Music

I Am An Elvis Fan (So Why Can’t I Choose My Own Songs?)

/ TY / 8 Comments

In case you haven’t noticed, I am an Elvis fan. Maybe you are, too.

Of late, marketing campaigns by Elvis Presley Enterprises and Sony Music Entertainment have centered around the phrase “I Am An Elvis Fan.” You can buy an “I Am An Elvis Fan” t-shirt or even an “I Am An Elvis Fan” poster – an image of Elvis formed by a mosaic of fan photos.

The centerpiece of this campaign, though, is a new CD that Sony will release on July 31. As you have probably guessed, the title of the album is I Am An Elvis Fan.I Am An Elvis Fan

This one is different than most albums because an online vote last month determined the contents. Next week, Sony unveils the winning tracks.

Elvis released over 700 different recordings in his lifetime. Since then, thousands more have escaped the vaults. Rather than being able to vote for any Elvis song, fans were unfortunately constrained to choosing from pre-determined lists of songs in seven different categories. For each category, a fan had to choose three out of thirteen songs. Some of the songs even showed up in multiple categories.

While a few rarities made the process, most songs were of the typical “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Hound Dog,” and “All Shook Up” variety. I’m sure those will be the types of songs to make the CD as well. In any event, it was still fun to choose songs. For the record, here is how I voted (bold), given the available choices:

’50s
1. That’s All Right
2. Good Rockin’ Tonight
3. Baby Let’s Play House
4. I Got A Woman
5. Hound Dog
6. Don’t Be Cruel
7. Mystery Train [naturally!]
8. Blue Suede Shoes
9. Money Honey
10. Heartbreak Hotel
11. Shake, Rattle & Roll
12. All Shook Up
13. Lawdy, Miss Clawdy

’60s
1. In The Ghetto
2. Suspicious Minds
3. Gentle On My Mind
4. Don’t Cry Daddy
5. Surrender
6. Good Luck Charm
7. Devil In Disguise
8. She’s Not You
9. Suspicion
10. The Girl Of My Best Friend
11. His Latest Flame
12. Love Letters
13. Memories

GOSPEL
1. Peace in the Valley
2. Crying in the Chapel
3. How Great Thou Art
4. If I Can Dream [gospel?]
5. Amazing Grace
6. Swing Down Sweet Chariot
7. Joshua Fit The Battle
8. Take My Hand Precious Lord
9. Lead Me, Guide Me
10. He Touched Me
11. Milky White Way
12. You’ll Never Walk Alone
13. Where Could I Go But To The Lord

LOVE SONGS
1. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
2. Any Way You Want Me
3. You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me
4. One Night
5. Can’t Help Falling In Love
6. Love Me Tender
7. Always On My Mind [actually, a love lost song]
8. Are You Lonesome Tonight?
9. Unchained Melody
10. Loving You
11. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling [again, a love lost song]
12. It’s Now Or Never
13. The Wonder Of You

MOVIES
1. King Creole
2. Jailhouse Rock
3. Trouble
4. Return To Sender
5. A Little Less Conversation
6. Viva Las Vegas
7. G.I Blues
8. Follow That Dream
9. Bossa Nova Baby
10. Rubberneckin’
11. Blue Hawaii
12. Loving You
13. Teddy Bear

COUNTRY
1. I Washed My Hands In Muddy Water
2. Kentucky Rain
3. For The Good Times
4. Guitar Man
5. Blue Moon of Kentucky
6. Just Because
7. Long Black Limousine
8. I’ll Hold You In My Heart (Until I Can Hold You in My Arms)
9. She Thinks I Still Care
10. I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry
11. Welcome to My World
12. Funny How Time Slips Away
13. There Goes My Everything

IN CONCERT
1. Polk Salad Annie
2. Suspicious Minds
3. Just Pretend
4. You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feeling [to help ease the split vote, since it is in two categories]
5. Bridge Over Troubled Water
6. See See Rider
7. Walk A Mile In My Shoes
8. I Can’t Stop Loving You
9. You Gave Me A Mountain
10. An American Trilogy
11. Burning Love
12. My Way
13. A Big Hunk of Love

You will notice that even I chose some “typical” songs. Certain Elvis songs have personal, sentimental associations for me, and I just couldn’t skip them when they were on the list.

Even if you buy into this whole select by category business, they left out a couple of important categories. Where is the ’70s category for songs like “Promised Land,” “Stranger In The Crowd,” and “I’ve Lost You”? Where is the Blues category for songs like “Reconsider Baby” and “Baby, What You Want Me To Do”?

In a sense, Sony loaded the deck. The opportunity to present a truly unique Elvis CD will probably just devolve into releasing yet another typical compilation. Even casual Elvis fans will already have the majority of the winning songs. Is the intent of this disc to attract new fans, then? If so, maybe they should have called it I Might Be An Elvis Fan instead.

While the rest of us cannot be trusted to choose our own songs, Australian Elvis fans, on the other hand, will get to do an Elvis CD up right. The content for Sony Music Australia’s Elvis By Request album will also be determined by online fan voting (still in progress through July 13). Except this time, there is just one vote, and it is from the full list of recordings released during his lifetime, as well as many tracks released since then.

Australian fans who pre-order the CD by July 13 will even have their names included on a poster. While you have to live in Australia to get your name on the poster, you don’t have to live there to vote or buy the CD. In fact, I’ve already cast my ballot for my favorite song. Elvis By Request is due out on August 16.

Both concepts are reminiscent of the 1976 album Elvis In Demand, a project where members of the Official Elvis Presley Fan Club of Great Britain mailed in lists of five songs to vote for the content. The resulting record album made it to number 12 on the UK charts.

My main complaint about Elvis compilations tends to be that the same fifty or so songs are used in various combinations over and over. While I Am An Elvis Fan may end up looking like yet another similar compilation, Elvis By Request has the potential to be something special. It may very well turn out to be this generation’s Elvis In Demand.

* * *

While writing this post, I started thinking about what kind of Elvis compilation I would put together if Sony knocked on my door looking for help (someday, right?). Limiting myself to only masters released during his lifetime, it would probably look something like this.

Strangers No More

  • Money Honey
  • Like A Baby
  • For The Heart
  • How The Web Was Woven
  • Indescribably Blue
  • Clean Up Your Own Backyard
  • Early Morning Rain
  • Power Of My Love
  • Blue Moon
  • Stranger In The Crowd
  • Thinking About You
  • Baby, I Don’t Care
  • I Was The One
  • My Babe (Live)
  • Wearin’ That Loved-On Look
  • Witchcraft
  • I’ve Lost You
  • Make The World Go Away
  • Let Yourself Go
  • As Long As I Have You
  • Run On
  • Bringing It Back

That’s The Way It Is reveals a different side of Elvis

/ TY / 19 Comments

My favorite album released during Elvis Presley’s lifetime is That’s The Way It Is. First hitting record stores in November 1970, it features studio material from his June recordings in Nashville as well as four live cuts from his August Las Vegas engagement. It serves as a soundtrack of sorts for the excellent documentary of the same name, also released that month.

Despite the status I give it, the album is not perfect. Rock ‘n’ roll fans sometimes dismiss it as an easy-listening bore. One of the causes of that issue, I believe, is the sequencing of songs. Many of them should have been presented in a different order. For instance, the album unfortunately begins with a live version of the sleepy B.J. Thomas hit “I Just Can’t Help Believin'” and establishes the wrong tone.

Adding to the trouble, two of the live performances, “Patch It Up” and “I’ve Lost You,” are not as powerful as their studio counterparts, which should have been used instead. The studio recordings had been released as singles prior to the album, so the live versions were likely considered bonuses for fans that already had the 45s. The artistry of the album should have taken priority, though.

Apparently to complete the “feel” of a live album, RCA overdubbed applause on the end of the studio version of “Bridge Over Troubled Water,” which closed out That’s The Way It Is. Elvis’ vocals on the first verse of the song are also very faint in the mix, either on purpose or due to a technical glitch. You can better hear Elvis’ beautiful performance of this song, with his voice louder on the first verse and without the annoying applause overdubs, on Heart & Soul and the Elvis: Walk A Mile In My Shoes-The Essential 70s Masters boxed set.

That's The Way It Is (1970)

Side 1

“I Just Can’t Help Believin'”
Live Master–8/11/1970 Dinner Show (DS): As noted above, the song does not serve well as an album opener. While it is misplaced on the album, the performance is strong. I love the little traces of humor in his voice. He sounds on the verge of laughing a couple of times. Also memorable is his interaction with the Sweet Inspirations throughout (“Sing the song, baby”). Elvis would never be quite as incredible again live as he was in this engagement.

“Twenty Days And Twenty Nights”
Master–Take 9: For me, this song represents the adult Elvis, the recording artist that is too often overlooked. “Twenty Days And Twenty Nights” is about a man who regrets leaving his wife, and Elvis evokes this character through music as well as any actor could on screen. The performance plays through the range of emotions, even striking a hopeful tone (“One day soon I’m going back…”) before falling back into despair as he laments “Oh, how I miss her,” over and over at the end.

“How The Web Was Woven”
Master–Take 3: The highlight of the album, “How The Web Was Woven” is a love song that ranks right up there with the better-known “Can’t Help Falling In Love.” From the acoustic guitar opening to the accompanying piano, the arrangement on this one works very well. “At last, I’m where you want me . . . Don’t you know that’s where, where I wanna be,” he sings with a passion that, for this listener anyway, exceeds even the incredible American Sound sessions in Memphis the year before.

“Patch It Up”
Live Master–8/12/1970 DS: Compared to the excellent studio take, this live version sounds almost like a throwaway. Watching this same energetic performance in the film, though, is an entire other experience.

“Mary In The Morning”
Master–Take 5: This is a pretty, if forgettable, love song. It goes on a bit too long and eventually becomes tiresome.

“You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me”
Master–Take 3: Though it is a fine performance, I would have chosen “How The Web Was Woven” or one of the others as a single over Elvis’ version of the Dusty Springfield hit.

Side 2

“You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'”
Live Master–8/12/1970 MS: This live performance is the definitive version of this song by anyone. This is Elvis at his best: “It makes me just feel like cryin,’ ’cause baby . . . something beau-ti-ful’s dy-in.'” The Righteous Brothers sound like they are singing a lullaby in the original recording compared to the Elvis version. Even Elvis was never able to equal his own performance again in other concerts.

“I’ve Lost You”
Live Master–8/11/1970 DS: While I love this live performance of “I’ve Lost You,” I prefer the studio version featuring more complicated lyrics and arrangement. That being said, this is still a highlight.

“Just Pretend”
Master–Take 3: Picking up where “Twenty Days And Twenty Nights” left off, this turns the despair of a man who left his lover and turns it back to hope for reconciliation. “Now I know, it was wrong to go, I belong there by your side,” he sings, bordering on the type of apology song that Elvis would perfect a couple of years later with “Always On My Mind.” The impressive “Just Pretend,” with a gospel-inspired arrangement, is another all-time favorite.

“Stranger In The Crowd”
Master–Take 9: This is yet another highlight. The band really cooks on this one. For some, Elvis Presley brings to mind “Hound Dog,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “All Shook Up,” and similar tunes. While those are all fine, when I think of Elvis, I think of songs like “How The Web Was Woven,” “I’ve Lost You,” and “Stranger In The Crowd.”

“The Next Step Is Love”
Master–Take 11: Here’s one studio song where I actually prefer the live version. “The Next Step Is Love” is a little hokey either way, but the studio arrangement, complete with xylophone(!), does not help matters.

“Bridge Over Trouble Water”
Master–Studio Take 8 (with overdubbed applause): I stopped listening to the original album version of this song once RCA finally released a proper studio track. The one on this album simply does not do justice to his performance. The Heart & Soul version, though, I would contend as the best version of this song by anyone.

Upon its original release, That’s The Way It Is faced stiff competition from none other than Elvis himself. In their infinite wisdom, his record label released the following Elvis music in October and November of 1970:

  • Almost In Love album (an excellent “budget” release)
  • “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me”/”Patch It Up” single
  • Elvis In Person album (re-release of record 1 of the previous year’s From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis double album)
  • Back In Memphis album (re-release of record 2 of From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis)
  • Elvis’ Christmas Album (“budget” repackaging)
  • That’s The Way It Is album
  • “I Really Don’t Want To Know”/”There Goes My Everything” single

Despite the oversaturation, That’s The Way It Is made it to number 21 on the charts and obtained gold record status. It probably would have done even better had fans not been so bombarded with Elvis product in the fall of 1970.

Elvis rehearsing How The Web Was Woven, 1970

Elvis rehearsing How The Web Was Woven, 1970

While a wonderful album, That’s The Way It Is also would have been greatly improved if a couple of different song versions had been used and the album had been sequenced as below in my imaginary version of That’s The Way It Is.

Side 1

  • “Stranger In The Crowd” (studio, as on original)
  • “I’ve Lost You” (substitute studio version)
  • “How The Web Was Woven” (studio, as on original)
  • “You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me” (studio, as on original)
  • “Bridge Over Troubled Water” (substitute Heart & Soul studio version without overdubbed applause)
  • “I Just Can’t Help Believin'” (live, as on original)

Side 2

  • “Patch It Up” (substitute studio version)
  • “Twenty Days And Twenty Nights” (studio, as on original)
  • “Just Pretend” (studio, as on original)
  • “The Next Step Is Love” (studio, as on original)
  • “Mary In The Morning” (studio, as on original)
  • “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” (live, as on original)

No matter the order you listen, though, That’s The Way It Is represents a true Elvis masterpiece.

Portions of the above review originally appeared on my now defunct pop culture blog on May 21, 2008.

Luck of the Elvish overcomes St. Patrick’s Day blues

/ TY / 9 Comments

I’m hard-pressed this morning to come up with a St. Patrick’s Day or Irish-themed post related to Elvis.

I thought about comparing all of his versions of “Danny Boy,” but I’m still missing one or two. Maybe next year.

I then considered listing all of his songs with “green” in the title, but it turns out there are only two. I suppose I could rank them and end this post right here, but I’m not even sure two songs constitutes a list.

If only St. Patrick’s Day revolved around blue instead of green, then Elvis would be the go-to man. He recorded at least 19 different songs with a form of “blue” in the title.

For a brief moment, I believed I had found the answer by returning to an idea that I had for St. Patrick’s Day last year – ranking all of his “lucky” songs. In fact, I had to go back to make sure I didn’t already write that post.

When Valentine’s Day rolled around this year, I almost used the exact same post idea as last year. Fortunately, I caught myself in time and just bumped the old post to the top for the day.

Today, I soon found there was a very good reason I didn’t use last year’s St. Patrick’s Day idea at that time. There are only four Elvis songs with “luck” in the title. That’s twice as good as a green list, at least.

What’s a blogger to do? Combine all of these concepts, of course!

Kid GalahadHere’s a ranking of Elvis Presley’s lucky green songs – with a “Danny Boy” thrown in for good measure.

#1 Danny Boy (1976)
From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee

#2 Good Luck Charm (1961)
Elvis’ Golden Records, Volume 3

#3 Hard Luck (1965)
Frankie And Johnny

#4 Green, Green Grass Of Home (1975)
Elvis Today

#5 Beginner’s Luck (1965)
Frankie And Johnny

#6 I Got Lucky (1961)
I Got Lucky

#7 A Little Bit Of Green (1969)
From Memphis To Vegas/From Vegas To Memphis

I must be doing something right, because it turned out to be seven songs. Have a fun day, everyone.

Some Elvis songs go from rumor to reality

/ TY / 12 Comments

As I’ve mentioned before, the first Elvis reference book I ever owned was the 1992 edition of ELVIS: His Life From A To Z by Fred L. Worth and Steve D. Tamerius. The oversized hardcover contains 620 pages of Elvis information, presented in an encyclopedia-like format.

It is divided into three main sections:

  • The Man – people, places, things, and trivialities in his life
  • The Performer – movies, television appearances, radio shows, and concerts
  • His Music – songs, albums, bootlegs, and other music-related items

Elvis His Life From A To Z (Worth and Tamerius)I used to spend hours flipping though this book. Twenty years later, it is literally falling apart at the seams. A lot of the information is now outdated, and these days there are better Elvis references (though multiples are needed to replace this single volume), particularly online – but I still pull it out every now and then.

One of the areas I spent the most time in over the years was the Songs sub-section of His Music. For each song, the book presents background information, such as the writer, the original artist recording details, Elvis recording information, and single, LP, and bootleg releases.

Some of the songs listed did not have releases at the time. Those were the ones I found most interesting, for I wondered if I would ever get to hear them. The book notes that the recording information is as of June 1, 1990. Think of all of the Elvis recordings released since that time. Pretty much the entire Ernst Jorgensen era has taken place since then.

I thought it might be fun to take a look at some of the many songs that the book lists as either unreleased or only rumored to exist that have since been officially released.

Blowin’ In The Wind: The book states that “Elvis sang ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ in concert on a few occasions in the 1970s.” If true, I’m not aware of any live recordings surfacing of this song. However, two different 1966 home recordings of Elvis singing “Blowin’ In The Wind” have since been released on A Life In Music and In A Private Moment.

The Cattle Call: A to Z says that Elvis sang this one “in concert on at least a couple of occassions in the 1950s.” If so, that remains unreleased. However, A Life In Music and One Night In Vegas have since included two different rehearsal (really, “just foolin’ around”) versions of this song from 1970. It also featured in the 1992 video Elvis: The Lost Performances.

Dominick: At the time, this movie tune from Stay Away, Joe, was only available on bootleg. It has since been released officially on Double Features: Kissin’ Cousins/Clambake/Stay Away, Joe.

Fool, Fool, Fool: “It’s been reported by some that Elvis recorded ‘Fool, Fool, Fool’ while at Sun Records. No proof of that has yet come forth,” states A to Z. A 1955 acetate of this song was later released on The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

Happy Birthday To You: The book notes that Elvis occasionally sang this tune in concert. Various live performances have since been released, including one on Collectors Gold from 1969 (to James Burton).

I’ll Never Stand In Your Way: Elvis’ second demo, recorded in 1954, consisted of this song and “It Wouldn’t Be The Same Without You.” At the time of A to Z, the recording had not yet surfaced. It wrongly lists “Casual Love Affair” as the B-side. “Reportedly, a tape of the acetate still exists,” the book states. “I’ll Never Stand In Your Way” was first released on A Life In Music. “It Wouldn’t Be The Same Without You” later appeared on Sunrise.

I’m Leavin’ It All Up To You: Listed as only available on bootleg back then, a rehearsal version has since surfaced on Stage Rehearsal.

Jambalaya: Listed as only available on bootleg, a brief, 1975 live performance of this song has since been released on Southern Nights.

My Happiness / That’s When Your Heartaches Begin: Elvis’ first demo recording from 1953 was also not yet released at the time of A to Z. Here’s an interesting snippet from the text, “At the time of this writing, plans are to release ‘My Happiness’ / ‘That’s When Your Heartaches Begin’ on the soundtrack of a two-video package, Elvis’ Greatest Hits, Volumes 1 & 2, a joint venture of Disney’s Touchstone Films and RCA.” Apparently, this project became the two-video set Elvis: The Great Performances (1990). “My Happiness” featured in both the video and the soundtrack CD. However, the demo version of “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin” would not be released until 1992’s The King Of Rock ‘n’ Roll.

A Little Less Conversation: While a studio master and an alternate of this song were of course released during Elvis’ lifetime, the book mentions, “An instrumental track was recorded for the 1968 TV special ‘Elvis,’ but it was decided not to use the song in the program.” It would later turn out that Elvis did indeed record a vocal for the song for possible use in the ELVIS special, as first released on 1998’s Memories. In turn, this would later become the basis of the “Elvis vs. JXL” remix version of the song that first featured in a 2002 Nike commercial during the World Cup and later achieved international hit status with a single release and on the album ELV1S 30 #1 Hits.

MacArthur Park: Listed as only on bootleg, Elvis singing a few lines of this song live in 1968 has since surfaced on a few official releases, including Tiger Man.

Poor Man’s Gold: A to Z notes that an instrumental track was recorded for one of his 1969 American Sound Studio sessions, but that he never recorded the vocal. Since then, a line or two of Elvis singing the song was released on Suspicious Minds.

Portrait Of My Love: Listed at the time as only available on bootleg, a rehearsal version has since been released on Stage Rehearsal.

Running Scared: A to Z states that Elvis recorded this song during the 1976 Graceland sessions. I’m not sure if that’s true, but a line or two of the song from 1970 have been released a couple of times since then, including on Walk A Mike In My Shoes.

The Twelfth Of Never: According to the book, a live concert version of this song was released on the bootleg Elvis Special, Volume 2. More than likely, this is actually referring to the August 16, 1974, rehearsal of this song that first became officially available on Walk A Mile In My Shoes.

When The Snow Is On The Roses: Out of all of the above songs, the one that fascinated me the most when flipping through this book in the 1990s was “When The Snow Is On The Roses.” It was only available on bootleg at the time, but the text stated, “Elvis sang ‘When The Snow Is On The Roses’ with only his own piano accompaniment on August 24, 1970, in Las Vegas. It was the first time that he played the piano in concert.” A photo included with 1992’s King of Rock ‘n’ Roll that showed Elvis playing piano during a 1956 concert quickly proved part of the text wrong. In any event, this 1970 audience recording later received an official release on Live In Las Vegas. It was wonderful to finally hear it.

There are a ton more rumor songs listed in A to Z that we have not yet heard. Perhaps they don’t exist. Or, perhaps, in another twenty years, some other Elvis fan will be able to do a list like the above.

Sayaka having fun with Elvis

/ TY

I don’t normally post links to videos of other people singing Elvis songs. These Sayaka Alessandra videos are just so much fun, though, that I thought you might want to check them out, too.

“Baby, Let’s Play House” (2009) – Sayaka Alessandra

“Return To Sender” (2008) – Sayaka Alessandra

“Cross My Heart And Hope To Die” (2010) – Sayaka Alessandra

“Blue Moon” (2010) – Sayaka Alessandra

That’s what being an Elvis fan is all about! If you enjoyed the above videos as much as I did, you can also hear Sayaka do formal versions of the Elvis songs “That’s All Right” and “You Don’t Know Me” on her album Love Me Light, available on iTunes and Amazon. For more information on Sayaka, check out her site.

[Thank you to Francesca for making me aware of Sayaka.]

Elvis Countdown: The 15 Greatest Albums

/ TY / 18 Comments

Focusing on those released during his lifetime, below is a countdown of Elvis Presley’s 15 greatest albums.

Elvis' Christmas Album#15 Elvis’ Christmas Album (recorded 1957)
A strong mix of Christmas and gospel songs make this album a seasonal favorite.
Best track: “Santa Claus Is Back In Town”

#14 Elvis Sings The Wonderful World Of Christmas (1971)
Though recorded nearly 15 years later, this one is a perfect follow-up to his first Christmas album.
Best track: “I’ll Be Home On Christmas Day”

#13 Moody Blue (1974, 1976-1977)
Recorded in the two places Elvis felt most comfortable, Graceland and on stage, this would prove to be his final album and a strong finish.
Best track: “Pledging My Love”

#12 Almost In Love (1966, 1968-1969)
Easily the best of the Camden budget albums, this one can even hold its own against his regular releases.
Best track: “Clean Up Your Own Backyard”

#11 Elvis Is Back! (1960)
People who claim Elvis died in the Army must have missed this spectacular album, featuring a mix of blues, pop, and rock ‘n’ roll. This one feels like it should be in the top ten, but I could not find a slot for it.
Best track: “Reconsider Baby”

Promised Land

#10 Promised Land (1973)
Elvis made only weak albums in the 1970s? Bet me! Promised Land offers a perfect Elvis blend.
Best track: “Promised Land”
[Though I’ve had it in my hands for a month now, I’ve managed to hold off on listening to the FTD version of this album. I won’t have much of an Elvis budget this year, so I’m trying to string out a few FTDs I bought late last year to make them last. Check out Thomas Melin’s top-notch Promised Land FTD review over on Elvis Today Blog.]

#9 Elvis’ Golden Records, Volume 3 (1960-1962)
Say what you will about the 1960s strategy of usually withholding Elvis’ single releases from his main albums, it did result in strong compilations in the Golden Records series – especially this album.
Best track: “Are You Lonesome Tonight”

#8 From Elvis In Memphis (1969)
Fresh off the success of his 1968 ELVIS “comeback” special, this album represented a new beginning for Elvis.
Best track: “Power Of My Love”

#7 ELVIS-TV Special (1968)
Finally, after years of movies and a seeming indifference to his music career, Elvis put himself back on the track with the ELVIS special and album.
Best track: “If I Can Dream”

#6 Elvis In Person At The International Hotel, Las Vegas, Nevada (1969)
After the TV special and From Elvis In Memphis album, the next crown jewel of the comeback was returning to live performances. Elvis sounds on fire in these recordings.
Best track: “Mystery Train/Tiger Man”

#5 Elvis’ Golden Records (1956-1957)
Elvis’ achievements in 1956 and 1957 are nothing short of astounding. This album compiles his greatest singles of the period and even throws in album cut “Love Me” as a bonus.
Best track: “Jailhouse Rock”

#4 How Great Thou Art (1960, 1966)
Though it provided the most fuel, the television special did not begin the comeback. Rather, it was the 1966 session that resulted in this Grammy-winning album where Elvis first began to claw his way back.
Best track: “Run On”

#3 Elvis Country (1970)
Nearly ruined by the inane decision to include snippets of “I Was Born About Ten Thousand Years Ago” between each song, this album manages to rise above its concept due to the power of Elvis and the underlying recordings.
Best track: “Tomorrow Never Comes”

#2 On Stage-February 1970 (1969-1970)
This compilation of live songs demonstrates Elvis’ versatility while capturing the excitement of his show.
Best track: “Polk Salad Annie”

That's The Way It Is#1 That’s The Way It Is (1970)
I consider the overall That’s The Way It Is project (the studio recordings, the rehearsals, the concerts, the movie, and all of the associated releases) to be the greatest achievement of Elvis’ career, so this album has to be number one. I do cheat a bit here and recommend the studio singles of “I’ve Lost You” and “Patch It Up” over the live versions presented on the album. I also recommend the Walk A Mile In My Shoes: The Essential 70s Masters mix of “Bridge Over Troubled Water” rather than the album mix. Even without these substitutions, though, That’s The Way It Is shines.
Best track: “How The Web Was Woven”

Some of you share my enthusiasm for iPod playlists, so here is one featuring the 100 best songs from the above albums. This list does not necessarily represent my 100 favorite Elvis songs, though, as some of my favorites happen to be on releases that did not make the top 15 albums list (e.g., “Always On My Mind” and 1955’s “Mystery Train”).

  • Heartbreak Hotel (1956)
  • I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
  • Hound Dog
  • Don’t Be Cruel
  • Love Me
  • Too Much
  • All Shook Up (1957)
  • Peace In The Valley
  • Jailhouse Rock
  • Here Comes Santa Claus
  • Silent Night
  • Santa Bring My Baby Back
  • Santa Claus Is Back In Town
  • I’ll Be Home For Christmas
  • Make Me Know It (1960)
  • Stuck On You
  • Like A Baby
  • Thrill Of Your Love
  • Such A Night
  • Are You Lonesome Tonight
  • Reconsider Baby
  • I Feel So Bad (1961)
  • His Latest Flame
  • Little Sister
  • Run On (1966)
  • How Great Thou Art
  • Where No One Stands Alone
  • So High
  • Farther Along
  • By And By
  • In The Garden
  • Without Him
  • If The Lord Wasn’t Walking By My Side
  • US Male (1968)
  • Edge Of Reality
  • Trouble/Guitar Man
  • Heartbreak Hotel/Hound Dog/All Shook Up (Live)
  • Can’t Help Falling In Love (Live)
  • Jailhouse Rock (Live)
  • Love Me Tender (Live)
  • If I Can Dream
  • Charro
  • Clean Up Your Own Backyard
  • Long Black Limousine (1969)
  • Wearin’ That Loved-On Look
  • I’m Movin’ On
  • Gentle On My Mind
  • In The Ghetto
  • Rubberneckin’
  • Power Of My Love
  • After Loving You
  • Any Day Now
  • Opening Riff/Blue Suede Shoes (Live)
  • Johnny B. Goode (Live)
  • Are You Lonesome Tonight (Live)
  • Runaway (Live)
  • Yesterday (Live)
  • Hound Dog (Live)
  • My Babe (Live)
  • Mystery Train/Tiger Man (Live)
  • Can’t Help Falling In Love (Live)
  • Let It Be Me (Live-1970)
  • The Wonder Of You (Live)
  • Release Me (Live)
  • See See Rider (Live)
  • Polk Salad Annie (Live)
  • Walk A Mile In My Shoes (Live)
  • Twenty Days And Twenty Nights
  • I’ve Lost You
  • The Fool
  • Little Cabin Home On The Hill
  • Bridge Over Troubled Water
  • How The Web Was Woven
  • Stranger In The Crowd
  • You Don’t Have To Say You Love Me
  • Just Pretend
  • I Really Don’t Want To Know
  • Tomorrow Never Comes
  • Make The World Go Away
  • Funny How Time Slips Away
  • There Goes My Everything
  • Patch It Up
  • I Just Can’t Help Believin’ (Live)
  • You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin’ (Live)
  • Whole Lotta Shakin’ Goin’ On
  • Holly Leaves and Christmas Trees (1971)
  • Merry Christmas Baby
  • I’ll Be Home On Christmas Day
  • Winter Wonderland
  • It’s Midnight (1973)
  • You Asked Me To
  • Thinking About You
  • Promised Land
  • Your Love’s Been A Long Time Coming
  • She Thinks I Still Care (1976)
  • Moody Blue
  • Way Down
  • Pledging My Love
  • He’ll Have To Go
  • Unchained Melody (Live-1977)

“Elvis Song Of The Year” for 2011

/ TY / 7 Comments

Burning Love (1972)According to iTunes, out of 2,564 Elvis tracks, the one I played most often this year was: “Burning Love,” his 1972 single.

I listened to 10,023 Elvis songs using iTunes or my iPod in 2011 (including duplicates). That’s an average of 27 Elvis songs a day.

Out of 3,225 non-Elvis tracks, my most played song this year was: “Sweet Dreams” by Beyoncé, from her 2008 album I Am… Sasha Fierce.

Overall, I listened to 19,917 songs using iTunes or my iPod this year. That works out to 55 songs a day. My daily average in the last two years was about 44. The increase is probably due to this year having the capability to play my iPod in the car.

When I first started this blog, I mentioned that the soundtrack of my life was powered by Elvis. I’m happy to say, that hasn’t changed.