BARRY LEVINE: Songs for the Dog Days of sunmer

Believe it or not, the Dog Days of August have absolutely nothing to do with our canine friends.

The concept started when the ancient Romans noticed that the hottest days of the year were in late July and early August. It coincided with the appearance of Sirius — the Dog Star, in the same part of the sky as the Sun.

Hence, the Dog Days of August.

To honor the Dog Days, here are nine songs with dog or a derivative of the word in the title. It’s also to remind Dougherty County School System students that schools open on Tuesday. Goodbye, summer vacation.

“Oh Where, Oh Where, Has My Little Dog Gone?” is a mournful song that is popular among children. The lyrics and music were composed and published in 1864 — more than 150 years ago — by the Philadelphia-born critic, composer, arranger and music publisher Septimus Winner.

The song has been performed by many.

Patti Page, the “Singing Rage,” had her fourth and final No. 1 hit in 1953 with ”How Much is That Doggie in the Window?” She was the top-charting female vocalist and best-selling female artist during the 1950s and sold more than 100 million records during her glittering career. Page’s biggest hit was “Tennessee Waltz” in 1950.

Elvis Presley had the most successful two-sided hit in rock history in the summer of 1956 with “Hound Dog” and “Don’t Be Cruel.” Written by Jerry Lieber and Mike Stoller, “Hound Dog” reached No. 2 while “Don’t Be Cruel” was No. 1 for seven weeks. The two titles spent a combined 55 weeks in the Top 100.

No other artist in the rock era, not even The Beatles, had a double-sided hit that could challenge the cumulative chart performance of “Hound Dog” and “Don’t Be Cruel.”

Big Mama Thornton, an R&B singer, was the first to record “Hound Dog” in 1952. It became her biggest hit, spending seven weeks at No. 1 on the R&B chart.

“Bird Dog” became the fourth of the Everly Brothers’ 13 Top 10 hits when it soared to No. 2 in 1958. The dynamic duo had three No. 1 hits – “Wake up Little Susie” in 1957, “All I Have to do is Dream” in 1958, and Cathy’s Clown” in 1959.

“Bird Dog” was written by written by Boudleaux Bryant, of Shellman. He also wrote other Everly Brothers’ hits, including “Bye Bye Love” and “All I Have to do is Dream.”

While many thought there was a connection between Elvis Presley’s “Hound Dog” and Fabian’s “Hound-Dog Man,” in actuality there was none.

“Hound-Dog Man” was a 1959 movie starring Fabian, who also performed the title song in the film. The movie was based on Fred Gipson’s 1947 novel.

“Hound-Dog Man” was the last of the Philadelphia teen’s three Top 10 hits. The others were “Turn Me Loose” and “Tiger,” also in 1959.

One of the more talented entertainers of the early rock era, Paul Anka, who celebrated his 75th birthday on Saturday, notched 33 Top 40 hits spanning more than two decades.

One off his best-known hits was “Puppy Love,” which climbed to No. 2 in 1960.

During his career, which has spanned six decades, Anka had three No. 1 hits – “Diana” in 1957, “Lonely Boy” in 1959 and ”Having My Baby” in 1974.

The Canadian-born Anka is an accomplished composer having done songs for Bobby Darin, Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson, as well as Frank Sinatra’s signature song “My Way.” He also appeared in more than 20 movies.

Rufus Thomas was a rhythm and blues, funk, soul and blues singer from Memphis, Tenn. He is best known for his novelty dance records including “Walking the Dog” in 1963, “Do the Funky Chicken” in 1969 and “Do the Push and Pull” in 1970. “Walking the Dog” was Thomas’ only Top 10 hit, reaching No. 9.

He is the father of R&B singer Carla Thomas, who had a Top 10 hit with “Gee Whiz” in 1960. They also recorded several albums together.

One of the most gifted and enduring talents launched by the Motown hit machine, Marvin Gaye blazed the trail for the continued evolution of popular black music, moving from, powerful.R&B to classy soul.

One of his biggest hits came in 1965 when “I’ll Be Doggone” climbed into the Top 10 at No. 8. It was one of his 13 Top 10 hits, three of which reached No. 1 – “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” in 1966, “Let’s Get It on” in 1973 and “Got to Give It up” in 1977,

Roland Kent LaVoie, known professionally as Lobo, hit No. 5 with his first song “Me and You and a Dog Named Boo” in 1971.

Lobo followed with his last two Top 10 hits in 1972 with “I’d Love You to Want Me” and “Don’t Expect Me to be Your Friend.”

This week in rock history — Jim Reeves, whose biggest hit was “He’ll Have to Go” in 1960, was killed when the small plane he was piloting crashed near Nashville, Tenn., on July 31, 1964. He was 39. … After nine weeks as the No. 1 song, Johnny Horton’s “The Battle Of New Orleans” was pushed from the top spot on Aug. 1, 1959, by Paul Anka’s “Lonely Boy.” … “Look” magazine reported on Aug. 2, 1956, that Elvis Presley’s records have grossed more than $6 million and that the singer received more than 3,000 fan letters a week. … “A Big Hunk of Love” became Presley’s 14th straight Gold record on Aug. 3, 1959.

The Platters notched their second No. 1 hit with their version of “My Prayer” on Aug. 4, 1956. The song was originally a French tune written in 1926 by Georges Boulanger called “Avant de Mourir.” … Jan Berry of Jan And Dean was accidentally knocked from a camera car and broke his leg on the first day of shooting the film “Easy Come, Easy Go” on Aug. 5, 1965. Seventeen were hurt, causing Paramount to cancel the movie. … Sam The Sham And The Pharaohs topped the charts with “Lil’ Red Riding Hood” on Aug. 6, 1966.

Barry Levine is an entertainment writer for The Albany Herald. He can be reached at [email protected].