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.

Post your list on the LIP SERVICE community message board.

 
Record Shop | Screening Room  | Danny Babble |LEEmail | Lip Service | Home to LakinLand
Email Dan