did elvis cut alabama wild man - marty says so

hello ,

i was reading the book by marty lacker a protrait of a friend . on page 114 at the bottom he talks about elvis making serious music again and doing the 68 comeback and getting back to the real elvis again . he mentions that elvis cut song's such as guitar man , alabama wild man , in the ghetto and these songs went on to be big hit's . unless i have missed out on something elvis never recorded alabama wild man and i wonder how marty could have made a mistake like this . the song is not remote close to a titke elvis would have recorded and i wonder why marty say's this , unless i missed out on something .

hello ,

i was reading the book by marty lacker a protrait of a friend . on page 114 at the bottom he talks about elvis making serious music again and doing the 68 comeback and getting back to the real elvis again . he mentions that elvis cut song's such as guitar man , alabama wild man , in the ghetto and these songs went on to be big hit's . unless i have missed out on something elvis never recorded alabama wild man and i wonder how marty could have made a mistake like this . the song is not remote close to a titke elvis would have recorded and i wonder why marty say's this , unless i missed out on something .

It was just an editing error. Lacker knew the Jerry Reed single from either the late 1968 release or the summer 1972 remake, and may have confused the tune with Reed's work for Presley on "Too Much Monkey Business" or "Big Boss Man," man.

Alabama Wild Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Wild_Man

Last edited by drjohncarpenter on Sun Mar 17, 2013 10:41 am, edited 2 times in total.

that is what i thought as we'll doc , but what throwed me off is that marty mention's guitar man 1st the followed by alabama wild man , with him mentioning guitar man 1st it confused me a little . maybe he ment big boss man . thanks for the info

that is what i thought as we'll doc , but what throwed me off is that marty mention's guitar man 1st the followed by alabama wild man , with him mentioning guitar man 1st it confused me a little . maybe he ment big boss man . thanks for the info

I don't recall the quote, but yeah, "Big Boss Man" must be the title that needed to go in the list of "Man" songs there.

hello ,

i was reading the book by marty lacker a protrait of a friend . on page 114 at the bottom he talks about elvis making serious music again and doing the 68 comeback and getting back to the real elvis again . he mentions that elvis cut song's such as guitar man , alabama wild man , in the ghetto and these songs went on to be big hit's . unless i have missed out on something elvis never recorded alabama wild man and i wonder how marty could have made a mistake like this . the song is not remote close to a titke elvis would have recorded and i wonder why marty say's this , unless i missed out on something .

It was just an editing error. Lacker was well aware that the summer 1972 Jerry Reed single was not something Presley could have cut in 1967-68. He obviously meant to write "Guitar Man," man.

Alabama Wild Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Wild_Man

Guitar Man (Song)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Man_(song)

Books full of errors but fans take the words of these people as the gospel truth?!

Books full of errors but fans take the words of these people as the gospel truth?!

None of his books are "full of errors." They are, however, full of truth, which is why so many serious fans have them in their collections.

hello ,

i was reading the book by marty lacker a protrait of a friend . on page 114 at the bottom he talks about elvis making serious music again and doing the 68 comeback and getting back to the real elvis again . he mentions that elvis cut song's such as guitar man , alabama wild man , in the ghetto and these songs went on to be big hit's . unless i have missed out on something elvis never recorded alabama wild man and i wonder how marty could have made a mistake like this . the song is not remote close to a titke elvis would have recorded and i wonder why marty say's this , unless i missed out on something .

It was just an editing error. Lacker was well aware that the summer 1972 Jerry Reed single was not something Presley could have cut in 1967-68. He obviously meant to write "Guitar Man," man.

Alabama Wild Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Wild_Man

Guitar Man (Song)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Man_(song)

Elvis could have cut it in 1968, but there is no reason to think he did. Alabama Wild Man was initially released in 1968, on an album titled, you guessed it, Alabama Wild Man.

http://www.allmusic.com/album/alabama-w ... 0000861709

I have the original album. Classic Reed.

Elvis could have cut it in 1968, but there is no reason to think he did. Alabama Wild Man was initially released in 1968, on an album titled, you guessed it, Alabama Wild Man.

You're right, digging around it seems "Alabama Wild Man" did have a 1968 beginning after all. I've amended my comment. However, it was initially released in September as an RCA single, the LP followed a month later.

680921_RCA 9623_Reed.JPG

Jerry Reed "Alabama Wild Man" (RCA 47-9623, September 21, 1968)

Billboard October 19 1968 p62.JPG

Billboard - October 19, 1968


Did Jerry Reed have "Alabama Wild Man" written when he joined Presley's January 1968 Nashville sessions at RCA's Studio B?

No idea, but that would have been the time, as Elvis rejected all the non-soundtrack submissions and directly asked Jerry for ideas on material to record. in short order they cooked up fabulous renditions of Reed's "U.S. Male" and a version of Chuck Berry's "Too Much Monkey Business" borrowing the funky arrangement from Jerry's recent RCA single, "Tupelo Mississippi Flash."

It is interesting that Jerry cut a remake of "Alabama Wild Man" four years later.

Jerry Reed "Alabama Wild Man" (RCA 74-0763, June 26, 1972)


It did better on the charts, reaching Billboard Country #22 on September 16, 1972. The original version topped out at #48 on the November 16, 1968 Country chart.

Billboard September 16 1972 p33.JPG

Billboard - September 16, 1972


In listening to the late 1968 original of "Alabama Wild Man," Marty Lacker's memory may have confused the rollicking guitar sound Reed got on it with the great Presley cover of "Too Much Monkey Business," released by RCA in November 1968. Reed essentially plays the same licks on both.

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Last edited by drjohncarpenter on Sun Mar 17, 2013 10:48 am, edited 1 time in total.

In listening to the late 1968 original of "Alabama Wild Man," Marty Lacker's memory may have confused the rollicking guitar sound Reed got on it with the great Presley cover of "Too Much Monkey Business," released by RCA in November 1968. Reed essentially plays the same licks on both.

Another confusion?

In listening to the late 1968 original of "Alabama Wild Man," Marty Lacker's memory may have confused the rollicking guitar sound Reed got on it with the great Presley cover of "Too Much Monkey Business," released by RCA in November 1968. Reed essentially plays the same licks on both.

Another confusion?

Yes, and very non-crucial.

Some of Jerry Reed's incandescent picking...

Some of Jerry Reed's incandescent picking...

Beautiful stuff, from the 10-23-1970 "This Is Tom Jones" broadcast.

Reed shows off a fabulous jazz touch in his introduction to "In The Pines." He makes it look so easy.

Jones is flanked by his then-lead guitarist, Big Jim Sullivan, and another special guest, Glen Campbell. What an incredible amount of talent on that stage! Sullivan passed away just 5 months ago.

Thanks for posting the Billboard chart. You can find Elvis at #65 with "It's a Matter of Time" up from the week before, but stalled by the looks of things.

hello ,

i was reading the book by marty lacker a protrait of a friend . on page 114 at the bottom he talks about elvis making serious music again and doing the 68 comeback and getting back to the real elvis again . he mentions that elvis cut song's such as guitar man , alabama wild man , in the ghetto and these songs went on to be big hit's . unless i have missed out on something elvis never recorded alabama wild man and i wonder how marty could have made a mistake like this . the song is not remote close to a titke elvis would have recorded and i wonder why marty say's this , unless i missed out on something .

It was just an editing error. Lacker was well aware that the summer 1972 Jerry Reed single was not something Presley could have cut in 1967-68. He obviously meant to write "Guitar Man," man.

Alabama Wild Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Wild_Man

Guitar Man (Song)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Man_(song)

Books full of errors but fans take the words of these people as the gospel truth?!

The problem with this kind of thinking is people who were actually living the life like Marty, Lamar, Billy and even Elvis don't have the attention to the minute detail that the fans do. It's like how "Trekkies" know more about Star Trek and all the minutia of each episode than William Shattner and Leonard Nimoy do.

hello ,

i was reading the book by marty lacker a protrait of a friend . on page 114 at the bottom he talks about elvis making serious music again and doing the 68 comeback and getting back to the real elvis again . he mentions that elvis cut song's such as guitar man , alabama wild man , in the ghetto and these songs went on to be big hit's . unless i have missed out on something elvis never recorded alabama wild man and i wonder how marty could have made a mistake like this . the song is not remote close to a titke elvis would have recorded and i wonder why marty say's this , unless i missed out on something .

It was just an editing error. Lacker was well aware that the summer 1972 Jerry Reed single was not something Presley could have cut in 1967-68. He obviously meant to write "Guitar Man," man.

Alabama Wild Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Wild_Man

Guitar Man (Song)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Man_(song)

Books full of errors but fans take the words of these people as the gospel truth?!

The problem with this kind of thinking is people who were actually living the life like Marty, Lamar, Billy and even Elvis don't have the attention to the minute detail that the fans do. It's like how "Trekkies" know more about Star Trek and all the minutia of each episode than William Shattner and Leonard Nimoy do.

Yet people like tny/Marty state "I was there and you weren't so what do you know?" when you mention they are wrong.
Also, if there are proven errors in their books, how much else they write is misremembered?

Yet people like tny/Marty state "I was there and you weren't so what do you know?" when you mention they are wrong.
Also, if there are proven errors in their books, how much else they write is misremembered?

Let it go. 35+ years now. Thanks.

"An editing error?" Are you kidding, Carp. How was it an editing error? It's a factual error pure and simple. You persecute other people for making factual errors, but want us to give Slacker a free pass. Must be a friend of yours.

"An editing error?" Are you kidding, Carp. How was it an editing error? It's a factual error pure and simple. You persecute other people for making factual errors, but want us to give Slacker a free pass. Must be a friend of yours.

A crucial editing error indeed.

hello ,

i was reading the book by marty lacker a protrait of a friend . on page 114 at the bottom he talks about elvis making serious music again and doing the 68 comeback and getting back to the real elvis again . he mentions that elvis cut song's such as guitar man , alabama wild man , in the ghetto and these songs went on to be big hit's . unless i have missed out on something elvis never recorded alabama wild man and i wonder how marty could have made a mistake like this . the song is not remote close to a titke elvis would have recorded and i wonder why marty say's this , unless i missed out on something .

It was just an editing error. Lacker was well aware that the summer 1972 Jerry Reed single was not something Presley could have cut in 1967-68. He obviously meant to write "Guitar Man," man.

Alabama Wild Man
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alabama_Wild_Man

Guitar Man (Song)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guitar_Man_(song)

Books full of errors but fans take the words of these people as the gospel truth?!

The problem with this kind of thinking is people who were actually living the life like Marty, Lamar, Billy and even Elvis don't have the attention to the minute detail that the fans do. It's like how "Trekkies" know more about Star Trek and all the minutia of each episode than William Shattner and Leonard Nimoy do.

Yet people like tny/Marty state "I was there and you weren't so what do you know?" when you mention they are wrong.
Also, if there are proven errors in their books, how much else they write is misremembered?

Having been on the AEK Board with Marty for years and having talked to him several times; on stuff like this (saying Elvis cut Alabama Wild Man), he would admit the mistake and basically say that he/they really weren't Elvis fans, they/he were Elvis friends and they weren't tuned into everything Elvis was recording like a fan is. The stuff where Marty would say; "I was there and you weren't so what do you know?", is when fans would try to contradict a certain event and what Elvis thought or acted at a certain event or situation.

So he puts things in a book and then elsewhere say it has mistakes?
I wonder how much in his books is misremembered.
Can we get a list?
I guess the page numbering is correct?

So he puts things in a book and then elsewhere say it has mistakes?
I wonder how much in his books is misremembered.
Can we get a list?
I guess the page numbering is correct?

35+ years. Let it go.

So he puts things in a book and then elsewhere say it has mistakes?
I wonder how much in his books is misremembered.
Can we get a list?
I guess the page numbering is correct?

35+ years. Let it go.

Tell that to tny/Marty

That's what you get with "photographic memory."

That's what you get with "photographic memory."

Yup.

670501_w Lacker_Beaulieu_Aladdin.JPG

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Doc,

Where's the story about Rivers in "Elvis: What Happened." I've perused through my first edition copy of it and still haven't been able to locate it. Can you cite either a page number or a chapter number to make it a little easier to find.

And for the record, I never questioned whether he was or wasn't present. I only questioned whether:

A.) His memory was failing him.
B.) He was telling the honest-to-goodness truth
C.) He was embellishing stories to make himself seem more important

Even you, Doc, considering that you questioned Rivers' quote in Hopkins' book when interviewed ("five years") in your private message to me several years ago must admit that there is a huge discrepancy between a few Saturdays later and a few years later in Lacker's two accounts sixteen years apart in "Portrait Of A Friend" (1979) and "Revelations Of The Memphis Mafia" (1995).

Daryl