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Miley Cyrus Honors Elvis and Big Mama Thornton with Electric "Hound Dog" Cover
The former The Voice coach let loose with the energetic cover.
Miley Cyrus used her raspy voice for greatness yet again.
A decade ago, during Cyrus' "Bangerz" tour, the former The Voice coach sang a cover of the blues classic "Hound Dog," originally recorded by Big Mama Thornton and famously covered by Elvis Presley.
During her version, she owned the stage with pure energy, showing off her sassy dance moves and revving up the crowd.
Check out her epic rendition here.
This isn't the only time that Cyrus has derived inspiration from The King. For her music video for her 2017 song "Younger Now," she did a spot-on Elvis impression. More specifically, she slicked her hair back and danced with her guitar in a rhinestone jumpsuit, and channeled his puppet show scene from his 1960 film G.I. Blues.
Cyrus' fondness of Elvis traces back to multiple generations in her family. Cyrus once told Billy Idol that her grandmother was a massive Elvis fan, and had a collection of of Polaroids from standing in line for three days to see him concert back in the '60s.
Meanwhile, Cyrus' father Billy Ray gave his daughter replicas of Elvis’ cars and motorcycles, and Cyrus even had an Elvis shrine that she would say goodnight to every night.
“I think that that maybe could have been dangerous, if we woulda met. It’s probably a good thing,” Cyrus jokingly told Idol. “I would hope that I would’ve been his ex-wife or something, sitting here.”
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What to know about "Hound Dog" by Big Mama Thornton — and covered by Elvis
Originally written for and recorded by Thornton in 1953, it hit Number 1 on Billboard's R&B chart. Presley's 1956 version would go on to sell 10 million copies and spending 11 weeks on the number one position on the U.S. pop, country, and R&B charts (per American Songwriter).
That year, Elvis performed "Hound Dog" on The Milton Berle Show, debuting his signature hip-shaking dance moves that helped launch his name into the spotlight.
"I think he was getting that attitude from a singer like Big Mama Thornton, who was projecting that in her song,” NYU professor Maureen Mahon told The Washington Post.
"It caused outrage among parents and censors, but his screaming fans couldn't get enough," TODAY wrote of the performance 66 years later while listing "Hound Dog" as the 17th best Elvis Presley song.
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