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In 1956, Elvis Presley appeared on The Steve Allen Show and sang to a basset hound. Allen was visibly delighted by the situation, but Elvis didn’t seem as keen. He was stiff and uncomfortable, but, as a people pleaser, he agreed to the spectacle. He would later go on to describe it as the most embarrassing moment of his career.

Elvis Presley sang to a dog on ‘The Steve Allen Show’

Ahead of Elvis’ performance on The Steve Allen Show, Elvis met Sherlock, a basset hound wearing a bow tie and top hat. In a rehearsal, Sherlock ignored him entirely, and Allen encouraged him to “get to know” her. 

A black and white picture of Elvis pointing at a dog wearing a top hat and sitting on a box.
Elvis Presley and Sherlock | NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

During the actual performance, Elvis took the stage in a suit and began to sing, likely to no one’s surprise, “Hound Dog” to Sherlock. According to Graceland, Elvis would go on to describe this performance as “the most embarrassing moment of his career.” Still, he went through with it good-naturedly. According to Gordon Stoker, a singer in The Jordanaires, Elvis’ backing group, he never would have turned down the proposal, no matter how humiliating.

“He always did the best he could with whatever situation he was given,” Stoker said, per the book Last Train to Memphis: The Rise of Elvis Presley by Peter Guralnick, “and he never, ever insulted anybody.”

NBC worried Elvis would behave inappropriately

Elvis had to sing to Sherlock because of the controversy he’d sparked during a performance on The Milton Berle Show. His dance moves outraged viewers, and people demanded that Allen cancel the performance. 

“There has been a demand that I cancel him from our show,” he said. “As of now he is still booked for July 1, but I have not come to a final decision on his appearance. If he does appear, you can rest assured that I will not allow him to do anything that will offend anyone.”

NBC wanted to avoid a similar situation without having to cancel their popular guest. As a result, they told him to avoid moving while he sang.

“Well, you know, a couple of weeks ago on The Milton Berle Show, our next guest, Elvis Presley, received a great deal of attention, which some people seem to interpret one way and some viewers interpret it another,” Allen said when he introduced Elvis. “Naturally, it’s our intention to do nothing but a good show.” 

Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’ was a cover

While “Hound Dog” is synonymous enough with Elvis that NBC had him singing to a real dog, his version of the song was a cover. Big Mama Thornton originally recorded the song in 1952. After Elvis saw Freddie Bell and the Bellboys perform the song at the Sands in Las Vegas, he decided to play his own version in his shows.

“Hound Dog” quickly became Elvis’ closing number in his concerts, with concertgoers clamoring for him to sing it. It has since become one of his most recognizable songs.

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