"Hound Dog" is a twelve-bar blues written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller and originally recorded by Willa Mae "Big Mama" Thornton in 1952. Other early versions illustrate the differences among blues, country, and rock and roll in the mid 1950s. The 1956 remake by Elvis Presley is the best known version. This is the version that is #19 on Rolling Stone's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. "Hound Dog" was also recorded by 5 country singers in 1953 alone, and over 26 times through 1964.
The North American Aviation Corporation AGM-28 Hound Dog was a supersonic, jet powered, air-launched cruise missile. The Hound Dog was initially given the designation B-77, later re-designated GAM-77, and finally being designated AGM-28. Hound Dog was originally envisioned as a temporary stand off weapon for the B-52, to be used until the AGM-48 Skybolt air launched ballistic missile could be deployed. Instead the Skybolt was canceled and the Hound Dog was deployed for 15 years until the missile was replaced by newer weapons including the AGM-69 SRAM and the AGM-86 ALCM.
