of Scotty Moore on lead guitar (with Presley usually providing rhythm guitar), Bill Black on double bass, D. J. Fontana on drums, Shorty Long on piano, and backing vocals from the Jordanaires. The producing credit was given to RCA's Stephen H. Sholes, although the studio recordings reveal that Presley produced the songs in this session by selecting the song, reworking the arrangement on piano, and insisting on 28 takes before he was satisfied with it. He also ran through 31 takes of "Hound Dog".