by Associated PressFebruary 16, 2008
Las Vegas - Freddie Bell, a forerunner in the 1950s
rock 'n' roll era whose toe-tapping versions of
"Giddy Up A Ding Dong" and "Hound Dog" inspired
Elvis Presley to cover the songs, has died. He was
76. Mr. Bell died late Sunday in a Las Vegas
hospital of complications from cancer, said his
publicist Norm Johnson.
Mr. Bell was performing at the Sands casino-hotel
on the Las Vegas Strip in the mid-1950s when
Presley was just an opening act across the street
at the New Frontier. Bell's upbeat covers, and
perhaps his knee-wiggling dance moves, inspired
Presley, Johnson said. "He loved Freddie's version,"
Johnson said. "He added new words and a better
beat." Mr. Bell went to Las Vegas in 1953 from his
hometown of Philadelphia and was considered one of
the great lounge acts of the time, alongside the
trio of Sam Butera, Louis Prima, and Keely Smith,
Johnson said. He was good friends with some of the
most popular performers of the era. Mr. Bell also
appeared in a number of films, including 1956's
"Rock Around the Clock," starring Bill Haley.
