6 Chapter 5 Hound Dog

Chapter 5 "Hound Dog" Elvis's first song for RCA was about a man whose girlfriend had broken up with him. The song was slow and depressing. But Elvis sang it his way. His voice was low and quiet in parts. At other times, he shouted. The sound was raw and full of feeling. Unlike other rock songs, it wasn't fast or easy to dance to. People liked it anyway. "Heartbreak Hotel" soon came to be the most popular song in the country. That's how 1956 started for Elvis. He was just twenty-one, but he was about to change music forever. Fame was going to change his life, too. After "Heartbreak Hotel," Elvis had money — lots of money. He bought Gladys a pink Cadillac and a new house for the Presleys with a swimming pool.

Why did Elvis get so popular so fast?

Television helped. Back in those days, there were only a few channels and a few popular shows. When Elvis appeared on TV, people couldn't believe what they were seeing. Popular singers didn't wear tight jeans and tight shirts! Nobody else had a greasy ducktail. Elvis got swept up in the music as he sang. His knees would shake; he'd curl his lip in a sneer. Then he'd smile a little and shut his eyes. He'd also move his hips back and forth. Grown-ups thought this was dirty dancing. People started to call him "Elvis the Pelvis." They didn't want their kids to watch Elvis or to dress like him. "Mr. Presley has no discernible singing ability," The New York Times wrote.

Another newspaper had a headline that read: "Beware Elvis Presley." What people said hurt Elvis. He wasn't wild. He still lived with his mom and dad. He just wanted to sing and make people happy. "I don't do any vulgar movements," Elvis said to reporters. "It's just my way of expressing how I feel." Steve Allen, a famous TV host, had Elvis wear a tuxedo on his show. He told Elvis not to shake his hips. Instead, Allen had Elvis sing his song "Hound Dog" to a basset hound also wearing a tuxedo. The Ed Sullivan Show was a popular

Sunday night show. When Elvis came on, the cameras showed him only from the waist up. If he wiggled his hips or shook his legs, the viewers wouldn't see it. In the end, it didn't matter what grown-ups thought of Elvis. The time was ripe for Elvis Presley. This was the late 1950s. Some young people were starting to rebel against their parents.

Rock and roll was their music. Frank Sinatra was their parents' singer. Elvis was theirs. After "Heartbreak Hotel," the hits kept coming. "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel" went straight to number one. Elvis Presley didn't create rock and roll. Bill Haley had a big hit with "Rock Around the Clock." Chuck Berry, famous for his "duck walk" across the stage, sang "Johnny B. Goode." And Jerry Lee Lewis, who sometimes kicked away his piano bench when he played, was another rock-and-roll star. But Elvis, with his looks and voice, was much bigger than anybody else.