Last summer we went to Memphis as part of our vacation and while there we toured Sun Records. During the tour presentation they talked a lot about how Elvis and other white performers did their own versions of songs that had previously been recorded by black singers. This version by Big Mama Thornton was one of the ones that was particularly given as an example - she did it first and then later Elvis took it and did a version that was more "acceptable" to white audiences.
You definitely can sense the raw energy in this version. Its not that Elvis didn't have energy in his, but there is an authentic edge and intensity here that may have been a bit much for polite white society. Elvis scared them enough as it was!
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