Freddie Bell, at 76; rocker's cover versions inspired Elvis

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.