Elvis covers songs I don't like

[MikeTCB]

Never Been To Spain is one that I never cared for. I just never liked the song.

[Igotstung]

Now I was thinking about the cover songs Elvis did after 1969 from other artists. I don't think he bettered any of them. American Trilogy, And I Love You So, Something, Yesterday, My Way, Green Green Grass of Home, Bridge Over Troubled Water, Sweet Caroline, Unchained Melody and Hurt are 10 songs that Elvis recorded but in my opinion his versions of these songs are inferior comparing to the original versions. What do you think?

Two songs Elvis kind of made his own as the years have passed:

Hurt
An American Trilogy

They're seldom associated with the original artist these days.

But attempting to beat "signature" songs is a tough gambit. Presley was far less successful at it in his third professional decade.

Agree w.r. t Hurt and An American Trilogy.

But was he attempting to ' beat' signature songs, or was he singing them simply because he liked them and wanted to perform them for his audience?

Song like Bridge for e.g, performed by Elvis is extraordinary with the raw emotional power and masterful vocals. It may not be his signature, but as a performance it is one his best of that period.

In his later years, sometimes he did leave his unique stamp, oftentimes he didn't. But even when he didn't, there were good vocal performances, which can be taken just for what they are- good vocals.

[drjohncarpenter]

But was he attempting to ' beat' signature songs, or was he singing them simply because he liked them and wanted to perform them for his audience?

It doesn't really matter. He knew each example was a blockbuster release by someone else.

But really trying to make it his own was something he mostly left behind in his final decade. But it was a difference-maker in his first decade.

[Igotstung]

But was he attempting to ' beat' signature songs, or was he singing them simply because he liked them and wanted to perform them for his audience?

It doesn't really matter. He knew each example was a blockbuster release by someone else.

But really trying to make it his own was something he mostly left behind in his final decade. But it was a difference-maker in his first decade.

Agree that in 50s he made the songs his own in a way that upended the music and culture as it existed in US. In 70s, he rarely did that. It is disappointing no doubt. Especially after the comeback promise of 68& 69.

But there is merit in many of the 70s songs on basis of excellent vocal performance. It was not revolutionary, but it continues to move and excite audiences decades later.

That, I think, could be a view of 21st century fans like me because there is no contemporaneus association. I understand and respect counterviews of original fans.

[drjohncarpenter]

But there is merit in many of the 70s songs on basis of excellent vocal performance. It was not revolutionary, but it continues to move and excite audiences decades later.

That, I think, could be a view of 21st century fans like me because there is no contemporaneus association. I understand and respect counterviews of original fans.

All successful legacy acts have audiences in 2024.

Which means a 21st century fan of, say, Simon & Garfunkel will know that "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was the song of the year for 1970, a multiple-Grammy Award winner in 1971, and one of their "signature" songs.

And if they hear Elvis' live recording from 1970, they'll appreciate it, but also remain aware of the difference.

Music today -- old and new -- is just a push of a button away.

[pmp]

But was he attempting to ' beat' signature songs, or was he singing them simply because he liked them and wanted to perform them for his audience?

It doesn't really matter. He knew each example was a blockbuster release by someone else.

But really trying to make it his own was something he mostly left behind in his final decade. But it was a difference-maker in his first decade.

Agree that in 50s he made the songs his own in a way that upended the music and culture as it existed in US. In 70s, he rarely did that. It is disappointing no doubt. Especially after the comeback promise of 68& 69.

But there is merit in many of the 70s songs on basis of excellent vocal performance. It was not revolutionary, but it continues to move and excite audiences decades later.

That, I think, could be a view of 21st century fans like me because there is no contemporaneus association. I understand and respect counterviews of original fans.

Let's be perfectly honest. During many of his 1950s covers, he does nothing remarkable with them.

Long Tall Sally, Rip It Up, Shake, Rattle and Roll, I Got a Woman, Tutti Frutti, When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold, Ready Teddy, I Believe, Blueberry Hill, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, True Love, When It Rains It Really Pours, Your Cheatin' Heart - none of them were "made his own."

Good though some of them were, most of them were still not as good as the original, and not even that different from the original. Of course, the same isn't true for much of the Sun material, but it shows how quickly a workmanlike/"that will do" attitude started to seep into Elvis's recording sessions once he got to RCA.

Yes, of course there were exceptions, such as Hound Dog, Blue Suede Shows and the rocking Sun sides (and Blue Moon), but they were actually the exceptions and not the rule when it came to covers - just as in the 1960s, and just as in the 1970s.

[drjohncarpenter]

Let's be perfectly honest. During many of his 1950s covers, he does nothing remarkable with them.

Our resident Bobby Darin expert checks in.

[DakotaKid]

pmp: Working from your list, these are the ones I don't like. Shake Rattle and Roll, Tutti Frutti, Ready Teddy, Blueberry Hill, True Love, When It Rains It Really Pours.

[pmp]

pmp: Working from your list, these are the ones I don't like. Shake Rattle and Roll, Tutti Frutti, Ready Teddy, Blueberry Hill, True Love, When It Rains It Really Pours.

I'm not saying I don't like them, or that they aren't good. But the discussion at that point was about cover songs that Elvis made his own - hence my list of cover songs that he didn't do that with in the 1950s, and which were really pretty straight, uninventive covers used as filler for albums.

[pmp]

Let's be perfectly honest. During many of his 1950s covers, he does nothing remarkable with them.

Our resident Bobby Darin expert checks in.

I see we're still blocked from blocking you. Such a shame.

[Igotstung]

pmp: Working from your list, these are the ones I don't like. Shake Rattle and Roll, Tutti Frutti, Ready Teddy, Blueberry Hill, True Love, When It Rains It Really Pours.

I'm not saying I don't like them, or that they aren't good. But the discussion at that point was about cover songs that Elvis made his own - hence my list of cover songs that he didn't do that with in the 1950s, and which were really pretty straight, uninventive covers used as filler for albums.

The difference is that in the 50s there were several songs that he did make his own, in astoundingly original manner, enough to outweigh the filler material.

In 70s that was not the case. As I mentioned before, one can still enjoy the performance when it is strong and committed.

[Igotstung]

But there is merit in many of the 70s songs on basis of excellent vocal performance. It was not revolutionary, but it continues to move and excite audiences decades later.

That, I think, could be a view of 21st century fans like me because there is no contemporaneus association. I understand and respect counterviews of original fans.

All successful legacy acts have audiences in 2024.

Which means a 21st century fan of, say, Simon & Garfunkel will know that "Bridge Over Troubled Water" was the song of the year for 1970, a multiple-Grammy Award winner in 1971, and one of their "signature" songs.

And if they hear Elvis' live recording from 1970, they'll appreciate it, but also remain aware of the difference.

Music today -- old and new -- is just a push of a button away.

Agree. It is very easy to check out original as well as other versions. And the signature aspect will always be influencial.

But my point is, the performance matters more now without the immidiate contemporaneus emotional experience. One can enjoy the original as well as the excellent covers.

[pmp]

pmp: Working from your list, these are the ones I don't like. Shake Rattle and Roll, Tutti Frutti, Ready Teddy, Blueberry Hill, True Love, When It Rains It Really Pours.

I'm not saying I don't like them, or that they aren't good. But the discussion at that point was about cover songs that Elvis made his own - hence my list of cover songs that he didn't do that with in the 1950s, and which were really pretty straight, uninventive covers used as filler for albums.

The difference is that in the 50s there were several songs that he did make his own, in astoundingly original manner, enough to outweigh the filler material.

In 70s that was not the case. As I mentioned before, one can still enjoy the performance when it is strong and committed.

There were several in the 70s, too.

[jurasic1968]

It was hard for Elvis to beat My Way, Something, Yesterday, Green, Green Grass of Home and What'd I Say original versions.

[r&b]

pmp: Working from your list, these are the ones I don't like. Shake Rattle and Roll, Tutti Frutti, Ready Teddy, Blueberry Hill, True Love, When It Rains It Really Pours.

I'm not saying I don't like them, or that they aren't good. But the discussion at that point was about cover songs that Elvis made his own - hence my list of cover songs that he didn't do that with in the 1950s, and which were really pretty straight, uninventive covers used as filler for albums.

The difference is that in the 50s there were several songs that he did make his own, in astoundingly original manner, enough to outweigh the filler material.

In 70s that was not the case. As I mentioned before, one can still enjoy the performance when it is strong and committed.

Yes he did. I cant say the same for the covers I heard post the Elvis Country album. With the exception of Promised Land, most were straight forward copies. Even for the 50's songs where they original is still the better version (Blueberry Hill, Tutti Fruitti, etc ) there is something magical about his voice. it was fresh and exciting to hear him sing anything, and there are basically no 50's songs I ever skip because I love his singing.

[brian]

Their is a difference between doing a cover live on stage and recording a cover in the studio that you intend to release as a single. In the 50s since Elvis released several covers as singles he changed up the arrangements to be different from the original. That's different than just performing covers of popular songs that you like on stage. In the seventies if Elvis was going to release some of those songs as singles he may have changed the songs to be different than the originals. Also sometimes singers will just copy a song when they do a cover and sometimes they will change the arrangement. It's that way for all singers. Most of the songs Jurasic mentioned were very popular songs and they were already standards of music by the time Elvis covered them.

[Igotstung]

pmp: Working from your list, these are the ones I don't like. Shake Rattle and Roll, Tutti Frutti, Ready Teddy, Blueberry Hill, True Love, When It Rains It Really Pours.

I'm not saying I don't like them, or that they aren't good. But the discussion at that point was about cover songs that Elvis made his own - hence my list of cover songs that he didn't do that with in the 1950s, and which were really pretty straight, uninventive covers used as filler for albums.

The difference is that in the 50s there were several songs that he did make his own, in astoundingly original manner, enough to outweigh the filler material.

In 70s that was not the case. As I mentioned before, one can still enjoy the performance when it is strong and committed.

Yes he did. I cant say the same for the covers I heard post the Elvis Country album. With the exception of Promised Land, most were straight forward copies. Even for the 50's songs where they original is still the better version (Blueberry Hill, Tutti Fruitti, etc ) there is something magical about his voice. it was fresh and exciting to hear him sing anything, and there are basically no 50's songs I ever skip because I love his singing.

50s Elvis is pure magic. No doubt. There was always an ' it' factor in even straightforward covers.
Late 60s / 1970 also consistently astounding performances.

[drjohncarpenter]

The difference is that in the 50s there were several songs that he did make his own, in astoundingly original manner, enough to outweigh the filler material.

In 70s that was not the case. As I mentioned before, one can still enjoy the performance when it is strong and committed.

Yes he did. I cant say the same for the covers I heard post the Elvis Country album. With the exception of Promised Land, most were straight forward copies. Even for the 50's songs where they original is still the better version (Blueberry Hill, Tutti Fruitti, etc ) there is something magical about his voice. it was fresh and exciting to hear him sing anything, and there are basically no 50's songs I ever skip because I love his singing.

Sanity is restored.

[Cryogenic]

Let's be perfectly honest. During many of his 1950s covers, he does nothing remarkable with them.

Long Tall Sally, Rip It Up, Shake, Rattle and Roll, I Got a Woman, Tutti Frutti, When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold, Ready Teddy, I Believe, Blueberry Hill, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, True Love, When It Rains It Really Pours, Your Cheatin' Heart - none of them were "made his own."

Take a look at that list of songs again. Take a long, hard look. Whether or not Elvis always made a song completely "his own" is irrelevant. What matters is, in the 1950s, Elvis was game to try a broad range of material, infuse it with his own personality and one-of-a-kind style, and blow the hinges off the doors of popular music. Back then, Elvis' incredible versatility shined on every track, and his sheer love for music was evident in abundance, carrying the listener into a sweet kind of ecstatic admiration and awe. The real power of Elvis and all the promise of that young, fearless singer is in these tracks and many others from the period. In his early years, he wove a tapestry of unmatched brilliance and, per Leonard Bernstein, brought the beat to everything.

Good though some of them were, most of them were still not as good as the original, and not even that different from the original. Of course, the same isn't true for much of the Sun material, but it shows how quickly a workmanlike/"that will do" attitude started to seep into Elvis's recording sessions once he got to RCA.

You overlook the fact that, at Sun, Elvis worked with a genius producer, who had his own methodology, philosophy, and style, who brought the best out in Elvis, and who was very picky about what got pressed and sent out to the buying public. At RCA, Elvis had to invent his own sound as he went, and he was also under the gun to produce commercial hits. If he faltered at times, or seemingly failed to turn every last song inside-out, it wasn't that he wasn't trying or deliberately doing a half-assed job.

The fact he ventured back to Sun Studios in 1956 and recorded music in a free-form way with several contemporaries, and is also captured on tape speaking excitedly about Jackie Wilson, for example, shows he had music in his veins and was more comfortable, in a way, performing without the pressure of generating instant hits at RCA. In part, in fact, this is why he went through fallow periods later in his career and struggled to record as consistently well as he did in his pre-army years.

Yes, of course there were exceptions, such as Hound Dog, Blue Suede Shows and the rocking Sun sides (and Blue Moon), but they were actually the exceptions and not the rule when it came to covers - just as in the 1960s, and just as in the 1970s.

Yes, sometimes Elvis was more inventive with one song than another, and yes, he was generally a lot more inventive and engaged in the 1950s than at any other time in his career. In the 1960s and 1970s, he also battled a mounting pharmaceutical addiction, as well as intense depression and loneliness, and was nursing a lot of frustrations with the direction of his life and career. In the 1950s, he was still fresh out the wrapper and the world was his oyster -- that's literally the sound we hear coming through on virtually everything he touched back then, and it's what makes that slice of his musical odyssey so indelible and imperishable.

[drjohncarpenter]

Let's be perfectly honest. During many of his 1950s covers, he does nothing remarkable with them.

Long Tall Sally, Rip It Up, Shake, Rattle and Roll, I Got a Woman, Tutti Frutti, When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold, Ready Teddy, I Believe, Blueberry Hill, Have I Told You Lately That I Love You, True Love, When It Rains It Really Pours, Your Cheatin' Heart - none of them were "made his own."

Take a look at that list of songs again. Take a long, hard look. Whether or not Elvis always made a song completely "his own" is irrelevant. What matters is, in the 1950s, Elvis was game to try a broad range of material, infuse it with his own personality and one-of-a-kind style, and blow the hinges off the doors of popular music. Back then, Elvis' incredible versatility shined on every track, and his sheer love for music was evident in abundance, carrying the listener into a sweet kind of ecstatic admiration and awe. The real power of Elvis and all the promise of that young, fearless singer is in these tracks and many others from the period. In his early years, he wove a tapestry of unmatched brilliance and, per Leonard Bernstein, brought the beat to everything.

Good though some of them were, most of them were still not as good as the original, and not even that different from the original. Of course, the same isn't true for much of the Sun material, but it shows how quickly a workmanlike/"that will do" attitude started to seep into Elvis's recording sessions once he got to RCA.

You overlook the fact that, at Sun, Elvis worked with a genius producer, who had his own methodology, philosophy, and style, who brought the best out in Elvis, and who was very picky about what got pressed and sent out to the buying public. At RCA, Elvis had to invent his own sound as he went, and he was also under the gun to produce commercial hits. If he faltered at times, or seemingly failed to turn every last song inside-out, it wasn't that he wasn't trying or deliberately doing a half-assed job.

The fact he ventured back to Sun Studios in 1956 and recorded music in a free-form way with several contemporaries, and is also captured on tape speaking excitedly about Jackie Wilson, for example, shows he had music in his veins and was more comfortable, in a way, performing without the pressure of generating instant hits at RCA. In part, in fact, this is why he went through fallow periods later in his career and struggled to record as consistently well as he did in his pre-army years.

Yes, of course there were exceptions, such as Hound Dog, Blue Suede Shows and the rocking Sun sides (and Blue Moon), but they were actually the exceptions and not the rule when it came to covers - just as in the 1960s, and just as in the 1970s.

Yes, sometimes Elvis was more inventive with one song than another, and yes, he was generally a lot more inventive and engaged in the 1950s than at any other time in his career. In the 1960s and 1970s, he also battled a mounting pharmaceutical addiction, as well as intense depression and loneliness, and was nursing a lot of frustrations with the direction of his life and career. In the 1950s, he was still fresh out the wrapper and the world was his oyster -- that's literally the sound we hear coming through on virtually everything he touched back then, and it's what makes that slice of his musical odyssey so indelible and imperishable.

Game over.

Every word here.

[Cryogenic]

Game over.

Every word here.

Thanks, Doc.

I may have pinched a bit of your phrasing in places, or channelled your spirit somehow, but I hope that's okay. You're completely correct in everything you say about the 50s Elvis, and it's a pleasure to read your posts, including revisiting plenty of old(er) ones. If there's a "side" to be taken here on this matter, I definitely take yours.

[elvis-fan]

It was hard for Elvis to beat My Way...

IMO Elvis' live performance is the ONLY version... the sad studio version notwithstanding...

[elvis-fan]

Yes he did. I cant say the same for the covers I heard post the Elvis Country album. With the exception of Promised Land, most were straight forward copies. Even for the 50's songs where they original is still the better version (Blueberry Hill, Tutti Fruitti, etc ) there is something magical about his voice. it was fresh and exciting to hear him sing anything, and there are basically no 50's songs I ever skip because I love his singing.

Well said... but I still can't stand Elvis' version of Tutti Frutti... IMO it's on par with Pat Boone's

[r&b]

Yes he did. I cant say the same for the covers I heard post the Elvis Country album. With the exception of Promised Land, most were straight forward copies. Even for the 50's songs where they original is still the better version (Blueberry Hill, Tutti Fruitti, etc ) there is something magical about his voice. it was fresh and exciting to hear him sing anything, and there are basically no 50's songs I ever skip because I love his singing.

Well said... but I still can't stand Elvis' version of Tutti Frutti... IMO it's on par with Pat Boone's

Oh no Pat's? Kinda disagree there. Pat crooned it, at least Elvis rocked it. But no one can ever beat Little Richard. I think his best Little Richard cover was Ready Teddy. a 100% rock and roll performance and the band cooked.

[Igotstung]

Yes he did. I cant say the same for the covers I heard post the Elvis Country album. With the exception of Promised Land, most were straight forward copies. Even for the 50's songs where they original is still the better version (Blueberry Hill, Tutti Fruitti, etc ) there is something magical about his voice. it was fresh and exciting to hear him sing anything, and there are basically no 50's songs I ever skip because I love his singing.

Well said... but I still can't stand Elvis' version of Tutti Frutti... IMO it's on par with Pat Boone's

Oh no Pat's? Kinda disagree there. Pat crooned it, at least Elvis rocked it. But no one can ever beat Little Richard. I think his best Little Richard cover was Ready Teddy. a 100% rock and roll performance and the band cooked.

The performance on Ed Sullivan captures the essence of that explosive exuberence and joy of life that is Elvis. Timeless.