How Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’ Changed Elton John’s Life

Elton John said Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” was one of the two records that completely changed his life. The other was by another 1950s rock ‘n’ roll singer. John also revealed what he thought about Elvis’ looks. He had a similar reaction to Elvis that he had to Marilyn Monroe.

Elvis Presley’s ‘Hound Dog’ was 1 of the 1st songs Elton John’s mom bought that he loved

During a 1973 interview with Rolling Stone, John was asked if his musical career began with his band Bluesology. “Actually it all started when I became old enough to listen to records, because my mother and father collected records and the first records I ever heard were Kay Starr and Billy May and Tennessee Ernie Ford and Les Paul and Mary Ford and Guy Mitchell,” he said. I grew up in that era. I was three or four when I first started listening to records like that.

“I obviously took great interest in them, and then I went through the skiffle thing with Lonnie Donegan,” John continued. “The first records my mom brought home that I was really knocked out by were ‘Hound Dog’ and Haley’s ‘ABC Boogie.'”

The ‘Daniel’ singer knew what he wanted to do when he heard ‘Hound Dog’ and ‘ABC Boogie’

John then discussed the impact “Hound Dog” and “ABC Boogie” had on him. “They changed my life, I couldn’t believe it,” he said. “I heard Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis and that was it. I didn’t ever want to be anything else.

“I just started banging away and semi-studied classical music at the Royal Academy of Music but sort of half-heartedly,” John added. “I was never really interested in it.” John recalled that Bluesology didn’t start until he was 14 years old.

Why Elton John was interested in Elvis Presley and Marilyn Monroe

That wasn’t the last time John discussed the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. During a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone, he said he was a huge fan of both Elvis and Marilyn Monroe when he was young. He felt both of them were so beautiful they seemed like they were from another planet. When he saw a picture of Elvis in Life magazine for the first time, he immediately wanted to know who he was. He later covered “Hound Dog” in a mashup with Lewis’ “Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On,” another hugely important song from the same era.

In a similar vein, John was a fan of Monroe because she was so glamorous. In his opinion, Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor were the two most glamorous people who ever lived. He felt they both changed the world. Monroe later became the subject of “Candle in the Wind” from the album Goodbye Yellow Brick Road. If he wrote a tribute ballad to Elvis, it might be another one of his classics, although it would inevitably invite comparisons to “Candle in the Wind.”

John was a huge fan of Elvis’ looks and “Hound Dog” helped him become the rock icon he is today.