Originalet spelades ursprungligen in av Big Mama Thornton den 13 augusti 1952 i Los Angeles och gavs ut sent i februari 1953. ”Hound Dog” var en stor hit och låg 14 veckor på Billboards R&B lista, varav 7 veckor som nummer ett.
Recorded originally by Willie Mae "Big Mama" Thornton on August 13, 1952, in Los Angeles and released by Peacock Records in late February 1953, "Hound Dog" was Thornton's only hit record, selling over 500,000 copies, spending 14 weeks in the R&B charts, including seven weeks at number one.WikiMatrix WikiMatrix