Elvis Presley's instant popularity led TV shows and programs to score a chance to feature him, but one show left him extremely furious.
Immediately after his debut, Presley became a renowned singer due to his consecutive No. 1 hits in the 1950s, including "Heartbreak Hotel" and "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You." While the world fell in love with his charm and voice, several TV hosts did not feel the same way toward him.
Elvis Presley Humiliated During Live TV Appearance
As recounted by Express UK, Presley appeared on the "Steve Allen Show" on July 2, 1956, before the recording of his track "Hound Dog" the next day. Far from the best experience everyone expected, the late King of Rock and Roll was instead shamed during the live broadcast.
Allen persuaded Presley's manager, Colonel Parker, to make the singer appear in his show in a respectable manner, leading the "Jailhouse Rock" to arrive in his evening suit and bow tie. Before that particular episode, the show's host had mocked the genre on air and called Presley "talentless and absurd."
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During the July 2 episode, he performed a musical skit with the singer and Andy Griffith in which they made fun of several TV shows.
The host soon presented a large basset hound and made Presley sing the track to it. The mockery soon made him feel angry after he allowed others to belittle him like that.
"It was the most ridiculous appearance I ever did and I regret ever doing it," he said, with his guitarist Scotty Moore also calling the event an insult.
Elvis Presley's "Hound Dog" Issue
Although Presley's track became a hit song, he was bombarded with criticisms as he was accused of stealing it from the original singer, Big Mama Thornton.
The story was featured in Baz Luhrmann's Presley biopic, "Elvis," revealing that Big Mama Thornton performed it before Presley "released it," sparking rumors that the King stole it.
Meanwhile, songwriters Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller assured the public they wrote it for Thornton, though Stoller clarified in an interview with the Rolling Stone Music Now podcast that the rumor was misguided and that Presley knew about Thornton's version of the song.
"It didn't have the groove that Big Mama's record had, which was fantastic," the songwriter said. "That's true of not only Big Mama, but many black performers and songwriters."
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