Suspicion....., torments my heart more than 40 years later!.

[Mike Windgren]

Special Easter topic.

Hi there!! .

Viva Las Vegas (“One Girl In Town” working title) movie debut in USA was on May 20, 1964 and shortly after all around the world and it became a blockbuster instantly.


Original U.S movie poster for Viva Las Vegas.

Some music experts thought back in those days that this movie soundtrack had a great potentiality to be a great success on the charts, but as we all know RCA decided not to release it as a soundtrack Lp. This was a bad decision as it is considered as one the greatest Elvis movie soundtracks from the mid-sixties. Eventually the bootleggers put out a beautiful soundtrack LP of Viva Las Vegas LR-711 in 1978 as homage to this movie.


Bootleg LR-711 Viva Las Vegas LP front cover.


Bootleg LR-711 Viva Las Vegas LP back cover.

They lifted the original soundtrack instead of using the regular RCA masters, including several unreleased outtakes and movie spots.

..
C´mon Everybody movie version taken from the bootleg LP LR-711 Viva Las Vegas.

In 1964 RCA released a single called Viva Las Vegas/What´d I Say 47-8360, to promote the soundtrack of this movie. It wasn´t a nº 1 hit but the song Viva Las Vegas did well on the charts reaching #29 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, although the B-side What´d I Say did it marginally the better of the two, #21 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart.


Viva Las Vegas/What´d I Say 47-8360 front cover released on: 04/28/1964.


Viva Las Vegas/What´d I Say 47-8360 back cover released on: 04/28/1964.

Back in 1964 when extended plays were almost obsolete, an EP called Viva Las Vegas EPA-4382 was released by RCA to promote the movie as well. It didn´t do well on the Billboard´s 100 charts, it peaked at #48 and stayed on the charts for 15 straight weeks.


Viva Las Vegas EPA-4382 front cover released on: 05/13/1964.


Viva Las Vegas EPA-4382 back cover released on: 05/13/1964.

In my opinion the EP Viva Las Vegas failed because of the selected songs included on it. As much as I love “Today, Tomorrow & Forever” and “I Need Somebody To Lean On”, in some way I think that these two great ballads don´t fit on this release. They just don´t belong there as after listening to two solid rock songs you get these two slow ballads and I can imagine during those frenetic mid sixties pop years people playing this EP on parties, they would probably have disliked listening to ballads after those fast songs.

The two songs included on the original RCA Viva Las Vegas 47-8360 single should have been included on the original extended play of the movie soundtrack instead of the two ballads and I am quite sure it would have charted much better. They didn´t, so this EP was a great disappointment to RCA when it failed on the charts.

In 2003 RCA/BMG/FTD Elvis Collector´s label released a great single cd Viva Las Vegas on the 7” Classic Album series, including many unreleased outtakes and that is crying out loud for an updated 2 cd set release with improved sound. Please Mr. Ernst Jorgensen do it this year on the 50th Anniversary of the release of this movie .


FTD 1 CD Set Viva Las Vegas front cover.


FTD 1 CD Set Viva Las Vegas back cover.

We finally had to wait almost 50 years to get the official Viva Las Vegas soundtrack Lp on the RCA/Sony label.


Viva Las Vegas-Sony/Music On Vinyl LP.

Just a couple of years or so later we had a beautiful 2 LP set presentation by Sony/FTD.


Viva Las Vegas-FTD 2 LP set front cover.


Viva Las Vegas-FTD 2 LP set back cover.

Many words have been written and said about the song “Suspicion” why RCA decided not to release it back in 1962 as a single, apparently RCA didn´t feel it would become a potentially hit in it´s own, although it was included on the 1962 original LP Pot Luck LPM-2523.

SUSPICION.

Lyric: Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman.

Every time you kiss me
I'm still not certain that you love me
Every time you hold me
I'm still not certain that you care
Though you keep on saying
you really, really, really love me
do you speak the same words
To someone else when I'm not there
Suspicion torments my heart
Suspicion keeps us apart
Suspicion why torture me
Every time you call me
and tell me we should meet tomorrow
I can't help but think that
you're meeting someone else tonight
Why should our romance just
keep on causing me such sorrow?
Why am I so doubtful
whenever you're out of sight?
Darling, if you love me,
I beg you wait a little longer
Wait until I drive all
these foolish fears out of my mind
How I hope and pray that
our love will keep on growing stronger
Maybe I'm suspicious
'cause true love is so hard to find.

Terry Stafford was eager for this song and released his version on a single in 1964 and it became a big hit in USA and many countries all over the world. It sold over one million records (Debuted on the Official Charts on 2/22/1964 and peaked at #3 for two weeks on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart).


Original Crusader single of Suspicion by Terry Stafford.

..
Video song by Terry Stafford in 1964.

The song Suspicion had also other subsequent covers like the one by Bobby Vee in 1964.

..
Video song by Bobby Vee in 1964.

RCA finally decided to release the Elvis single of Suspicion/Kiss Me Quick 447-0639 on 4/14/1964 after the huge success of the single version by Terry Stafford in 1964. But it was too late, the Elvis single failed on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles charts #45, and stayed there for 7 straight weeks.


U.S.A Gold Standard release Suspicion 447-0639 Front Cover.


U.S.A Gold Standard Release Kiss me Quick 447-0639 Back Cover.

..
Suspicion video-Elvis:The King great sounding remastered cd.

Elvis “Suspicion” would have been a strong contender to become a big seller as a single for RCA if released on the right moment (1962). The single included a strong number “Kiss Me Quick” on the other side as well. Elvis was on top form physically and vocally. I read somewhere many years ago or I recall some of my Beatles friend saying, that even one of The Beatles, I think it was either Paul or John, stating he liked the song Kiss me Quick.


Studio session picture of Elvis in 1962.

http://www29.zippyshare.com/v/882025/file.html
Wav Rip of Elvis isolated voice on Suspicion.

Ironically Elvis version of Suspicion was eventually a hit in the UK, reaching No. 9 in 1976 when it was re-released as a single.

..
Video song from BBC TOTP (Top Of The Pops) shows, 1977.

And now let´s take a look back to that great year 1964. Imagine if we rework completely the content of the original Elvis Viva las Vegas EP. Instead of having those 4 original songs mentioned on Viva Las Vegas EPA-4382, we take the songs Viva Las Vegas (#29 U.S Charts) & What´d I Say (#21 U.S Charts) from the original single and couple them with the two songs Suspicion/Kiss me Quick and release them as an extended play of the original Viva Las Vegas EP all over the world. These two last songs did very well on the charts around the world and of the two songs Kiss me Quick was the one who charted better:

World charts:

“Kiss Me quick”: nº34 U.S; nº3 Canada; 2 Belgium; 3 Germany; 3 Norway; 3 Sweden;

“Suspicion”: nº 103 U.S; 6 Belgium; 14 Spain;

But hold on, this reworked Viva Las Vegas EP was already released that way in Spain in 1964. It included the 4 songs mentioned: Suspicion/Kiss Me Quick/Viva Las Vegas & What´d I Say and it had indeed a great success on the Spanish charts (#14 Spain Charts). It was because they promoted more the first two songs Suspicion/Kiss Me Quick instead of the two later movie songs, although these two last movie songs were Side 1.


Spain 3-20820 Viva Las Vegas EP Front cover.


Spain 3-20820 Viva Las Vegas EP Back cover.

The song Suspicion had such a great success on the Latin music charts that many versions exist in Spanish.

..
Spanish video version of Suspicion by Mexican singer Ricardo Roca.

SOSPECHAS.

Lyrics: Doc Pomus & Mort Shuman.

Sé que existe Dios, más de tu amor no estoy seguro,
Sé que hiciste mal y tu amor no sé si es de verdad.
Aunque siempre estés abrazándome, no estoy seguro,
puedes tú tener en cualquier lugar otro querer.

Sospechas, que vive en mí,
sospechas, no creo en tí,
sospecho, de tu querer.

Si al atardecer, cuando el sol se va no estás conmigo,
pienso que estarás disfrutando más con otro amor.
Cuando al conversar sin querer tú estás en otro sitio,
creo que tú piensas en ese amor que no soy yo.

Sospechas, que vive en mí,
sospechas, no creo en tí,
sospecho, de tu querer.

Si al atardecer, cuando el sol se va no estás conmigo,
pienso que estarás disfrutando más con otro amor.
Cuando al conversar sin querer tú estás en otro sitio,
creo que tú piensas en ese amor que no soy yo.

Sospechas, que vive en mí,
sospechas, no creo en tí,
sospecho, de tu querer.

Two famous Spanish 60´s pop/gargage music groups made their own versions of Suspicion (Sospecha) too.


Micky y Los Tonys EP picture sleeve Sospecha.


Los Pekenikes EP Picture sleeve Sospecha.

http://www62.zippyshare.com/v/33623745/file.HTML
Wav Rip of Elvis Suspicion (Sospecha) by Spanish group Los Pekenikes.

I have to point out that the Spanish EP was not perfect by any means audio wise, back then when it was released they goofed it up with the audio. The two songs Suspicion/Kiss me Quick missed one of the channels in the manufacturing process, and because of this The Jordanaires vocals are missing. It was too late and RCA in Spain didn´t bother to remake it.

http://www28.zippyshare.com/v/1763240/file.html
Wav audio rip of Suspicion missing one channel.

http://www56.zippyshare.com/v/64912354/file.html
Wav audio rip of Kiss Me Quick missing one channel.

Please feel free to add any interesting info on this topic as it would be greatly appreciated. Enjoy!. Bye for now .

P.S: Sources: http://www.elvisrecords.us/ / http://www.bootleg-elvis.com/ / http://www.keithflynn.com/ / http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=82445 / Mike Windgren´s vaults buried in a salt mine somewhere .

[bajo]

Wonderful stuff Mike! Suspicion is one of my all time favourites by Elvis!

[jurasic1968]

Thanks a lot, Mike for this wonderful information. Suspicion? A missed opportunity for RCA to release Elvis version in January 1963 instead of the weak One Broken Heart for Sale. And the RCA was stupid in 1964 not releasing an LP with the soundtrack of VLV. Or maybe the Colonel was guilty of it? regarding Kiss Me Quick I read that The Beatles didn't like it.

[JohanD]

Great topic Mike, very well researched!!
"Suspicion" should have been indeed THE single at the time.
The fact that later versions charted pretty well proves it...

But some people, they still think that Elvis covered Terry Stafford, because EP's version was released after his.

I Athough Staffords version is very good, the Elvis one is far more excellent.

[Chad Gates]

Very nice and informative article as always Mike

I know you like your vinyl so here is the original U.K ep and a later Australian release.

vlv1.jpg

vlv2.jpg

vlv3.jpg

vlv4.jpg

Alan.

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

Very nice and informative article as always Mike

I know you like your vinyl so here is the original U.K ep and a later Australian release.

vlv1.jpg

vlv2.jpg

vlv3.jpg

vlv4.jpg

Alan.

Thank you all for the compliments and "Chad Gates" for the added vintage sleeves . Bye for now .

[epf]

Thanks Mike, for this article. It deserves some good airtime.

[epf]

Thanks Mike, for this article. It deserves some good airtime.

[dennyelvis]

Truly a great song, well handled by a man at the top of his game, i believe i first heard it on ELVIS IN DEMAND on vinyl when it was released, is that version the master take or slightly diff ?

[londonflash]

Great post, Mike.

Suspicion, to me, is a perfect slice of gorgeous early 60s pop. I'm sure it would have been a big hit had RCA released Elvis' version in '62. Pretty cool that it cracked the top ten in the UK all those years later.

As a side note, here is what the Beatles had to say about Kiss Me Quick during a taping of Juke Box Jury for the BBC in December 1963:

Paul: What I don’t like about Elvis are his songs. I like his voice. This song reminds me of Blackpool on a sunny day.
Ringo: Last two years Elvis has been going down the nick.

George: If he’s going back to old tracks, why not release My Baby Left Me? It’d be a number one. Elvis is great, his songs are rubbish.

John: It’ll be a hit. I like those hats with ‘Kiss Me Quick’ on.

Source:

http://www.beatlesbible.com/1963/12/07/juke-box-jury/

[Elfan]

'Suspicion' is a lovely song. I like it a lot.
The 'Love In Las Vegas' E.P (U.K title) charted at #3 in the U.K

[stevelecher]

Truly a great song, well handled by a man at the top of his game, i believe i first heard it on ELVIS IN DEMAND on vinyl when it was released, is that version the master take or slightly diff ?

It was the master.

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

Great post, Mike.

Suspicion, to me, is a perfect slice of gorgeous early 60s pop. I'm sure it would have been a big hit had RCA released Elvis' version in '62. Pretty cool that it cracked the top ten in the UK all those years later.

As a side note, here is what the Beatles had to say about Kiss Me Quick during a taping of Juke Box Jury for the BBC in December 1963:

Paul: What I don’t like about Elvis are his songs. I like his voice. This song reminds me of Blackpool on a sunny day.
Ringo: Last two years Elvis has been going down the nick.

George: If he’s going back to old tracks, why not release My Baby Left Me? It’d be a number one. Elvis is great, his songs are rubbish.

John: It’ll be a hit. I like those hats with ‘Kiss Me Quick’ on.

Source:

http://www.beatlesbible.com/1963/12/07/juke-box-jury/

You are the man!. Thank you so much .

I was almost sure I read or heard about that statement, but as I am getting old I was a bit dubious . Bye for now .

[javierTCB]

Elvis “Suspicion” would have been a strong contender to become a big seller as a single for RCA if released on the right moment (1962). The single included a strong number “Kiss Me Quick” on the other side as well. Elvis was on top form physically and vocally.

Incredible review.
Muchas gracias por este interesante planteamiento y excelente revisión, Mr. Wingren

[Bodie]

Hi there!! .

Great post, Mike.

Suspicion, to me, is a perfect slice of gorgeous early 60s pop. I'm sure it would have been a big hit had RCA released Elvis' version in '62. Pretty cool that it cracked the top ten in the UK all those years later.

As a side note, here is what the Beatles had to say about Kiss Me Quick during a taping of Juke Box Jury for the BBC in December 1963:

Paul: What I don’t like about Elvis are his songs. I like his voice. This song reminds me of Blackpool on a sunny day.
Ringo: Last two years Elvis has been going down the nick.

George: If he’s going back to old tracks, why not release My Baby Left Me? It’d be a number one. Elvis is great, his songs are rubbish.

John: It’ll be a hit. I like those hats with ‘Kiss Me Quick’ on.

Source:

http://www.beatlesbible.com/1963/12/07/juke-box-jury/

You are the man!. Thank you so much .

I was almost sure I read or heard about that statement, but as I am getting old I was a bit dubious . Bye for now .

In June 1963, John Lennon was a guest (minus the other 3 Beatles) on Jukebox Jury and they played 'Devil In Disguise' and here is what Lennon thought of this song.

" Well, you know, I used to go mad on Elvis, like all those groups. But not now. I don’t like this. And I hate songs with “walk” and “talk” in it—you know, those lyrics. She walks, she talks. I don’t like that. And I don’t like the double beat—boom-cha boom-cha—that bit. It’s awful. Poor ol’ Elvis. … I’ve got all his early records and I keep playing them, thinking “He mustn’t make another like this.” But somebody said today he sounds like Bing Crosby now, and he does."

[jurasic1968]

John Lennon was right.

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

Elvis “Suspicion” would have been a strong contender to become a big seller as a single for RCA if released on the right moment (1962). The single included a strong number “Kiss Me Quick” on the other side as well. Elvis was on top form physically and vocally.

Incredible review.
Muchas gracias por este interesante planteamiento y excelente revisión, Mr. Wingren

De nada amigo! .

A ver si te animas alguna vez y presentas un articulo sobre Elvis en España, ya sea de película, música o listas de éxitos. Animo! .

Muchas gracias. Bye for now .

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

Hi there!! .

Great post, Mike.

Suspicion, to me, is a perfect slice of gorgeous early 60s pop. I'm sure it would have been a big hit had RCA released Elvis' version in '62. Pretty cool that it cracked the top ten in the UK all those years later.

As a side note, here is what the Beatles had to say about Kiss Me Quick during a taping of Juke Box Jury for the BBC in December 1963:

Paul: What I don’t like about Elvis are his songs. I like his voice. This song reminds me of Blackpool on a sunny day.
Ringo: Last two years Elvis has been going down the nick.

George: If he’s going back to old tracks, why not release My Baby Left Me? It’d be a number one. Elvis is great, his songs are rubbish.

John: It’ll be a hit. I like those hats with ‘Kiss Me Quick’ on.

Source:

http://www.beatlesbible.com/1963/12/07/juke-box-jury/

You are the man!. Thank you so much .

I was almost sure I read or heard about that statement, but as I am getting old I was a bit dubious . Bye for now .

In June 1963, John Lennon was a guest (minus the other 3 Beatles) on Jukebox Jury and they played 'Devil In Disguise' and here is what Lennon thought of this song.

" Well, you know, I used to go mad on Elvis, like all those groups. But not now. I don’t like this. And I hate songs with “walk” and “talk” in it—you know, those lyrics. She walks, she talks. I don’t like that. And I don’t like the double beat—boom-cha boom-cha—that bit. It’s awful. Poor ol’ Elvis. … I’ve got all his early records and I keep playing them, thinking “He mustn’t make another like this.” But somebody said today he sounds like Bing Crosby now, and he does."

Thank you for the input! . At least he didn´t say anything bad about Suspicion or Kiss Me quick . Bye for now .

[javierTCB]

Hi there!! .

Elvis “Suspicion” would have been a strong contender to become a big seller as a single for RCA if released on the right moment (1962). The single included a strong number “Kiss Me Quick” on the other side as well. Elvis was on top form physically and vocally.

Incredible review.
Muchas gracias por este interesante planteamiento y excelente revisión, Mr. Wingren

De nada amigo! .

A ver si te animas alguna vez y presentas un articulo sobre Elvis en España, ya sea de película, música o listas de éxitos. Animo! .

Muchas gracias. Bye for now .

Pues claro que me lo pensaré, pero después de ver tus "insuperable post" se hace una tarea nada fácil
Gracias por la sugerencia y por tus revisiones

[Joe Car]

Thanks for your time and efforts Mike. Well done sir!!

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

Hi there!! .

Elvis “Suspicion” would have been a strong contender to become a big seller as a single for RCA if released on the right moment (1962). The single included a strong number “Kiss Me Quick” on the other side as well. Elvis was on top form physically and vocally.

Incredible review.
Muchas gracias por este interesante planteamiento y excelente revisión, Mr. Wingren

De nada amigo! .

A ver si te animas alguna vez y presentas un articulo sobre Elvis en España, ya sea de película, música o listas de éxitos. Animo! .

Muchas gracias. Bye for now .

Pues claro que me lo pensaré, pero después de ver tus "insuperable post" se hace una tarea nada fácil
Gracias por la sugerencia y por tus revisiones

Amigo adelante lo que hace falta es tiempo y ganas, seguro que tu que vives en Barcelona tendrás acceso mas fácil al material original español de Elvis ya que tengo entendido que allí viven grandes coleccionistas de Elvis . Yo vivo en el Sur y allí si que es inexistente ese tipo de material . Gracias!. Bye for now .

P.S: Sorry folks for the use of Spanish , I´m just encouraging javierTCB to do a topic about Elvis In Spain .

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

Well done Mike! This topic was really a pleasure to read!

My little contribution to this great thread is the Japanese 45 of 'Suspicion'.
Two different versions exist: the first has Elvis' lastname spelled wrong, the second has the correct name:

Thank you Bob for contributing to this topic, much appreciated . Bye for now .

[Mike Windgren]

Hi there!! .

Thanks for your time and efforts Mike. Well done sir!!

Thank you for the compliments Sir! . Bye for now .

[stevelecher]

Elvis Presrey? You can't make this up. Funny.

[Rock Legend]

Fantastic topic, Mike. Much appreciated.