Re: "Bootlegging Real Psubs"

["Gregory Snyder" <snyde032@tc.umn.edu>]

Again, Phil, I find myself thinking...I don't want to be LIKE you,  I want
to BE YOU...
God bless the King

sincerely
Greg
----- Original Message -----
From: Phil Nuytten <72020.572@compuserve.com>
To: <personal_submersibles@psubs.org>
Sent: Tuesday, June 29, 1999 1:29 AM
Subject: "Bootlegging Real Psubs"


> Holy ballistic pralines, Miz Ginger!!!
>         You can ( and should be)  skeptical of anything I say about
> submersibles, 'cause you don't know me from Colonel Sanders . . .but to
> literally stomp on the cape of the departed and sorely missed 'King of
Rock
> and Roll' . .and to accuse poor, dead, Elvis  of  > bootlegging(snip) many
> other's music that he stole<  and, sacrilege of sacrileges, > BOOTLEGGING
> 'HOUND DOG'<  Well, that's going too far! For your enlightenment and
> soulful inspiration:
>         'Hound Dog' was written by two white, male, teenagers named Mike
> Stoller and Jerry Lieber - in 1952/53. ( Lieber and Stoller went on to
> become as well-known among songwriters as E'vis was to his fans!)  'Hound
> Dog' was first recorded on the Duke/Peacock label by "Big Mama" ( Willie
> Mae) Thornton  in a style called 'Rhumba Boogie' - it didn't sound much
> like the version you know. After that 1953 recording, the cut was fair
game
> for any performer who wished to cover it - with appropriate royalty
> payments to Lieber & Stoller, of course. 'Hound Dog' was further
> popularized by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys in 1955 - they used a rock
and
> roll version in their Las Vegas lounge act at the Sands and that's the
> version that E'vis liked and his subsequent cover was much closer to this
> arrangement than to the Latin-influenced R&B of Big Mama Thornton
>         E'vis recorded 'Hound Dog' at the RCA studio in New York, on July
> 2nd 1956. Back-up vocals were done by the Jordanaires, Scotty Moore on
lead
> guitar, Bill Black on Bass, 'Shorty' Long on piano, and D.J. Fontana on
> drums. The session engineer was Ernie Ulrich. The version that went on to
> become multi-million selling hit was take  #28 of 31 takes. 'Hound Dog'
hit
> the number one position on the charts on August 18th,  1956, and by
> September 22nd, 1956, it was number one in all 'Billboard" categories;
Top
> 100/Best store seller/ Most played by DJ's/Most juke box play.
>         As far as 'the King' bootlegging this song, or 'stealing' it from
a
> writer, or claiming to have written or co-written it . . .well. it just
> aint so. Steve Sholes, (the RCA representative) and Colonel Tom Parker (
> E'vis' manager) negotiated with Lieber and Stoller  to release one third
of
> their mechanical royalties in return for having an 'old' song ( in the
> sense that it had probably done as good, economically, as it was going to
> do for them) released in a more contemporary arrangement and performed by
a
> proven, multi-million selling artist. That decision was a prudent business
> one for L&S, and 'Hound Dog' became a major revenue producer for them, as
a
> result.
>         When you say 'bootlegging' in the same breath as E'vis, perhaps
you
> are thinking of songwriters like Otis Blackwell or Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman .
> .these songwriters did give 'Elvis Presley Music' credit for co-writing (
> EPM was set up by Sholes and Parker for that specific reason) in order to
> get their cuts recorded. These deals were agreed by the parties and were
> neither negotiated nor arranged by E'vis. In Blackwell's  case, at least,
> this arrangement was ultimately rectified to his satisfaction, albeit many
> years later.
>
>         My, My, . .This has wandered far from the original subject of ol'
> Charlie planning to do the nasty on Capt'n George . .but a slur on the
good
> name of 'The King' is a smirch on Tupelo and Memphis -  and a besmirched
> Memphis is a slap in the face to the entire South and since I hail from
the
> South ( Southern B.C.) it's just impossible to let such potential
> villifyin' go unchallenged!!
>
>         Jeez, I can't remember where I left my car keys an' I'm too damn
> busy to look for them . .but I remember the Rock and Roll stuff and I can
> always seem to make time to look these things up . . .I guess it's 'cause
I
> enjoy it so much . .
>
> This is not a bar-b-qued rib, but it is a rib, non the less,
> Best Regards, Ginger,
> Phil Nuytten
>