Elvis in the '60s

[likethebike]

Well then what do contemporary artists do when they don't record at all for years on end. At least, Elvis still came up with some good stuff once in awhile.

In what career is there no slump? That's why this whole argument is moot. If no one else does it why do we think it's reasonable that Elvis would? And I'm not talking this one album every three to five years jazz, but on Elvis' standards three quality albums every year and a similar of singles. I just don't see any artist keeping up with that pace over the course of decades.

[drjohncarpenter]

Well then what do contemporary artists do when they don't record at all for years on end. At least, Elvis still came up with some good stuff once in awhile.

In what career is there no slump? That's why this whole argument is moot. If no one else does it why do we think it's reasonable that Elvis would? And I'm not talking this one album every three to five years jazz, but on Elvis' standards three quality albums every year and a similar of singles. I just don't see any artist keeping up with that pace over the course of decades.

Excuses, nothing but excuses from you.

[likethebike]

Many call it reality.

If no one else does it why is Elvis expected to do it? It's almost a childish expectation as if Elvis were superman. You perform and perform a lot, you slump. That's reality based thinking. Ask any of Elvis' 50s rivals. Ask the solo Beatles in the 1970s. Ask Bob Dylan who has slumped and rebounded so much he seems like ping pong ball.

Gosh, if only Elvis had recorded an album like Ricky Nelson's Love and Kisses in 1965 instead of those soundtracks he would have owned the charts and pop music. His legacy would be so much better today. If only he had recorded slip shod versions of his '50s hits as Chuck Berry did in 1967 then gosh darn pop music would have stood up and took notice.

[drjohncarpenter]

Many call it reality.

Are there two of you behind that keyboard? Oh, dear.

Elvis' career shortcomings are well defined by the historical record, as in the facts I have presented on this topic. He did not have a "slump" -- he quit trying. At all.

But if you feel better making up fanciful stories which serve to excuse what happened and why, keep on truckin'.

[likethebike]

You have presented no facts only opinion. Please, please, please refrain from citing your opinion as fact. It obfuscates debate rather than enlightens it. It's not a great deal to ask. Fact- "Suspicious Minds" was a million selling record. Opinion- "Suspicious Minds" is a great record. It's not that hard to differentiate.

I make no excuses for Elvis because Elvis does not need my excuses. I'm happy with his body of work warts and all. I don't spend hours worrying about "Clambake" or "Life" or Harum Scarum or Paradise Hawaiian Style because of hours and hours of great material like From Elvis in Memphis, Elvis Country, "Burning Love," "Suspicion," "Suspicious Minds," the Sun Sessions, "Hound Dog," "Little Sister," "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame," and on and on. I don't think everything he did should have been great or even good. Because in all the hours of listening I've spent with popular music in my life, I haven't met that artist yet. And a lack of interest is a legitimate reason for a slump except for people who think a singer is superman. It matters not a whit to me why music is bad. All that matter is it's bad. When a Bon Jovi record (sorry Bon Jovi fans they're just not for me) they think it's a great record every time out. That somehow makes it better than an Elvis toss away, more listenable? Not for me.

It's just a different way of looking at the world. People disparage one hit wonders. To me a one hit wonder is often a miracle if it's a great song like "Stay," or "Get a Job" because it's very hard to be great once or even a few times. If someone is great hundreds of times like Elvis we should bemoan that he wasn't great even more? It makes no sense to me.

[bajo]

Well put likethebike!
We all know of Elvis' shortcomings in the mid sixties. And the fatal end to a legend. Ups or downs, the fact remains: Few artists have been more critizised than Elvis over the years. Still, he remains a household name, Elvis, all over the world. The statistics somehow overrule some of these, so called shortcomings.
Some critizise him for lack of artistic direction. But, the statistic fact is that his critically acclaimed recordings like Elvis Is Back and From Elvis In Memphis are nowhere near some of his biggest album sellers, world wide. How come? Looking at Elvis' Hollywood career today does not reflect the time it happened. For the most part Elvis was both a popular recording artist and moviemaker up until and including Crying In The Chapel/Tickle Me.
I don't think one can blame Elvis alone. The Movie contracts and schedule didn't leave much time for touring and recording. No excuse maybe, but it's all in the history now.
Some of Elvis' greatest and biggest single records appeared in the beginning of the 60's. The combination of popular movies, even how bad they may look today, were part of a timeframe where Elvis Presley was a real big star of his own. Not only because of what took place before the army. But, because the popularity that period gave Elvis. Over here, Elvis was never bigger than in the period 1960 - 1965. The Scandinavian charts reflect those facts.
One Broken Heart For Sale and King Of The Whole Wide World were big hits in Scandinavia. Maybe not his greatest recording according to some, but they were popular because it was Elvis!! I think many people tend to forget that the Elvis fan base is a wide range of people, of musical tastes and not least ages. I know fans who don't like From Elvis In Memphis, save for In The Ghetto. But, give them the early Camden albums and they love them. The question remains: How on earth did he become such a superstar with all the shortcomings we are led to believe he lived through? To me, I've lived through all the seasons of Elvis career, and I love most of it!

[brian]

I just wanted Elvis to do the best he could in the mid 60s if he still had a major slump then so be it.

Elvis was recording songs that he didn't want to record and his career was going in a direction he didn't like.

I just wished that Elvis recorded the songs he wanted to and to do the best he could.

I feel since records like ''Kissin Cousins'', ''Such a night, ''Ask me'', ''Ain't that loving you baby'', ''puppet on a string'', ''I'm yours'' and ''Such an easy question hit the top twenty then with more contemporary material he could've had top ten singles during those years.

Elvis got his career on track again in 1968 and 1969 when the movie songs got better and he started recording material by songwriters Mark James and Mac Davis.

Imagine the mid 60s if Elvis had rejected the soundtrack material and recorded songs by Mitch Murray, Burt Bacharach & Hal David, Goffin & King, Mann & Weil, Jeff Barry & Ellie Greenwich, Tommy Boyce & Bobby Hart and Jimmy Webb.

The Beatles, Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones would always have been more culturally important to the 1960s than Elvis Presley but he could have been a bigger part of the hit parade than he was.

His career didn't have to slump as bad as it did.

[A. C. van Kuijk]

To me it simply looks as if Elvis stopped to care. He made his movies within a few weeks and received a lot of money for each of the flicks. Besides that, he got royalties as a singer and publisher. So it was a lot of cash for doing very little. He may have complained about the quality of the movies, but still he continued to sign new contracts with MGM, Paramount, United Artists and some others. He simply took the money and ran.

In 1965 RCA wanted him to record an anniversary album, but the King and his manager decided that a collection of leftovers was good enough. So one cannot even say that Elvis didn't have the chance to record a proper album because of all the soundtracks. He simply didn't want to.

We have to face the fact, that Elvis just tried hard when really needed.

[Matthew]

To me it simply looks as if Elvis stopped to care.

Exactly - the bottom line is that his talent through many prime years of his life went wasted due to a lack of wits and balls, mixed with an unhealthy dose of seeming indifference. 1963-1967 finds a man in his late 20s to his early 30s, the years many great musicians achieve some of their finest works. We're not talking about some washed up older star doing anything for a buck.

[rjm]

Things changed in the mid-60s. You could see it as an opportunity as did Dylan. He could have been discouraged but he plugged in.

I think Elvis got discouraged. People are different. He was easily discouraged. He didn't like what he was doing. Elvis didn't plug in for a while. He stepped aside and pulled the plug.

But he did make his way back. That he did.

rjm

[jurasic1968]

I'm sorry but in the American Top 10 of the 1964-1968 years were not only British groups. I remember Roy Orbison who had many top ten hits during this period. So it wasn't impossible for Elvis to have some top 10 hits if he recorded some good music

[ale]

The sad reality is that there are a lot of soulless recordings from these sessions, all at Studio B, my friend.[/quote]


yes Doc but there also a lot of great ones too
Here are my favourites:

Make Me Know It
Soldier Boy
Stuck On You
Fame And Fortune
A Mess Of Blues
It Feels So Right
Fever
Like A Baby
It's Now Or Never
The Girl Of My Best Friend
Dirty, Dirty Feeling
Thrill Of Your Love
I Gotta Know
Such A Night
Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Girl Next Door Went A'Walking
I Will Be Home Again
Reconsider Baby
Milky White Way
His Hand In Mine
I Believe In The Man In The Sky
He Knows Just What I Need
Surrender
Mansion Over The Hilltop
In My Father's House
Joshua Fit The Battle
Swing Down Sweet Chariot
I'm Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs
If We Never Meet Again
Known Only To Him
Crying In The Chapel
Working On The Building
I'm Comin' Home
In Your Arms
Give Me The Right
I Feel So Bad
I Want You With Me
There's Always Me
Starting Today
Judy
Put The Blame On Me
Kiss Me Quick
(Marie's The Name) His Latest Flame
Little Sister
For The Millionth And The Last Time
Good Luck Charm
Anything That's Part Of You
I Met Her Today
Night Rider
Something Blue
Gonna Get Back Home Somehow
(Such An) Easy Question
Just For Old Time Sake
You'll Be Gone
I Feel That I've Known You Forever
Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello
Suspicion
Please Don't Drag That String Around
(You're The) Devil In Disguise
What Now, What Next, Where To
Witchcraft
Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers
Love Me Tonight
Memphis, Tennessee (1st version)
(It's A) Long Lonely Highway
Western Union
Slowly But Surely
Blue River
Memphis, Tennessee (2nd version)
It Hurts Me
Run On
How Great Thou Art
Stand By Me
Where No One Stands Alone
Down In The Alley
Tomorrow Is A Long Time
Love Letters
So High
Father along
By and By
In The Garden
Somebody Bigger Than You And I
Without Him
If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side
Where Could I Go But To The Lord
Come What May
Fools Fall In Love
Indescribably Blue
I'll Remember You
Guitar Man
Big Boss Man
Hi-Heel Sneakers
You Don't Know Me
We Call On Him
You'll Never Walk Alone
Too Much Monkey Business
Goin' Home
Stay Away
Stay Away (slow version)
U.S. Male

[r&b]

I'm sorry but in the American Top 10 of the 1964-1968 years were not only British groups. I remember Roy Orbison who had many top ten hits during this period. So it wasn't impossible for Elvis to have some top 10 hits if he recorded some good music

Not only Roy, but Dean Martin, Sinatra, The Beach Boys, 4 Seasons. Motown artists, Rigteous Bros, Simon & Garfunkel. Americans still made the charts consistently. All it took was good materrial. I'm sorry but Do The Clam and the like was awful stuff and didnt deserve to be hits.

[elvis-fan]

Sadly, Elvis didn't have the wherewithal or business sense to control his own career. From 1955 on, he gave Parker full and complete control, feeling indebted to him. I don't care what anyone says about Elvis choosing his own music... he was restricted, for the most part, to choosing music from his own publishing companies. Had he a better understanding of the music business and had he chosen to take control, his resources for new music were endless. Obviously Parker's role in all of this was to make money for his client (as well as himself)... most evident by two major happenings in Elvis career:
1) 3 films a year during the 60's
2) endless Vegas engagements and exhausting tour schedules during the 70's
After 1961, Elvis' career was on cruise control... until 1968 when he could no longer physically stomach the Parker/Wallis formula pictures. It is frustrating to me, as a lifelong Elvis fan, when I realize what more Elvis truly could have given as an artist had he cared about his career during the 60's and had not simply been satisfied with what was happening "behind the scenes". It didn't help that he surrounded himself with an entourage of men taking care of his every need... he did nothing for himself... personally or professionally... that's the real tragedy here.

[EPA4368]

Elvis didn't have to become more contemporary. He just needed to apply himself to his art.

If the public turned away, which I strongly doubt would have been the case, his true fan base would have been very proud of his commitment. One cannot overlook the fact that Roustabout hit #1 almost a year after the Beatles exploded in the United States. This indicated fans were desperate for Elvis Presley to get down and get with it, and were not ready to abandon him.

But then came his 1965 and 1966 releases.

That's it, Elvis just needed to apply himself to his art. I recall after "Harum Scarum" a DJ asked, "When will Elvis start making music again?" For the next two hours Elvis fans immediately lighting up the switchboard with call after call asking the same question. Fans were expressing their frustrations with Elvis still in his prime years wasting his talents on his movie soundtracks and hoping Elvis will start making music again soon.

In private even Elvis didn't care for his films and the soundtracks by the mid 60s. Maybe the question is, why Elvis didn't stand up for his career more? When Elvis did, the results were electric.

[Chris Roberts]

To me it simply looks as if Elvis stopped to care.

Exactly - the bottom line is that his talent through many prime years of his life went wasted due to a lack of wits and balls, mixed with an unhealthy dose of seeming indifference. 1963-1967 finds a man in his late 20s to his early 30s, the years many great musicians achieve some of their finest works. We're not talking about some washed up older star doing anything for a buck.

I agree with all of above But it shouldn't be forgotten that these days being in your late 20's and early 30's certainly isn't considered old, but back then it was considered old for a rock star. When Elvis came out of the army one of the interviewers even asked him if at 25, wasn't he too old for rock'n'roll? Of course even if he didn't want to 'rock', there should have been no excuse to lower his standards like he did. But after Roustabout he was more interested in self realisation and religions than he was in his 'art'. In a later interview he cited 1965 as the year he became dissolutioned with his carreer.

Back to age, at 67,45 years ago I would have been considered ancient, but these days I feel that i'm just in my late middle age and certainly not too old to rock

[likethebike]

1960- Elvis is Back, His Hand in Mine, "It's Now Or Never," "A Mess of Blues," "Are You Lonesome To-Night?," "Stuck on You," "Fame and Fortune," "I Gotta Know," "Doing the Best I Can," "Crying in the Chapel," etc. Age 25

1961- "Can't Help Falling in Love" the most popular ballad of the 1960s along with the Righteous Brothers' "Unchained Melody," year after topping the oldies polls, "There's Always Me," "Little Sister," the hugely popular version of "Hawaiian Wedding Song," "King of the Whole Wide World," a favorite of many critics, "Follow That Dream," a favorite of Bruce Springsteen, "Anything That's Part of You," "Starting Today," "It's a Sin," "That's Someone You Never Forget" now a very popular cult item, "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame," the devastating Pearl Harbor performance, "I Feel So Bad," a favorite of Eric Clapton among others. Age 26.

1962- "Return to Sender" one of the decade's absolute positive biggest hits. "Suspicion," amongst the song's authors favorite Elvis songs and a massive hit for an Elvis imitator only two years later, "She's Not You," "They Remind Me Too Much of You," "One Broken Heart For Sale," a big hit the only whine on which seems to be its length and vaguest of vague similarities to "Return to Sender" to which I point out "It's the Same Old Song" to "I Can't Help Myself," "Quicksand" to "Heat Wave" etc. The Motown empire which was as hot as a pistol had no trouble releasing similar sounding songs to great fan and critical acclaim. The list here by the way like the entire list could be longer if I included arguments. The closest thing to an argument here is "One Broken Heart for Sale." The 750,000 referees that picked up the record on release and the millions more who bought it on comps over the years tip the scales towards its inclusion. Age 27.

1963- "You're the Devil in Disguise," again another huge hit, another song anthologized to death and played endlessly on oldies radio for DECADES after its release. On Top 40 radio, before the invention of oldies radio, you would still hear it occasionally in the mix, particularly in the day time. "Viva Las Vegas," not only an iconic classic but what other Elvis song inspired by covers by artists as diverse as Bruce Springsteen, ZZ Top and the Dead Kennedys? "I Need Someone to Lean On," a much written about film ballad, at least in the many Elvis' text. "You're the Boss," since its discovery much beloved in and out of the fan base, "C'mon Everybody" better on film than on wax but the backbone of one of Elvis' most iconic film sequences, "It's a Long Lonely Highway," ok its an argument and I've limited those but it's a great Pomus lyric and Elvis to these ears finds its depth. This list by the way does not include "Bossa Nova Baby" because of that song's novelty status, but it's a song that has stood up far beyond its origin as the subject of several remixes, played on oldies radio and in clubs like the Hard Rock when I visited it, and its stature is mostly due to Elvis' frantic performance. It could be here but you can discount it if you like. Age 28

1964- "It Hurts Me," one of Elvis' greatest of the great ballad performances. "Memphis Tennessee" double drums experimental the great lost would be single of Elvis' career, a performance he cared enough about to go back to the studio and nail. Age 29.

1965- Yes indeed this might be a washout were it not for the title track of "Frankie and Johnny" a swaggering track that deserves attention, even if you're free to dismiss it. Like almost nothing else in Elvis' catalog. Age 30.

1966- I will not include the uptempo Spinout tracks of which I am so fond because the goal is to limit arguments. Nor are the ballads of which Will Friedwald is so enamored. The beloved consensus. How Great Thou Art an iconic Grammy winning two million selling LP. How many iconic, word of mouth two Grammy winning two million selling LPs did the Everly Brothers, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, Ricky Nelson, Little Richard, Dion, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, etc. cut in the mid-1960s. Ummmm what's that number. Oh yes- zero. "Tomorrow is a Long Time." "Down in the Alley," "Love Letters," "Beyond the Reef," and "If Everyday Was Like Christmas." The latter belongs on the list because it's sold millions upon millions of copies on Christmas compilations over the years, it even anchored one as the title song in 1994. it even made two on Billboard's Christmas chart. In fact, it's one of the Top Ten all time charting songs on that chart. The fact that it's a kind of a beautiful personal song should carry some weight. Age 31.

1967- "Guitar Man," "Big Boss Man," "High Heeled Sneakers" three tough acoustic based rock and roll songs unlike almost anything on the charts in that era. "You Don't Know Me" studio version."You'll Never Walk Alone," praised heavily by Elvis biographer Peter Guralnick particularly for the personal commitment Elvis brings to the tune. Also praised by Paul Simpson and others. It's worth noting that none of the songs on this list for this year were big hits although all recognized by fans today as superior recordings. Also, "Let Yourself Go" belongs here because it was good enough to be remade as centerpiece in 1968's epic TV show. Although Elvis' vocal is better on the show, the arrangement and production are better on the original recording and Elvis doesn't slack on that either. Age 32.

1968- Much like 1960 a downright epic year. This is the problem fans expect too many epic years. The TV show sit down recordings top the list- Multiple versions of "Trying to Get to You," "One Night," "Lawdy Miss Clawdy," "Baby What You Want Me to Do," maybe the recordings of his life, plus "Tiger Man," "Blue Christmas," "Are You Lonesome To-Night?" "Memories," in any one else's hands pure gunk, in Elvis' pure Gold. The stand up recordings of special note towering remakes of "Love Me Tender," "Can't Help Falling in Love," and "Jailhouse Rock." These recordings are a special triumph because Elvis is battling cliche'd arrangements. Then there's the gospel medley which Elvis tears through like Holy hell, again battling a bad arrangement and winning. Then there's the studio recordings for the show "Let Yourself Go," "Trouble/Guitar Man" and even a torrid run through of "A Little Less Conversation," which would serve as the source of a huge hit remix nearly three and a half decades later. Then there's the original song "If I Can Dream." However, Elvis was still not done. In the recording studio, he and Jerry Reed continued their experimentation with an acoustic country rock style with "US Male," and "Too Much Monkey Business." Even in his movies, he gave us "Clean Up Your Own Backyard," which was funny and unusual. Age 33.

1969- Another epic year. From Elvis in Memphis rivaled only by Elvis is Back as his finest studio effort. 12 songs, 12 killers. "Suspicious Minds," considered by many to be the finest of all Elvis singles, "Stranger in My Own Hometown," "Kentucky Rain." There are many songs on Back in Memphis that many would fight for but this is mostly a consensus list and even good recordings like "Don't Cry Daddy," take a back seat here. Then there's the great Vegas recordings Age 34.

Even eliminating the tiny handful of arguments you have a list of over 100 great consensus songs over the course of the decade. That's the equivalent of one great LP every single year. It's important to know that list could easily expanded another LP or two with some good songs, with some arguments or even some solid songs. How many artists save the Beatles and Dylan, who were both at the beginnings of their professional careers and in their initial peaks like Elvis was in the 1950s, were so prolific? Maybe Ray Charles and James Brown, but to get to their stuff you have to go diving through the same way you do Elvis. And if the good to great stuff is in the minority so it is for everyone else. That's why it's great. Greatness is unique, it's unusual. It doesn't happen with every drop of the hat.

You had a terrific start and a terrific end and a down middle. Even in the down middle, save arguably 1965, there was still good stuff. In no way can you deliver so much and come up short. That it's not in as tidy a package as you want is not a fair complaint. Being that also in every year, save again 1965, there is at least one or two projects that are deeply personal to Elvis, it's unfair to say he gave up. He worked for hire, and eventually got worn down and his commitment, although seldom his professionalism, flagged there, but left to his own resources and interests, he came through. You can see as the decade wears on, that he starts to burn out a bit. But after their year 1965, he came back like a man on fire getting better as he went along until the chance to break out on the 1968 show.

[HoneyTalkNelson]

Bravo!

A brilliant post and one that should be read by not only every Elvis fan, but anyone that wants to understand popular music of the 1960's.

Excellent work.

[brian]

Fans had the right to have expected better material than the Kissin Cousins, Girl Happy, Paradise hawaiian style, Harem Scarem, Clambake, Double Trouble, Easy come, Easy go Easy go soundtracks.

Elvis shouldn't have recorded Dominic the Bull for the movie Stay Away Joe.

Everyone knows that Elvis did record some good stuff in the 1960s but we should have gotten better material during 1964 to 1968.

Regardless of any commericial impact i'd rather Elvis have done the type of material Dion, Bobby Darin, The Everly brothers or Ricky Nelson was doing during those years.

It be a lot better artistically than what we got.

If someone had a time machine and went back to 1958 to tell Elvis all the crap songs he would have recorded during the mid to late 60s he wouldn't have believed it.

I realize singers go through slumps and everyone has ups and downs but the majority of the material Elvis recorded during those years were just awful.

[Chris Roberts]

Great post Likethebike! Listing the songs by year, as you have and Dave Marsh did in his biography, makes you realise that all wasn't lost. Just that all those good songs were so often overshadowed by so much movie crap. He certainly did get bored in that mid '60's period. For examble apart from the title song that was 'recorded especially for records' and its flip side, the remainder of Frankie and Johnny and most of PHS, D.D. and H.S. were down several notches compared to his early '60 soundtracks, and just didn't seem to be recorded with as much care. As you hinted Spinout was an exeption.

As he himself later said, he did too many movie soundtracks and you can't have 12 good songs in each, such a shame that so much bad often hid so much that was good.

[Matthew]

Beggars belief.

[drjohncarpenter]

The sad reality is that there are a lot of soulless recordings from these sessions, all at Studio B, my friend.

yes Doc but there also a lot of great ones too

Most of your list predates May 1963, my friend. And that is the point.

[drjohncarpenter]

To me it simply looks as if Elvis stopped to care.

Exactly - the bottom line is that his talent through many prime years of his life went wasted due to a lack of wits and balls, mixed with an unhealthy dose of seeming indifference. 1963-1967 finds a man in his late 20s to his early 30s, the years many great musicians achieve some of their finest works. We're not talking about some washed up older star doing anything for a buck.

Exactly right.

But some here prefer to make excuses for these fallow years, or live in a fantasy world where Presley made his 1963-1967 music in a vacuum. Such is life.

[drjohncarpenter]

Elvis didn't have to become more contemporary. He just needed to apply himself to his art.

If the public turned away, which I strongly doubt would have been the case, his true fan base would have been very proud of his commitment. One cannot overlook the fact that Roustabout hit #1 almost a year after the Beatles exploded in the United States. This indicated fans were desperate for Elvis Presley to get down and get with it, and were not ready to abandon him.

But then came his 1965 and 1966 releases.

That's it, Elvis just needed to apply himself to his art. I recall after "Harum Scarum" a DJ asked, "When will Elvis start making music again?" For the next two hours Elvis fans immediately lighting up the switchboard with call after call asking the same question. Fans were expressing their frustrations with Elvis still in his prime years wasting his talents on his movie soundtracks and hoping Elvis will start making music again soon.

In private even Elvis didn't care for his films and the soundtracks by the mid 60s. Maybe the question is, why Elvis didn't stand up for his career more? When Elvis did, the results were electric.

All very good points, and right on the money.

Fans in the mid-sixties were desperate for Elvis to care about his music again, including ones named John Lennon and Paul McCartney, but Presley did not answer the bell.

Why everyone is unable to process the historical record for Elvis in this period is a mystery.

[drjohncarpenter]

Beggars belief.

I hear you.

No one can say we did not try!