Elvis singing Bing Crosby

"you know, those lyrics. She walks, she talks. I don't like that."

who wants to listen to those lyrics when you could be listen to great lyrics such as "i want to hold your hand" and "P.S. I love you" ........an education on lyrics .........and an education on voices .........Had John Lennon been told his voice sounded like Bing Crosby he would have been distraught... well said Mr Lennon.

It is the height of folly to attempt to denigrate John Lennon, one of the greatest songwriters in rock 'n' roll history, a man whose lyrics inspired millions.

It is a fact that John's point about Elvis-as-Crosby, in June 1963, is unassailable. The standards held so high in the '50s have dropped, and as a true-blue Elvis Presley fan, he clearly expresses on that program the hope that his hero will change course.

We all know what happened to Elvis' career in the ensuing few years after 1963.

There was an elderly gentleman I knew who didn't like Elvis at all. His favorite was Bing Crosby. Remember thinking at the time that Elvis admired Bing Crosby. How many songs recorded by Bing Crosby did Elvis cover? What were they? And did Bing cover any songs by Elvis during his career?

The tunes below, which Elvis cut between 1957 and 1971, may be directly traced to superb earlier versions by Bing Crosby. Especially those in red:

"Make Believe"
"Blue Hawaii"
"Sweet Leilani"
"White Christmas"
"If I Loved You"
"I'll Be Home For Christmas"
"Beyond The Reef"
"Hawaiian Wedding Song"
"True Love"
"Silver Bells"

It should be stated that the Presley arrangement of "White Christmas" is a direct cop of the #1 R&B classic recorded by the Drifters.

541113_Atlantic 1048 45_Drifters.JPG

The Drifters featuring Clyde McPhatter and Bill Pinckney, "White Christmas" (Atlantic 1048, November 13, 1954)
Clyde McPhatter grabs the lead at 1:09, Bill Pinkney is the bass voice doing the first verse alone.

541113_Atlantic 1048 78_Drifters.JPG

Of the non-red items, it was certainly possible that Elvis learned Make Believe and If I Loved You after hearing them in the 1950s film versions of Show Boat and Carousel respectively. Certainly Presley's Make Believe has much more in common with the Grayson/Keel rendition than the Crosby one from back in 1928 which is upbeat and a VERY early recording by Bing. With regards to If I Loved You, one could assume that Elvis knew the Roy Hamilton version which is really quite close to Presley's own.

Great clip ,really like the sax on this

From what little I know, it did, but the '50s would always rule in John Lennon's heart.

He wore a huge ELVIS pin on his coat at the 1975 Grammy Awards ceremony, so the love never died.

And he announced his love to all of Madison Square Garden in 1972.

Yup. John actually says, mid-song, "Elvis, I love ya."

John Lennon, "Hound Dog" (Madison Square Garden, Wednesday, August 30, 1972)
Note: John says "Elvis, I love ya" at 2:46.

It is not insignificant that the leader of the greatest band in the history of rock 'n' roll stood on the Madison Square Garden stage just eight weeks after Elvis had been there, covered "Hound Dog" and yelled "Elvis, I love ya" while singing it.

From what little I know, it did, but the '50s would always rule in John Lennon's heart.

He wore a huge ELVIS pin on his coat at the 1975 Grammy Awards ceremony, so the love never died.

And he announced his love to all of Madison Square Garden in 1972.

Yup. John actually says, mid-song, "Elvis, I love ya."

John Lennon, "Hound Dog" (Madison Square Garden, Wednesday, August 30, 1972)
Note: John says "Elvis, I love ya" at 2:46.

It is not insignificant that the leader of the greatest band in the history of rock 'n' roll stood on the Madison Square Garden stage just eight weeks after Elvis had been there, covered "Hound Dog" and yelled "Elvis, I love ya" while singing it.

Great clip ,really like the sax on this

Me too! That's sax player Stan Bronstein.

There was an elderly gentleman I knew who didn't like Elvis at all. His favorite was Bing Crosby. Remember thinking at the time that Elvis admired Bing Crosby. How many songs recorded by Bing Crosby did Elvis cover? What were they? And did Bing cover any songs by Elvis during his career?

The tunes below, which Elvis cut between 1957 and 1971, may be directly traced to superb earlier versions by Bing Crosby. Especially those in red:

"Make Believe"
"Blue Hawaii"
"Sweet Leilani"
"White Christmas"
"If I Loved You"
"I'll Be Home For Christmas"
"Beyond The Reef"
"Hawaiian Wedding Song"
"True Love"
"Silver Bells"

It should be stated that the Presley arrangement of "White Christmas" is a direct cop of the #1 R&B classic recorded by the Drifters.

541113_Atlantic 1048 45_Drifters.JPG

/quote]

This is often said but it's really only the chorus that Elvis takes from the McPhatter version, although that version was clearly his influence on the song. The only part that is copped though is that great falsetto on the chorus. The rest is quite different with Elvis offering almost a mellow jazzy reading of the rest of the song.