A
Big Hunk Oí Elvis Records
In an effort to jump on the "Elvis Died
In August" bandwagon, this edition of the jukebox pays tribute
to the King. Sure, he should have been slapped around for wasting
his talent in those bad films and selling his musical soul to become
a main attraction in Las Vegas, but let's forget about that for now
and remember what made Elvis a star in the first place: his ability
to make some great records. What follows isn't exactly a greatest
hits collection (although many of the selections were big hits).
These are just my personal favorites. The songs I dig the most for
various reasons.
That's All Right
A given. This is the record that really started it all. A white man
sounding like a black man and making music history in Sam Phillips'
recording studio at Sun Records. A case could be made that
everything Elvis recorded at Sun belongs on this jukebox, but Iíll
choose just this one and listen to the Sunrise CD on RCA when
I need to enjoy the whole "Elvis at Sun" experience
Heartbreak Hotel
Written by Hoyt Axtonís mommy. The record that put Elvis over the
top and made him a superstar. Rock & Roll would never be the
same.
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
Thereís a lot of drama to this one. Elvis is one of the few
performers who could make begging for some num-num sound cool.
Don't Be Cruel
Elvis Presley sings Otis Blackwell. A nice combination. Plus a fine
use of the Jordanaires as backup singers. (Blackwell also penned
"All Shook Up," which just missed making the jukebox due
to space limitations.)
Got A Lot O' Living To Do!
From the film Loving You, this is the fun side of Elvis.
Especially when he slurs the final line of the chorus into
incompressible nonsense. If only some of his movies were half as
lively as this number.
One Night
Elvis Presley down and dirty. This is what all those mommies and
daddies were afraid of - that greasy white boy gettin' all nasty
with their sweet little daughters. And this is the cleaned up
version. Imagine if "E" had sung the original line
"One night of sin!!" Heaven forbid!
Jailhouse Rock
Lieber & Stoller had a knack for writing some really stupid
songs, but somehow when they were recorded by Elvis (or the
Coasters) they made great records. This is by far one of their
dumbest songs ever and thatís obvious whenever someone else
performs it. Nobody can make it work. Except Elvis. When he sings
"You canít find a partner, use a wooden chair," itís
pure poetry.
Danny
This was supposed to be in King Creole, but didnít make the
cut. Itís not a very good song or record, which is probably why is
was doomed to become a "rarity" and not released for a
damn long time (on Legendary Performer Vol. 3 and then the
50ís box set). So why is it on the jukebox? Need you ask? "My
name should be trouble, my name should be woe..."
King Creole
Lieber & Stoller again. The title track from Eís best movie
and from a good soundtrack to boot. The King of Rock & Roll done
up New Orleans style.
G.I. Blues
One of Elvisís first duties after his hitch in the army was to
make a movie about a guy who was just getting ready to end his hitch
in the army. Typecasting? In the filmís title song, Private
Presley complains about army haircuts, the constant marching and the
lousy chow. I guess they didnít serve fried peanut butter and
banana sandwiches in the mess hall.
His Latest Flame
A nifty Pomus/Shuman ditty from 1961.
Elvis finds out his friendís new girlfriend is the same girlie
heís been messing around with. Díoh!! ("Little
Sister," another Pomus/Shuman song recorded during the same
session shows that Elvis hadnít lost his touch and will serve as
an alternate record for the jukebox.)
Canít Help Falling In Love
Elvis at his hokey best. The love theme from Blue Hawaii, the
film that spawned a mega hit soundtrack album and proved that the
Colonel could repackage and sell the new version of his protÈgÈ
and perhaps avoid future hip replacement surgery for The King, who
wouldnít have to swivel his money maker as much. (And thus remove
much of the motion from his motion pictures.)
Follow That Dream
Another title song from another Elvis "travelogue." Just a
nice bouncy tune that belies the overall poor quality of the numbers
provided to Elvis via the Colonelís "must own to record"
policy. More nice background "ooohís" and "ahhhís"
from the Jordanaires.
Girls! Girls! Girls!
Again with the Lieber & Stoller. A little more silly than stupid
this time and again Mr. Presley is able to pull it off. Yes, heís
hot to trot all right. Heís just a red blooded boy and he canít
stop thinking about girls.
Return To Sender
Whatís this? A bona fide hit record amongst the usual filler in an
Elvis Presley movie? (Also from Girls! Girls! Girls!) Hmm,
does the name Otis Blackwell sound familiar? ëNuff said.
Viva Las Vegas
I bet the patrons of a certain bar were getting pretty tired of some
butch headed kid dropping dimes in the jukebox to play this record
over and over and over again. Enough dimes that he could have bought
the entire album twice. Another Pomus/Shuman effort and my choice
for the ultimate "Elvis the Movie Star" record.
Roustabout
One of Elvisí better parodies of himself.
Girl Happy
Elvis slang for "me so horny." And no truth to the rumor
that the film was originally supposed to take place in a tailor shop
and be called "Pants Happy."
Do The Clam
I guess during the making of Girl Happy someone
figured that Elvis needed to add a dance craze song to his well
rounded repertoire. Of course, most of you are probably too young to
remember the stir this dance step caused. It was almost as popular
as the Funky Tuna Melt.
U.S. Male
To keep things in perspective, there must be at least one selection
of the awful and misguided Elvis on the jukebox. This song is a flat
out hoot. Here Elvis tells some guy to stay away from his woman
(which he refers to as his "property") with lines like,
"I catch you around my woman, champ, Iím gonna leave your
head about the shape of a stamp." Complete with spoken intro
and Elvisí call to "Sock it to me one time!" The whole
thing sounds like a bad Jerry Reed song. (And thatís because it
is.)
Suspicious Minds & Burning Love
Lord Almighty! Elvis sure came a long way from just having Bill
Black and Scotty Moore back him up on those early Sun records. To
wow them in Las Vegas or at a concert hall near you, Elvisís
larger than life image needed a larger than life sound to provide
the right kind of impact. That meant more musicians, more background
singers and more sweat drenched scarves to toss into the audience.
This overblown style had to be captured on record, too, and
sometimes the results were impressive. If we must remember the Elvis
in the white jump suits and championship belts, these are the two
songs we should choose to remember him singing.
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