Guitar Man

[londonflash]

The last verse of the 68 TV Special opening is about as rock as Elvis ever got. Tremendous.

[jeanno]

Single version ... 4 / 5
1968 coupled with TROUBLE ... 5 / 5

[Stevenson]

What is really a shame, it's the good song could have gotten erased/scrapped because of Parker's greed (royalty cut). It should have been a sign for Elvis to change the manager.
Like the studio master, but prefer ad-libbed extra verse from Comeback "I'm gonna get myself back on the track and never ever gonna look back".

[jeanno]

What is really a shame, it's the good song could have gotten erased/scrapped because of Parker's greed (royalty cut). It should have been a sign for Elvis to change the manager.
Like the studio master, but prefer ad-libbed extra verse from Comeback "I'm gonna get myself back on the track and never ever gonna look back".

Elvis should have fired him the first time Parker interfered between his client and people like Scotty or the writing team Leiber / Stoller. That will always be Elvis' biggest mistake.

[drjohncarpenter]

The trouble with the 'Guitar Man' single is that it was included on the 'Clambake' album first and then released as a single three months later in January 1968. It did ok, peaking at position #43 on Billboard with sales of around 300,000. It probably would have sold better if released prior to the 'Clambake' album.

'Guitar Man' did chart better here in the UK, staying on the chart for nine weeks with a peak position of #19.

Andy

With all due respect, peaking at #43 on the "Hot 100" is a failure for someone of Elvis' stature. The fact it was a great recording just made it worse. The years of terrible singles and LPs was working against him in January 1968.

It's one of many reasons why, at their first meeting in May 1968, when Elvis asked director Steve Binder for an opinion on the Presley career he replied "It's in the toilet." Elvis laughed. The honesty bonded them together immediately.

That a remake of "Guitar Man" became a thread running through much of the TV special was the icing on the cake.

[jurasic1968]

Right.

[drjohncarpenter]

The story goes that Elvis had trouble capturing it. Mary Lynch (assistant Chet Atkins) managed to track down Reed who was casually fishing. Elvis' guitarists could not achieve ''that sound'' that Reed had mastered. It is indeed country/rock, even with some folk.

The trouble, to be precise, was capturing the distinctive guitar sound on the original RCA recording by . . . Jerry Reed.





Jerry Reed "Guitar Man" (RCA 47-9152, March 25, 1967)
Billboard "Hot Country Singles" #53, July 15, 1967



So, of course, Elvis gets Jerry to that session, unshaven, still wearing his fishing gear.

Reed's vocal is in his pronounced country style, while Presley's singing is rock 'n' roll all the way.

[drjohncarpenter]

Love the Comeback Special version.

Yes it is spectacular, wished it wasnt lip-synched tho. Funny, the next day at work (Dec. 4th 1968) no one had ever heard the song before. As people knew I was a fan, they asked me about. A good single from 1968 went unnoticed by the general public. You had to be a fan to really know it. Sad

But it got better after that.

Also, some of his TV special renditions of "Guitar Man" do feature live vocals on top of the pre-recorded backing track.

[TheKingOfMusicEP]

The trouble with the 'Guitar Man' single is that it was included on the 'Clambake' album first and then released as a single three months later in January 1968. It did ok, peaking at position #43 on Billboard with sales of around 300,000. It probably would have sold better if released prior to the 'Clambake' album.

'Guitar Man' did chart better here in the UK, staying on the chart for nine weeks with a peak position of #19.

Andy

The remixed version did even better on the charts:
Chart (1981) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #28
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles #1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary #16
Canadian RPM Country Tracks #1

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guitar_Man_(song)&wprov=rarw1

[jetblack]

The trouble with the 'Guitar Man' single is that it was included on the 'Clambake' album first and then released as a single three months later in January 1968. It did ok, peaking at position #43 on Billboard with sales of around 300,000. It probably would have sold better if released prior to the 'Clambake' album.

'Guitar Man' did chart better here in the UK, staying on the chart for nine weeks with a peak position of #19.

Andy

The remixed version did even better on the charts:
Chart (1981) Peak
position
U.S. Billboard Hot 100 #28
U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles #1
U.S. Billboard Adult Contemporary #16
Canadian RPM Country Tracks #1

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Guitar_Man_(song)&wprov=rarw1

In 1981 'Guitar Man' (remix) stayed on the Billboard singles chart for fourteen weeks. It peaked at position #28 for two straight weeks.

Andy

[drjohncarpenter]

What is really a shame, it's the good song could have gotten erased/scrapped because of Parker's greed (royalty cut). It should have been a sign for Elvis to change the manager.
Like the studio master, but prefer ad-libbed extra verse from Comeback "I'm gonna get myself back on the track and never ever gonna look back".

Pretty sure that was not an ad-lib but something added by writers Blye and Bearde during production of the 1968 TV special, with Jerry Reed's okay.

Just noticed Allan Blye passed away three weeks ago, at the age of 87. His old partner left us in April 2017. Time flies.

[drjohncarpenter]

Found a couple more interesting Jerry Reed-related bits from 1967.

One is a huge RCA ad for his single of "Guitar Man," including a fulsome endorsement from his producer, Chet Atkins.

The other is Jerry performing his single A-side, plus a great track from the debut RCA LP which followed shortly after, called "Take A Walk."

His astonishing guitar work is on full display here, and you can imagine it was much the same when he played with Elvis in the studio in September 1967 and January 1968. On top of that, his confident and easy vocal manner is endearing.

What a tremendous and unique talent!







Jerry Reed "Guitar Man" and "Take A Walk" (syndicated "Music City USA," November 1967)

Billboard Jun 03 1967_p51.jpg

Billboard - June 3, 1967