{"id":739880,"date":"2026-07-02T23:44:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T23:44:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/739880\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T23:44:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T23:44:09","slug":"70-years-ago-today-elvis-presley-recorded-the-controversial-single-that-shattered-records-and-sparked-riots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/739880\/","title":{"rendered":"70 Years Ago Today, Elvis Presley Recorded the Controversial Single That Shattered Records and Sparked Riots"},"content":{"rendered":"

In June 1956, a young man from Tupelo, Mississippi named Elvis Presley generated nationwide buzz with his appearance<\/a> on The Milton Berle Show. The night\u2019s most memorable moment came during Presley\u2019s cover of \u201cHound Dog\u201d, a blues number written by\u00a0Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and recorded in 1952 by Big Mama Thornton. The burgeoning superstar sparked a moral panic with his hips alone, leaving teenage girls swooning and a Catholic publication declaring, \u201cBeware of Elvis Presley.\u201d <\/p>\n

Controversy often equals ratings, however, and NBC\u2019s The Steve Allen Show booked Presley for a July 1, 1956 appearance. Nonetheless, Allen was etermined to assuage the fears of concerned parents. So he introduced a \u201cnew Elvis\u201d\u2014dressed in formal attire and serenading a basset hound wearing a top hat. (Yes, really<\/a>.)<\/p>\n

\t\t\tVideos by American Songwriter\t\t<\/p>\n

Furious and humiliated by the performance, Presley headed to New York City\u2019s RCA Victor Studio the following day (July 2, 1956). With the backing of the popular Jordanaires quartet, he recorded \u201cHound Dog\u201d, \u201cAny Way You Want Me\u201d and \u201cDon\u2019t Be Cruel\u201d.<\/p>\n

Elvis Presley Sent a Message With \u201cHound Dog\u201d<\/p>\n

According to his longtime guitarist, Scotty Moore, Elvis Presley channeled his frustration<\/a> into the snarling, rollicking version of \u201cHound Dog\u201d that most fans know and love today.<\/p>\n

It reportedly took 31 takes to perfect, but when all was said and done, this much was clear\u2014Presley would never be censored again.<\/p>\n

He declared as much at an outdoor concert in Memphis a few days later. There, Presley announced, \u201cYou know, those people in New York are not gonna change me none. I\u2019m gonna show you what the real Elvis is like tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\tPlay video<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\"Play\"\/<\/p>\n

\u201cThe real Elvis\u201d would prove to be a massive hit. Released July 13, 1956, \u201cHound Dog\u201d simultaneously topped the U.S. pop, country and R&B charts. It spent 11 weeks at number one on the pop charts\u2014a record that stood for 36 years.<\/p>\n

[RELATED: The Top 20 Album Elvis Presley Openly Made Fun of While He Recorded It, Marking an Important Change in His Career]<\/a><\/p>\n

It Drove Crowds Crazy<\/p>\n

\u201cHound Dog\u201d marked the beginning of Elvis Presley\u2019s status as a cultural phenomenon.<\/p>\n

As Moore later recalled, \u201cHe\u2019d start out, \u2018You ain\u2019t nothin\u2019 but a Hound Dog,\u2019 and they\u2019d just go to pieces. They\u2019d always react the same way. There\u2019d be a riot every time.\u201d<\/p>\n

That wasn\u2019t a metaphor. The National Guard sent 50 members to Presley\u2019s September 1956 performance at the Mississippi\u2013Alabama Fair and Dairy Show to help maintain crowd control.<\/p>\n

\u201cHound Dog\u2019s\u201d success surprised everyone\u2014including Presley, who once referred to it as \u201cthe silliest song he\u2019d ever sung.\u201d <\/p>\n

The King of Rock and Roll reckoned he might sell \u201c10 or 12 records right around his folks\u2019 neighborhood.\u201d<\/p>\n

In fact, \u201cHound Dog\u201d sold more than 10 million copies.<\/p>\n

Featured image by Bettmann Archive\/Getty Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"In June 1956, a young man from Tupelo, Mississippi named Elvis Presley generated nationwide buzz with his appearance…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":739881,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[105396,15762,88,216,2156],"class_list":["post-739880","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-1950s","tag-elvis-presley","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-rock-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739880","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=739880"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/739880\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/739881"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=739880"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=739880"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=739880"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}