Best Ever Albums

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Anonymous — Mon, 28 Oct 2013 07:40:26 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/28/2013 11:40

Can't help falling in love
Are you lonesome tonight?
Love me Tender

Those are the 3 I frequently listen to

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

zdwyatt — Fri, 18 Oct 2013 17:05:16 GMT

Author: zdwyatt

Posted: 10/18/2013 21:05

Listmeister wrote:

70's Elvis > 50's Elvis. He had a more bombastic voice as he got older

70's
Burning Love
Moody Blue
Way Down
In the Ghetto
Suspicious Minds
The Wonder of You
A Little Less Conversation

50's
Heartbreak Hotel
Jailhouse Rock
That's All Right, Mamma
Don't Be Cruel
Hound Dog
(Let me be your) Teddy Bear
Are You Lonesome Tonight

I love those songs from the 50s, but I am with you. "Suspicious Minds" is my all-time favorite Elvis track.

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Listmeister — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 13:29:47 GMT

Author: Listmeister

Posted: 10/11/2013 17:29

70's Elvis > 50's Elvis. He had a more bombastic voice as he got older

70's
Burning Love
Moody Blue
Way Down
In the Ghetto
Suspicious Minds
The Wonder of You
A Little Less Conversation

50's
Heartbreak Hotel
Jailhouse Rock
That's All Right, Mamma
Don't Be Cruel
Hound Dog
(Let me be your) Teddy Bear
Are You Lonesome Tonight

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

meccalecca — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 13:10:54 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 10/11/2013 17:10

Le_Samurai wrote:

Elvis doesn't get enough credit these days.

Sure he does. He's still called the King of Rock & Roll, still sells millions of records, Graceland still does great business. The guy had a great voice, but without the people who wrote the songs, he'd be nothing. All you have to look at are the 80% of the songs he released that are just plain awful.

So if anyone's lacking in credit, it's the songwriters that wrote the hits

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Romanelli — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 13:04:03 GMT

Author: Romanelli

Posted: 10/11/2013 17:04

It should be noted that Presley wrote pretty much none of the material he sang. "Love Me Tender" is an interesting song. It was written in 1861, then resurrected with new lyrics in 1956. Presley is credited as a co-writer, but it's believed that the credit was more of a publishing thing than anything else. "Jailhouse Rock" was by Lieber & Stoller.

The Presley camp had pretty much the pick of the best material for a long time, although he himself had very little say in what he ultimately recorded. He had a guy for that. He had the most creative say during the Memphis sessions in the late 60's.

As for my favorite recordings by Presley, I'd have to go with:

A Mess Of Blues (Doc Pomus-Mort Shuman)
Blue Moon Of Kentucky (Bill Monroe)
Suspicious Minds (Mark James)
True Love Travels On A Gravel Road (Arthur Owens-Dallas Frazier)
Kentucky Rain (Eddie Rabbit-Dick Heard)
Bossa Nova Baby (Jerry Lieber-Mike Stoller)

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 13:02:24 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/11/2013 17:02

Elvis doesn't get enough credit these days. Sure he didn't write his own songs, but that doesn't take away from how incredible his voice was. My personal favorite is "Suspicious Minds". An incredible song about difficulties in a relationship and how they have to be overcome. I'm also a big fan of "Only the Strong Survive" from From Elvis in Memphis.

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 12:44:15 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/11/2013 16:44

sp4cetiger wrote:

JLogic

Here to entertain. Really, IMO "Jailhouse Rock" sends a message to my head that even a jailhouse can be fun sometimes. It reminds me of "having the right attitude." I don't think that was a message Elvis meant to give, but it's a great message for me either way. I should've clarified more.

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 12:27:22 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/11/2013 16:27

JMan wrote:

In that not only does it rock, it makes the jailhouse sound pleasant IMO.

JLogic, I love it. 🤣

JMan wrote:

Also, two of the greatest love songs ever written are "Love Me Tender"

Link

I like this version better.

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 12:17:01 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/11/2013 16:17

sp4cetiger wrote:

In that it's rock music?

In that not only does it rock, it makes the jailhouse sound pleasant IMO.

Also, two of the greatest love songs ever written are "Love Me Tender" and "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You."

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 12:08:47 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/11/2013 16:08

JMan wrote:

Jailhouse Rock - Lives up to it's name.

In that it's rock music?

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 12:05:26 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/11/2013 16:05

meccalecca wrote:

Those guys are obviously famous, but I definitely think they deserve to be looked at on the same level as Elvis.

I guess Elvis' reputation among the general public has been kept up by the cult-like atmosphere that still surrounds his legacy... the whole Elvis is still alive thing, Graceland, Lisa Marie, etc. I don't get the same impression from musicians and music fans, though.

Quote:

Valens is sort of seen as the La Bamba guy, when he had so many great songs. it's interesting to think what he and Holly would have been capable of if they hadn't died in that plane crash

Admittedly, I've only heard La Bamba so far, but Valens is on my history list for 1959, so that should be an interesting listen. I speculated some about the impact of the plane crash in the Tragedy and Music thread... it seems like a lot of famous musicians were experiencing tragedy in the late 50s and early '60s. Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens, Sam Cooke, Patsy Cline, Cliff Richard, Eddie Cochrane. The late '60s saw a lot of tragedy too, but they were mostly avoidable tragedies, like drug- or alcohol-related.

Maybe Elvis was using the US government to off his competitors in "accidents." I think we need a BEA conspiracy theory thread. 🤣

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 11:43:42 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/11/2013 15:43

Jailhouse Rock - Lives up to it's name.

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

meccalecca — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 11:38:19 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 10/11/2013 15:38

sp4cetiger wrote:

Do you think history has been unkind to those guys? They were much less famous at the time, but I always had the impression that they were giants of early rock and roll, especially Holly (probably my favorite of the era). And Elvis does deserve some credit for what he did, I think. He was definitely the template for early rock and roll.

Those guys are obviously famous, but I definitely think they deserve to be looked at on the same level as Elvis.

Valens is sort of seen as the La Bamba guy, when he had so many great songs. it's interesting to think what he and Holly would have been capable of if they hadn't died in that plane crash

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 11:33:48 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/11/2013 15:33

meccalecca wrote:

What's sad is that many somewhat similar artists from that time that I consider far better get completely overshadowed by him.
Richie Valens, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison...etc

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

meccalecca — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 11:23:40 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 10/11/2013 15:23

sp4cetiger wrote:

It's sad, really, I think he was mostly just doing what he was told by others. Sometimes I feel bad for him, but then I remember that he tried to get the Beatles deported. :P

Yeah. a lot of artists at that point had very little creative control.

What's sad is that many somewhat similar artists from that time that I consider far better get completely overshadowed by him.
Richie Valens, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison...etc

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 11:20:54 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/11/2013 15:20

meccalecca wrote:

Yup. For the most part, Elvis represents a lot of the worst aspects of popular music. He released a massive amount of mediocre music just to sell records. His heavy-handed misappropriation of gospel was often cringe-worthy. But occasionally his vocal talent and charisma was enough to overcome all that and result in something spectacular.

It's sad, really, I think he was mostly just doing what he was told by others. Sometimes I feel bad for him, but then I remember that he tried to get the Beatles deported. 😜

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

meccalecca — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 11:10:03 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 10/11/2013 15:10

sp4cetiger wrote:

Yep, they even tried to get it out before the Perkins version, but Elvis would have none of it. My biggest problem with early Elvis is that he spent too much effort trying to be the best at everything rock and roll and not enough being himself. His cover of Tutti Frutti is one of the most ill-conceived ventures in early rock and roll.

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

Anonymous — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 11:05:02 GMT

Author: Anonymous

Posted: 10/11/2013 15:05

imnotanotter wrote:

Wasn't Blue Suede Shoes originally done by Carl Perkins?

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

meccalecca — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 10:58:36 GMT

Author: meccalecca

Posted: 10/11/2013 14:58

lethalnezzle wrote:

In all seriousness, these might be my two favourite Elvis songs.

I'm dead serious too. I'd also add Suspicious Minds and Kentucky Rain to the list.

Re: Favorite Elvis Songs

imnotanotter — Fri, 11 Oct 2013 10:58:32 GMT

Author: imnotanotter

Posted: 10/11/2013 14:58

Wasn't Blue Suede Shoes originally done by Carl Perkins? Regardless, Elvis performed it I suppose. Remember my dad driving me to grade school with In The Ghetto and Suspicious Minds blaring; both would probably be my favorites though they are clearly two of his most popular.