In some ways, this classic early rock ‘n’ roll song, Hound Dog,” has become a lightning rod at the center of an unwinnable debate. It has become Big Mama Thornton against Elvis Presley. While the song ...

Thankfully he was rescued from the sinking ship — the Andrea Doria, on which 43 others lost their lives — and brought to shore in New York, where his songwriting partner, Jerry Leiber, awaited him ...