DO I WANT TO OPEN THIS ARTICLE by making a statement (“Elvis pops up in the most unexpected places”) or by asking a question (“Just how good can one record be?”)? Last night we slipped the Coen Brothers’ Intolerable Cruelty into the DVD player and sat back to enjoy George Clooney as Miles Massey (handsome, charming, amoral) match wits with Catherine Zeta-Jones as Marilyn Rexroth (beautiful, inscrutable, equally amoral).
While the musical foundation of the movie would prove to be the early songs of Paul Simon, the opening credits featured “Suspicious Minds” in the background. Elvis in a Coen brothers’ movie? Well, why not! After all, Billy Bob Thornton is in it! *
And, despite “April, Come She Will” (the song the priest sings at the wedding ceremony) and “The Boxer,” it’s “Suspicious Minds” that sets the tone for the story that follows.
After Elvis finished singing, I put the movie on pause, turned to Berni, and said, “You know, if Elvis had been an unknown singer who recorded just one single, Suspicious Minds, and then died before he could record a follow-up, I still think I might consider him my favorite singer.”
That’s how good Suspicious Minds is.
If someone does an American remake of LOVE ACTUALLY, I want Billy Bob Thornton to play the Bill Nighy role but as an over-the-hill, formerly slightly sleazy Elvis-type rocker-cum-crooner Click To Tweet
FEATURED IMAGE: Elvis on stage at the International Hotel in Las Vegas in August 1969. Prior to adopting the white jumpsuits, his stage outfit was a modified karate gi in plain black. A portion of his live performance of Suspicious Minds was recorded and tagged onto the end of the studio recording from earlier in the year and released as a single. (Uh oh! That last statement is incorrect; refer to Anthony Britch’s comment below.)
FOOTNOTE:
* If someone decides to do an American take on Love Actually, I want Billy Bob Thornton to play the Bill Nighy role but as an over-the-hill, formerly slightly sleazy Elvis-type rocker-cum-crooner.
Mystically liberal Virgo enjoys long walks alone in the city at night in the rain with an umbrella and a flask of 10-year-old Laphroaig who strives to live by the maxim, “It ain’t what you know that gets you into trouble; it’s what you know that just ain’t so.
I’ve been a puppet, a pauper, a pirate, a poet, a pawn, and a college dropout (twice!). Occupationally, I have been a bartender, jewelry engraver, bouncer, landscape artist, and FEMA crew chief following the Great Flood of ’72 (and that was a job that I should never, ever have left).
I am also the final author of the original O’Sullivan Woodside price guides for record collectors and the original author of the Goldmine price guides for record collectors. As such, I was often referred to as the Price Guide Guru, and—as everyone should know—it behooves one to heed the words of a guru. (Unless, of course, you’re the Beatles.)
1. I know SM has been voted numerous times as the Best Elvis single ever, as well as the Fans all-time fav. Personally, I think The King’s greatest 5 yr period was ’68-’73 (Comeback-Aloha). I also think the Memphis Session was his most innovative. With that said, SM is Not my fav. Not even of his Memphis Sessions.
I was in HS when it came out & was happy it hit #1, as did “Ghetto” here in NY & on Cash Box. As a Rocker, neither were my favs. I wanted Elvis to ROCK! Best we got at that time on 45 was “Rubberneckin’.” A goody, but a B‑side.
2. Every 45 from ’69-’72 was a ballad. Finally, in ’72, we got “Burning Love.” 1st time I heard it, I thought, “Yea, a Rocker!” Right away, I could hear “I Got Stung” & “Big Hunk O’ Love” combined. Years after he passed, we find out Elvis hated the song & the GREAT Ronnie Tutt had to talk him into recording it…Tutt even produced it in absence of Jarvis! Doesn’t surprise me how good it came out, as I’m no fan of Country-bumpkin Jarvis.
Back in the day, Elvis became relevant & respected again, but us youngins all wanted to know, “Why doesn’t Elvis Rock anymore?” So much so, he was even asked that in the Madison Sq. Garden Press Conf. We all know his general, evasive response, all the while knowing full well he had BL in the vault.
When it got released, it was like an atom bomb! Personally, I think Elvis eventually came to love it. How could he Not!? Even tho BL is also not my personal fav, I would still have to say it made a bigger impact & was more memorable than SM. To this day, at least here in NY, I run into people who find out I’m a E‑fan & they say to me, “OMG, I love ‘Burning Love.’ That song kix ass!”
3. I have Never heard that reaction to SM. It’s simply too passive. It’s like comparing “Love Me Tender” to “Jailhouse” or “Hound Dog”! ANYbody could do SM & LMT. NObody could do BL, JR & HD!
So, no, I wouldn’t be a fan if SM was the only song he ever recorded. Now, if it was TTWII version, then I might concur!
D
1. For me:
Best 5‑year period is 1954–1958 with no runner-up.
Best 4‑year period is 1954–1957 with no runner-up.
Best 3‑year period is 1954–1956 with 1968–1970 as a close runner-up.
2. First time I hear “Burning Love” I thought it was the brightest record of the year (although “Long Cool Woman in a Black Dress” and “Tumbling Dice” were right up there with it). Even today, no matter where or when I hear it, I light up like no other record from the ’70s by any artist lights me up.
I would have loved it if Elvis had devoted even one-third of his sessions to recording new rockers.
But he didn’t.
3. Interesting: I never thought of “Suspicious Minds” as passive but I can see how you do. I suppose since I’ve been in that situation, I know how much hard work and heartache it takes to be passive and hang in there hoping.
I have heard lots of renditions of “Love Me Tender” and not one comes close to sounding believable except Elvis.
As for “Suspicious Minds”:
• Mark James’ original version is a great record (and the blueprint for Elvis’s version) with a mediocre vocal.
• The Fine Young Cannibals version is a fine tribute to Elvis but the vocals are a little too mannered in places.
• I want to like Dwight Yoakam’s version but it’s too... too... passive.
Rockahula, baby!
N
PS: It’s not too late for Tom Jones to record “Suspicious Minds.”
Hi Neal, caption on the picture above states “portion of his live performance of Suspicious Minds was recorded and tagged onto the end of the studio recording from earlier in the year and released as a single.” Ive not read that before. I checked Keith Flynn’s site for the specifics on the master:
January 22, 23 & 24. May 7, 1969
Extended (M) 4:27 Splice of 0:00–3:03+2:47–3:03+2:47–3:03+2:47–3:03+2:47–3:24
Faded M 4:29 Fade out 3:19–3:34 / fade in 3:34–3:47 of extended master
August 7, 1969 at United Recording in Las Vegas was the brass overdubs on the Mono and Stereo Master for the Single.
I couldn’t find any reference to part of the August 1969 live performances being added to the single. Where did you read/hear about that?
A
I have it in my head that, decades ago, I read that Felton Jarvis recorded a part of the live version of “Suspicious Minds” at the International Hotel in early August and he dubbed it onto the coda of the single. As you point out, that does not seem to be the case. But the fact that the brass parts were recorded in a studio in Vegas in August leads me to believe one of two things:
1. I am accurately remembering an article from forty-some years ago that incorrectly reported that a part of the single was recorded on stage in Las Vegas
2. I am inaccurately remembering an article from forty-some years ago that correctly reported that a part of the single was recorded at a studio in Las Vegas.
Either way, thanks for catching the error and my apologies for not looking it up. The funny thing is I’m a compulsive researcher because I haven’t trusted my memories ever since I gave up bad drugs, hard alcohol, extreme sports, and the type of women you never ever take home to meet your family.
Keep on keepin’ on!
N
1. Anthony, I concur. You are Correct. I don’t know where Mr. N got that from either…. wishful thinkin’, or a bad pipe full from back in the dayz. Checking K.Flynn’s page was a great source to do so. To the best of my knowledge, nothing was ever recorded ‘live’ for SM single. 100%, there’s nothing ‘live’ on it.
2. We’ve all heard the stories about the fade-out & fade-in: to entice radio play, or trying to capture the live build up ending, which it doesn’t, etc. Personally, I found annoying as hell from 1st listen. I actually hated the song til I saw it in TTWII… now THAT’S ELVIS & THAT’S SM!! Not that bs boring 45. Do-do-do my ars! Ya hear more of the Sweet Inspirations (who I love) than you do The King.
3. I can play devil’s advocate either way, but speaking personally, it was a dud, no better than “Judy” or “Indescribably Blue” or any of those so-so 45s. Hell, I’d pick the relatively unknown classic “Clean Up Your Own Back Yard” over SM. Damn, that died a miserable death on the charts! #35BB/#25CB smack dab in between two #1’s! :(
4. I guess in ’69, the record-buying, hippy-dippy majority didn’t like country-rock vs hard-rock or slide guitar vs. lead guitar. How the hell did “Ghetto” & SM get to #1!!?? They sure as hell weren’t buyin’ that drab, depressing bs either! I can remember like yesterday, in ’71 when Tom Jones’ “She’s A Lady” came out & again in ’72 with Elvis’ “Burning Love,” the Rockers couldn’t believe that was Tom Jones or Elvis! They laughing add, or otherwise, they wouldn’t of bought them! But that’s another story for another time… EP & TJ got NO respect as Rockers in the ’70s. Fifty yrs later, I’m still fightin’ the good fight! ;)
5. To get back to the story at hand: what we ALL shoulda heard coming over the radio waves in ’69 was that back drum beat intro to “Stranger In My Own Home Town” or the vibrato harmonica intro to “Power Of My Love”! Those would have earned worldwide R‑E-S-P-E-C‑T for the King of RnR! Instead of singing Humperdinck style crap. Not that Engle couldn’t sing, cus he damn well could. But he wasn’t a Rocker. He was a balladeer in the vein of Sinatra. The King was Rockin’ as good as ever, the general public just wasn’t hearing it :(
D
Thanks for another comment!
1. I addressed my boo-boo already but I will apologize again for not doing the requisite research and thank you guys for keeping me accurate!
2. The fade-out/fade-in ending was cool the first few listenings and did indicate that Elvis and Felton were paying attention to the many and vast advances in studio technology that were occurring in the late ’60s.
3. I love “Judy”! I love “Indescribably Blue”! The reason for the lack of success of “Clean Up Your Own Backyard” was that it was too damn country for rock and pop radio stations in 1969. I would have liked to have seen it on the Back In Memphis album.
4. The animosity/antagonism between rockers and country people was almost entirely brought about by the latter. Many on the country field (musicians and fans) were so “conservative” they’d be alt-righters today. In 1969, most country radio stations were so reactionary that they wouldn’t even play Elvis’ records.
That includes “Clean Up Your Own Backyard,” which didn’t even crack the Top 70! At the time, rockers were busy “inventing” modern country-rock (Byrds, Dillard & Clark, Flying Burrito Brothers, etc.), laying the foundation that thousands of country musicians have followed or been influenced by since.
5. You know I agree with you on “Stranger In My Own Home Town” and “Power Of My Love” and had Elvis or Fenton or the Colonel called me, I would have told them to promote “Ruvbberneckin’ ” as the hit side, not the country ‑weeper “Don’t Cry Daddy.”
Rockahula, baby!
N
PS: I love hearing the term “hippy-dippy.” It gives me goosebumps all over like I just dropped a tab of Orange Sunshine and I’m starting to feel the pre-rush jitters.
PS2: We aging ex-hippies still don’t consider “She’s A Lady” to be rock & roll!
I took those women home too, but the house was empty — thank god! thanks N.
“Promised Land” was my favorite ’70s Elvis song followed by “Burning Love” with (perhaps strangely to some) “The Wonder Of You.” Even stranger, I was never that big on “Suspicious Minds” when it came out and it took a while to grow on me.
I must say that I like Tom Jones a lot but I just know I would not like his version of “Suspicious Minds.”
DG
Thanks for another comment!
As far as tracks released as singles, “Burning Love” is tops for me but I certainly do like “Promised Land.” I also love “The Wonder Of You” but thought it was a terrible choice as a single when I first heard it on the radio in early 1970. Of course, I was wrong: It was a big hit here and even bigger hit in the UK, reaching #1 and supposedly being the biggest selling single of the year.
I also love “I’m Leavin’ ” and “For The Heart” and there are several tracks on both That’s The Way It Is and Elvis Country that are among my all-time faves.
Keep on keepin’ on!
N
PS: When “Raised On Rock” came out, it sounded fantastic on the radio the first few times. Then it didn’t.
“Raised On Rock” is an odd song.I have always liked it but the lyrics are at odds with Elvis.He is singing about being raised on something he created or at least helped create and I fear it did not resonate with his fans.As a stand alone track without putting too much thought into it it was a pretty good song.
DG
“Raised On Rock” was okay: Good instrumental track, decent vocal, but the bridge was almost absurd as the lyrics.
N
PS: If you take the thirty tracks that make up the three mid-1970s Memphis albums, you could boil them down to a pair of excellent albums with twelve tracks each.