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. In the late 1990s, they became less active and in 2005 lead vocalist Otomo began to express interest in pursuing a solo career. This ultimately developed into a lawsuit throwing the band into a state of confusion. As of 2018, Otomo is the only official 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.