Hound Dog

The Recording Industry Association of America eventually certified "Hound Dog" as one of the best-selling singles of all time, but the record that started it all belonged to Big Mama Thornton. Her original version, released by Peacock Records in late February 1953, sold more than 500,000 copies and spent fourteen weeks on the R&B charts, seven of them at number one. It was the only hit record Thornton ever had. The songwriters, Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, had composed it the previous day in twelve to fifteen minutes, with Leiber scribbling the lyrics in pencil in the car on the way to Stoller's apartment. They had been introduced to Thornton by bandleader Johnny Otis, who wanted to reverse her fortunes after two failed singles on Peacock.

The recording session took place at Radio Recorders Annex in Los Angeles on August 13, 1952. When the drummer struggled to capture the feel Otis had created in rehearsal, Leiber suggested Otis play drums himself, and the bandleader agreed to let the two young songwriters run the session. Because Otis was under contract elsewhere, he took the pseudonym "Kansas City Bill", so the label credited "Kansas City Bill & Orchestra" alongside guitarist Pete "Guitar" Lewis and bass player Mario Delagarde.

During rehearsal, Thornton sang the song as a ballad, which was not what the writers intended. Leiber, intimidated by her size and facial scarring, protested anyway, and Thornton glared at him and told him not to tell her how to sing the blues. He then sang it himself to demonstrate, and she agreed to try their approach.