Songs That Were Covers: Walking the Dog

Welcome to Rock and Roll Flashback!  I'm Bill Price, and in this episode of Songs That Were Covers, I will feature Rufus Thomas, the writer and performer of his biggest hit, “Walking the Dog", and I’ll also highlight some of the subsequent covers that were released by other artists.

All podcasts on the Rock and Roll Flashback Podcast are produced by brothers-in-law Bill Price and "Jumpin' John" McDermott.  The Podcast Theme Song, "You Essay", was written by John.  It was initially recorded by Bill and John on April 1, 2004 with several revisions since then. 
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Transcript

In this episode of Songs That Were Covers, I will feature Rufus Thomas, the writer and performer of his biggest hit, “Walking the Dog. And I’ll also highlight some of the subsequent covers that were released by other artists.

Rufus Thomas was born on March 26th in 1917 in Cayce, Mississippi near Memphis, Tennessee and in 1920, the family relocated to Memphis. By the age of ten he performed as a tap dancer on the streets and in high school productions. At the age of thirteen he began working with his high school history teacher who also was a black DJ at radio station WDIA.  After high school graduation, he attended the Tennessee A&I University, but for only one semester due to economic reasons.  

Rufus then began performing in tent shows that traveled around and in 1936 he joined an all black group called the Rabbit Foot Minstrels, that toured through out the Southern US. In the group, he performed as a tap dancer and occasionally as part of a duo. By the 1940's, he started writing and performing his compositions. His debut as a singer happened at the Elks Club on Beale Street in down town Memphis, when he filled in for a singer. In the 1940's, he eventually became a regular performer in the Memphis nightclubs, including Currie’s Club Tropicana.

By 1950 at the age of thirty three, Rufus was an established Memphis performer. He then recorded his first single on Jesse Erickson’s Star Talent Label in Dallas, Texas.   Interestingly only five copies of the 78 rpm disc were sold, with Rufus purchasing four of them.  A second recording titled “I’ll Be A good Boy” fared somewhat better, getting a positive Billboard review. Later he recorded on the Bullet record label located in Nashville, Tennessee.  In 1951 he recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis for the Chess record label. However the releases were not successful. That same year he started working at radio station WDIA as a disc jockey, hosting a program titled “Hoot and Holler”. Interestingly Rufus claimed to be the first black DJ to play Elvis Presley records, until the station’s program director made him stop. However after Rufus performed with Elvis, he was allowed to resume playing Elvis’ songs.

In 1953, Rufus’ popularity in the South was increasing.  This prompted Sam Phillips at Sun Studio, to suggest that he record a song titled “Bear Cat”, as an answer to Big Mamma Thornton’s Rhythm and Blues hit titled “Hound Dog”. The single went on to become Sun’s first hit to enter the national chart, climbing to the #3 position on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues chart. However due to legal issues with the publisher of “Hound Dog”, Sam then decided to concentrate solely on white artists. Rufus did not have any additional recording activity until 1956, when he had a single titled “I’m Steady Hold On”.

By 1960, Rufus began recording at Stax Records in Memphis.  In 1961 the song titled  “The Dog” was released, that managed to achieve #87 on the US Pop Chart and #22 on the R&B Chart. A follow up single to “The Dog” was “Walking The Dog”, which reached the #10 position on the US Pop Chart in 1963.

Have mercy; here is Rufus Thomas and “Walking the Dog”.

In early 1964, The Rolling Stones recorded a version of  “Walking The Dog” which appeared on the band’s debut album. Since Stones guitarist Brian Jones was a fan of US soul and Rhythm and Blues music, he was instrumental in the band’s early music repertoire and sound.  Brian’s influence led The Rolling Stones to record a cover of  “Walking The Dog”.

After The Rolling Stones’ version, several other notable artists also recorded cover versions of “Walking The Dog”. Interestingly, the only hit version in the UK was the band called The Dennisons. In 1964 their cover reached the #36 position in the UK singles Chart. Interestingly, The Grateful Dead performed the song in 1966, 1970 and during the mid 1980's.

In 1964, Johnny Rivers began performing at the Whiskey A Go Go in Los Angeles, California. Johnny covered several hit songs by Chuck Berry, The Four Tops, Smokey Robinson & the Miracles and Rufus Thomas. Even with the British invasion, his popularity increased with regular appearances and a live recording of a performance the Whiskey A Go Go. The first album, titled Johnny Rivers at the Whiskey a Go Go, included a cover of “Walking The Dog”. Rivers also recorded and released four additional live albums, which were also recorded at the nightclub. 

Here is Johnny River’s cover of “Walking The Dog”, from the live recording at the Whisky A Go Go.

In January 1973 Aerosmith recorded and released their debut album titled Aerosmith, which peaked at the #21 position on the Billboard 200 album chart. Interestingly, the album contained only eight tracks, one being a cover of Thomas’ “Walking The Dog”.

Here is an excerpt of Aerosmith’s cover version of “Walking The Dog”.

In 1975, Rodger Daltrey of the Who, recorded a solo album titled Ride a Rock Horse, which included a cover of “Walking The Dog”.  The album was released in the UK and the US, plus three singles from the album were released including  “Walking The Dog”, which peaked at #52 on the UK Singles Chart.

Here is an excerpt of Rodger Daltrey’s cover of  “Walking The Dog”.

In 1964, The Rolling Stones made their first US concert appearance at the Swing Auditorium in San Bernardino, California. I was among the five thousand fans who attended the concert on June 5th. At that time their set list consisted mainly of covers of Chuck Berry, Buddy Holly, Rufus Thomas and Rhythm and Blues hits. It was ironic that the Stones’ first US performance took place in the city whose name is mentioned in the lyrics of one of the cover songs  “Route 66”. When the Stones played  “Route 66”, the audience went absolutely wild, especially when San Bernardino was mentioned. In podcast episode 13, I reviewed the history of the Swing Auditorium, one of the west coast venues. Also episode 195 highlights the story behind the song “Route 66” and the cover versions.

I’ll conclude the podcast with The Rolling Stones’ 1964 version of  “Walking The Dog”.

This been a look back at “Walking The Dog”, one of the Songs That Were Covers on Rock and Roll Flashback. And until next time, I’m your host Bill Price.