HOUND DOG

Hound Dog is a Japanese rock band formed in 1976 that is centered around Kohei Otomo. Examples of popular songs include "ff (Fortissimo)" (1985) (Japanese: 「ff（フォルティシモ）」, Hepburn: "ff (Forutishimo)"), "Only Love" (1988) and "BRIDGE~When Crossing the Bridge~" (1992) (Japanese: 「BRIDGE〜あの橋をわたるとき〜」, Hepburn: "BRIDGE~ano hashi wo wataru toki~"). During the second half of the 1980s the band boasted a tremendous effort of touring Japan with a series of live performances. Beginning with the latter half of the 1990s they entered a sort of recession, which was since 2005 accompanied for a while by vocalist Otomo wanting to separate from other band members in order to pursue a solo career. This ultimately developed into a lawsuit throwing the band into a state of confusion. As of 2018, Otomo is now but the only actual member left in the band. In the United States, Hound Dog are best known for the single "R★O★C★K★S", one of the opening themes to the Naruto anime.