Leon Thomas’ soulful ballad “Mutt” joins a long line of songs with dog themes or variations of dog words in their titles to make the top 40 on the Billboard Hot 100.
While our focus here is on top 40 singles, we want to at least mention some dog-themed songs that were drawn from studio albums that reached No. 1 on the Billboard 200 – Elvis Presley’s “Old Shep” from Elvis (1956), The Monkees’ “Gonna Buy Me a Dog” from The Monkees (1966), The Beatles’ “Martha My Dear” from The Beatles (1968), Led Zeppelin’s “Bron-Y-Aur Stomp” from Led Zeppelin III (1970), Snoop Doggy Dogg’s “Doggy Dogg World” from Doggy Style (1993), Carrie Underwood’s “The More Boys I Meet” from Carnival Ride (2007), and Luke Bryan’s “Little Boys Grow Up and Dogs Get Old” from Kill the Lights (2015).
Two of the most famous dog-themed songs pre-date the 1958 arrival of the Hot 100. Patti Page’s “The Doggie in the Window” and Willie Mae “Big Mama” Thornton’s “Hound Dog” were released within a month of each other in early 1953. They couldn’t be more different, but both found success. Page’s corny but ultra-catchy novelty smash featured barking sounds by “Joe and Mac.” Thornton’s boisterous rendition of “Hound Dog” topped an early Billboard R&B chart for seven weeks. Presley’s cover version, released in 1956 as a double-sided smash with “Don’t Be Cruel,” was one of the biggest hits of the 1950s.
The success of “Mutt,” which has climbed as high as No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100, led us to look back over the years at other top 40 hits with dog themes or variations of dog words in their titles.
Dogs bring us joy, companionship and love — and they have inspired some memorable songs to boot. This does not purport to be a complete list, but it’s a healthy sampling. The list also demonstrates the surprisingly many ways in which dog words and phrases have entered the language – references to “puppy love,” “doggin’ around” and “dog days” as well as the PG-rated expletive “doggone.”
The songs are listed in chronological order.
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“Puppy Love,” Paul Anka, 1960
Hot 100 peak: No. 2 in 1960
Notes: Anka wrote this oh-so-dramatic song, which deals with the intensity of young crushes. It became his fourth consecutive single to make the top five on the Hot 100, following “Lonely Boy,” “Put Your Head on My Shoulder” and “It’s Time To Cry.” In 1972, Donny Osmond recorded a cover version that reached No. 3. Anka was 18 when his original version was a smash. Osmond was even younger – just 14 – when he had the hit.
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“Doggin’ Around,” Jackie Wilson, 1960
Hot 100 peak: No. 15
Notes: This bluesy lament about an unfaithful partner was the B-side of Wilson’s top five smash “Night.” B-sides were charted separately in that era, and on its own, this made No. 15.
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“Walking the Dog,” Rufus Thomas, 1963
Hot 100 peak: No. 10
Notes: Thomas wrote this funky song, which became his biggest hit. It was voted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2020.
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“I’ll Be Doggone,” Marvin Gaye, 1965
Hot 100 peak: No. 8
Notes: Smokey Robinson co-wrote this song, which became Gaye’s second single in a row to make the top 10 on the Hot 100. The song features Robinson’s characteristically witty wordplay: “But I ever saw you running around blowing my money all over this town/ Then I wouldn’t be doggone, I’d be long gone.”
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“They’re Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Haaa!,” Napoleon XIV, 1966
Hot 100 peak: No. 3
Notes: Napoleon XIV appears to be addressing a lost love in this inane novelty record. He describes his deteriorating mental condition in the wake of her departure. However, the final verse reveals that the narrator is not addressing a woman, but rather a runaway dog: “They’ll find you yet, and when they do, they’ll put you in the ASPCA, you mangy mutt!” Samuels was concerned that the song would be seen as offensive towards those with mental and emotional problems.
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“Snoopy vs. the Red Baron,” The Royal Guardsmen, 1967
Hot 100 peak: No. 2
Notes: This novelty song about the famous dog at the center of Charles Schulz’s beloved Peanuts cartoon strip spent four weeks at No. 2 in 1967. The Royal Guardsmen, a Florida garage band, didn’t have permission to record a song based on what we would now call “valuable intellectual property,” but Schulz retroactively gave it his blessing. It was a less litigious time.
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“Doggone Right,” Smokey Robinson & The Miracles, 1969
Hot 100 peak: No. 32
Notes: Robinson clearly liked to use the word “doggone” in a song. He also co-wrote this hit for his own group. It was the follow-up to a top 10 hit, “Baby, Baby Don’t Cry.”
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“Me and You and a Dog Named Boo,” Lobo, 1971
Hot 100 peak: No. 5
Notes: This sweet song was Lobo’s first Hot 100 hit. The lines “travelin’ and livin’ off the land…how I love bein’ a free man” show how the hippie ethos had made its way to AM radio. Lobo would have two more top 10 hits in the next two years: “I’d Love You to Want Me” in 1972 and “Don’t Expect Me To Be Your Friend” in 1973. Lobo wrote all three of these songs by himself.
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“Black Dog,” Led Zeppelin, 1972
Hot 100 peak: No. 15
Notes: Alas, this is not a song about a black Lab — the title here is a metaphor for depression. This was the highest-charting hit from Led Zeppelin IV. The album’s most classic track, “Stairway to Heaven,” was never released as a single.
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“Shannon,” Henry Gross, 1976
Hot 100 peak: No. 6
Notes: In this tearjerker, Gross remembered a beloved dog who had died. The most touching lines: “Shannon is gone, I hope she’s drifting out to sea/ She always loved to swim away/ Maybe she’ll find an island with a shaded tree/ Just like the one in our backyard.” This Beach Boys-inspired recording was Gross’ first top 40 hit on the Hot 100. The follow-up, “Springtime Mama,” also made the top 40. Gross wrote all four of his Hot 100 hits by himself.
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“Dog + Butterfly,” Heart, 1979
Hot 100 peak: No. 34
Notes: This midtempo ballad was the title track of Heart’s fourth studio album, which depicts both a dog and a butterfly on its cover. This was the follow-up to the top 15 hit “Straight On.”
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“Who Let the Dogs Out,” Baha Men, 2000
Hot 100 peak: No. 40
Notes: This was the first Hot 100 hit for the dance-junkaroo band from the Bahamas. This catchy song won a Grammy for best dance recording. The huge hook from the song soundtracked a key scene in the 2009 box office smash The Hangover.
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“Dog Days Are Over,” Florence + the Machine, 2010
Hot 100 peak: No. 21
Notes: This was Florence Welch’s first Hot 100 hit, reaching No. 21 in October 2010. A version by the cast of Glee fared nearly as well, reaching No. 22 that December. (They reacted quickly on that show.)
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“Mutt,” Leon Thomas, 2025
Hot 100 peak: #12
Notes: This old-school soul ballad is Thomas’ first Hot 100 hit. Thomas, who won a Grammy for co-writing SZA’s “Snooze,” also co-wrote this song. In an interview with Rated R&B, Thomas spoke of the song’s origins: “As I started working on the album in my new home, I began to notice similarities between my dog’s behavior and my own. … My dog is not a pure breed; he’s a mutt. … Even though my dog may sometimes make a mess in the house or bark loudly at the neighbors, I know he means well. This became a metaphor for not being a perfect partner but having good intentions.”
Great Job Paul Grein & the Team @ Billboard Source link for sharing this story.
