‘Hound Dog’ — Elvis Presley
Willie Mae Thornton’s “Big Mama” Thornton scored a success with this song before Elvis Presley recorded it. The Rolling Stone top 500 list ranked the King of Rock and Roll version at number 19. He included it in his 1956 setlist after seeing Freddie Bell and the Bellboys sing it in Las Vegas. Presley famously serenaded a dog dressed in a top hat on the Steve Allen Show later that year. “It was a ridiculous appearance I ever did, and I regret ever doing it,” he admitted, and “Hound Dog” went on to become his best-selling single. It has now become one of the best-selling singles of all time.
‘Hound Dog’ — Elvis Presley
‘Rock Around The Clock’ — Bill Haley And The Comets
While this is a rock ‘n’ roll classic, Bill Haley’s and the Comets’ versions are the most well-known. In 1954, the band released it to critical acclaim. It topped the charts in both the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as in the United States. This is owing in part to its appearance in the opening credits of The Blackboard Jungle. The Guardian named the song “the world’s first rock anthem” and it triggered riots in cinemas and schools. It could even be claimed to have set the path for modern pop music.
‘Rock Around The Clock’ — Bill Haley And The Comets
