The Colorado Springs Gazette final

ELVIS!

Martin Luther King Jr., Italian opera, Pepsi and prison gangs— we reveal the surprising stories behind the King’s classic songs.

BY JIM FARBER

This month marks 45 years since rock ’n’ roll lost its king, Elvis Presley—and he’s rarely been out of the spotlight since. This summer, his legend came back to big-screen life in director Baz Luhrmann’s extravagant hit film Elvis. But the story of Elvis would have never had such profound and enduring resonance without the excitement and emotion in his songs. “As a singer and an artist, Elvis was revolutionary,” says Jerry Schilling, a key member of the star’s tight-knit inner circle, cheekily known as the “Memphis Mafia.” “His music came from so many sources: gospel and country, R&B and rock, or even from opera. He was able to take any kind of music and make it his own.”

“His appeal is rooted in so many factors,” says Alanna Nash, who has written four books related to the star—including The

Colonel (2010), about Presley’s complicated relationship with his manager, “Colonel” Tom Parker. “The depth of his artistry, the originality of his sound, as well as his looks and his sexual daring.”

The best of Elvis’ songs and performances drew on all those elements. Here are the stories behind 15 of his songs that have meant the most.

Heartbreak Hotel • 1956

The single that made Elvis Presley a star had the saddest possible inspiration. The exact source for the “lonely street” walked by the singer in the lyrics (by Tommy Durden) has been attributed to a variety of events in newspaper stories over the years—including a suicide and a criminal who lost his life during a robbery. At the time, 21-year-old Elvis had just been signed to RCA Records and was an unproven seller, so the company’s executives initially questioned if such a morbid song would connect with his potential teen audience. But the tune’s palatable ache made fans swoon. “The way Elvis sang it captured a rebellious loneliness,” Schilling says. “It hit in the same way that James Dean and early Brando did at that time.” It topped both the country and pop charts.

DON’T BE CRUEL

This tune marked the crucial beginning of a fruitful relationship between Elvis and songwriter Otis Blackwell, who went on to pen “All Shook Up” and co-write “Return to Sender.” (If that’s not enough, he also co-wrote “Great Balls of Fire” for Jerry Lee Lewis and “Fever” for Peggy Lee.) Originally, “Cruel” was slated to be the B-side of Elvis’ “Hound Dog.” But because both recordings had such zest, RCA released them as a double-a-sided single, a savvy decision that made both sides No. 1 smash hits.

HOUND DOG

Three years before Presley’s version of this bluesy tune appeared, Houston singer Big Mama Thornton sold more than half a million copies with her witty take on “Hound Dog,” written by Mike Stoller and Jerry Leiber. But Presley hadn’t heard her version when he decided to record it. He was inspired instead by a campy performance of the tune by an act he had seen in Vegas: Freddie Bell and the Bellboys. It was Elvis’ biggest money-maker that year.

Love Me Tender • 1956

One of Presley’s most beloved ballads had roots in America’s Civil War. The tune borrowed the plaintive melody of “Aura Lee,” which had become popular during that period in American history. Elvis sang the song in his film debut, also called Love Me Tender, in which he played the sibling of three Confederate soldiers. “Tender” is one of the few Elvis hits in that era that didn’t feature his regular band. Instead, it showcased the Ken Darby Singers, led by the man who wrote the lyrics.

All Shook Up • 1957

A Pepsi bottle might have been the inspiration for one of Presley’s most enduring singles. Songwriter Otis Blackwell was trying to repeat his success with “Don’t Be Cruel” when he hit a wall. One of the owners of his publishing company happened to be agitating a bottle of cola, inspiring him to suggest that Blackwell write something with the title “All Shook Up.” The result was the biggest-selling single of 1957. Other reports say Elvis himself came up with the title. Either way, he wasn’t the first person to record it. It was initially cut by David Hill, who also claimed the idea, and who later moved on to acting, using the name David Hess. Onscreen, he “shook up” many a filmgoer when he starred as a rapist in the 1972 shock-horror film Last House on the Left.

Jailhouse Rock • 1957

One of Elvis’ most rocking songs became as well known for its visuals as its music. The staging of the song in the film Jailhouse Rock, in which Elvis starred, is now viewed as one of the greatest proto-music videos of all time. Its energetic choreography featured Presley shaking his hips with a full cast of dancing inmates. Some of the lyrics in the Leiber-stoller song reference real criminals, including a criminal organization known as the Purple Gang. But the most daring lyric has one inmate saying to another that “You’re the cutest jailbird I ever did see.” Somehow, the winking reference to prison sex sailed over the censors’ heads. “Elvis never commented on it,” Schilling says. It became the first single to ever enter the U.K. pop charts at No. 1.

HARD HEADED WOMAN • 1958

The words to this song, penned by Claude Demetrius, claim that assertive women have been a “thorn in the side” of men since the beginning. But the full lyrics exude far more humor than spite. Small wonder it inspired the queen of rockabilly, Wanda Jackson, to sing it with pride in 1961. (Interestingly, Jackson had dated Elvis when he was on the cusp of fame.) In the ’80s, Dolly Parton’s hit “Why’d You Come in Here Lookin’ Like That” inverted a key line from the original by referring to “a softhearted woman” and a “hardheaded man.” Even in the original, Elvis hardly succumbed to sexism. At the end of the song, he declares that the woman with “a head like a rock / If she ever went away / I’d cry around the clock.”

IT’S NOW OR NEVER • 1960

The King’s time in the U.S. Army in Germany led to the creation of one of his most dramatic recordings. While stationed overseas, he kept hearing the Italian ballad “’O Sole Mio,” written in 1898 and popularized by Mario Lanza in the 1950s. The operatic piece so enchanted him, he asked his team to devise an English version. Writers Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold tailored the song to the singer, resulting in a record that not only went No. 1, but also displayed a new level of maturity in Elvis’ delivery. “It was Elvis wanting to grow in every way,” Nash says. “He had practiced his range in Europe and he was very proud to show it off.” Years later, his widow, Priscilla Presley, noted that he loved that song more than any he ever recorded. Its cowriter, Schroeder, later penned a most unlikely follow-up: the theme to the ’70s cartoon show Scooby-doo, Where Are You!

Are You Lonesome Tonight? • 1960

Expanding on the elegant style of “It’s Now or Never,” Elvis took the advice of manager Colonel Parker and recorded this aching tune from the 1920s. “Lonesome” was penned by the vaudevillians Lou Handman and Roy Turk, who took inspiration from the Italian opera Pagliacci and Shakespeare’s As You Like It. They created a trio of verses linked by a spoken bridge, in which Elvis outlines a love in three acts. Elvis’ take proved so resonant, it inspired no fewer than four related songs from female artists, whose recordings all answered the title question with “Yes, I’m lonesome tonight.”

CAN’T HELP FALLING IN LOVE • 1961

The melody of “Can’t Help Falling in Love” grew out of a French song from the 1700s. George Weiss, the American songwriter who adapted it in 1961, enjoyed another roaring success that same year with “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” (recorded by the Tokens), using a melody based on a song from South African artist Solomon Linda. His song for Elvis, which Presley performed in his movie Blue Hawaii, proved wildly popular, holding the film’s soundtrack in the No. 1 position on the Billboard charts for 20 straight weeks, a record that wasn’t broken until Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours smashed it 16 years later. This song, which Presley sang to close out most of his concerts, was judged by the survey company Onbuy to be the most popular selection by wedding couples for their first dance.

RETURN TO SENDER • 1962

A look at the lyrics for “Return to Sender” reveals some forgotten history about the U.S. Postal Service: When the letter referenced in the song is returned in the mail, it’s marked “Return to sender” and stamped “No such number, no such zone.” What’s a “zone”? It’s the precursor to a ZIP code, a system instituted in 1963, one year after the song came out. (ZIP stands for zone improvement plan.) The lyrics were inspired by an errant letter, which contained a demo, sent by the song’s writers, Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott. Thirty years after ZIP codes were introduced, the postal service issued a commemorative Elvis stamp.

If I Can Dream 1968

Elvis usually shied away from political songs. But in 1968 he whole-heartedly embraced a piece recorded two months after Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated in the singer’s hometown of Memphis. The words, which echo King’s historic “I Have a Dream” speech, were penned by Walter Earl Brown to serve as the closing number of the television network special (later known as the “’68 Comeback Special”). Schilling was with Elvis when it was announced on TV that King had been killed. “Elvis looked down with tears in his eyes and said, ‘That man always told the truth,’” Schilling recalls. “I consider Elvis to be a writer on this song. That song was him expressing how he truly felt.”

IN THE GHETTO • 1969

When country artist Mac Davis wrote this socially conscious song, he first titled it “The Vicious Cycle” to underscore the point that those born in poverty face terrible odds trying to break out. Davis later told the website Songfacts that neither Colonel Parker nor RCA Records wanted it released as a single, fearing that its strong social message would turn listeners off. “But Elvis believed in it,” Davis says. “He wanted to do a song that said something.” Fans rewarded him by making “Ghetto” his first Top 10 hit in four years, extending his late-’60s comeback. It went on to be covered by singers from Sammy Davis Jr. to Dolly Parton, as well as Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and even Memphis rap group Three Six Mafia.

Suspicious Minds 1969

Elvis’ final No. 1 was first recorded by its songwriter, Mark James, a year before Elvis’ take. James had been enjoying great success, having penned “Hooked on a Feeling” for B.J. Thomas and co-written “Always on My Mind,” which Presley would later cut. The song, about the scourge of jealousy, boasts one of the most innovative arrangements in Elvis’ career. It features two time-signature changes, a jangling electric guitar, spiraling strings, pumping horns and a barreling backup choir. The setting of the recording may have inspired the innovation: It marked the first time Presley had recorded in his home city of Memphis since 1955.

BURNING LOVE • 1972

One of the hardest-rocking songs Elvis ever recorded came during a rocky period in his personal life. He was going through a divorce with his wife, Priscilla, and was initially reluctant to record such an upbeat piece. “It’s hard to do a rock ’n’ roll song when you’re heartbroken,” says Schilling, who with producer Felton Jarvis pushed Presley to record it. The song became his last major hit, reaching No. 2. The single that kept it from No. 1 was Chuck Berry’s playfully naughty “My Ding-a-ling.” Far more memorable and enduring was the refrain in Elvis’ hit—“a hunka, hunka burnin’ love”—a phrase that became associated with him ever after.

PARADE

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The Gazette, Colorado Springs