DAE- Holding Back The Years - Larrie Londin

Matthew · #1405673

Robert wrote:
SteamrollerBlues wrote:Well...I was close.
And even a bit closer, as My Way is an Elvis signature song. No question.

Yes! My Way is without question an Elvis Presley signature song!

Move along Frank! Elvis died and stole your thunder!

#1405674

I'm in no way saying someone hears "My Way" and thinks "Wow, what a great Presley song!" But he had been singing it for a while by 77, and he's...recognized for performing it.

Matthew · #1405677

SteamrollerBlues wrote:I'm in no way saying someone hears "My Way" and thinks "Wow, what a great Presley song!" But he had been singing it for a while by 77, and he's...recognized for performing it.

At the time? No way. It appeared on Aloha From Hawaii, that's all.

Unless audiences were following Elvis around en mass on tour the association of My Way with Elvis was non existent.

It was a posthumous single and has only become connected to him in fandom post death.

#1405679

Matthew wrote:
Robert wrote:
SteamrollerBlues wrote:Well...I was close.
And even a bit closer, as My Way is an Elvis signature song. No question.
Yes! My Way is without question an Elvis Presley signature song!

Move along Frank! Elvis died and stole your thunder!

A signature song goes beyond the narrow thought of one performer being able to own that title.
It's also not related to who had the biggest hit.

My Way will be forever linked to Elvis based on his life story and important performances in not so easy times.
This is no Frank vs Elvis thing, think bigger.

Matthew · #1405680

Good one!

My Way is not a Presley signature song, never was, sorry!

poormadpeter · #1405681

drjohncarpenter wrote:
SteamrollerBlues wrote:I've always thought the same. I would definitely loved more "Elvis" hits per se (wouldn't we all?), but when you look at the set-list...take June 21st, 1977 for example:

Also Sprach Zarathustra
C.C. Rider
I Got A Woman/Amen
That's All Right
Are You Lonesome To-night?
Love Me
If You Love Me
You Gave Me A Mountain
Jailhouse Rock
O Sole Mio (by Sherrill Nielsen)/It's Now Or Never
Tryin' To Get To You
Hawaiian Wedding Song
Teddy Bear/Don't Be Cruel
My Way
Band Introductions
Early Morning Rain
Solos
Hurt
Hound Dog
Unchained Melody
Cant Help Falling In Love
Closing Vamp

The ones I've bolded are considered by many, bonafide Presley hits. 14 out of the 18 or so songs sung that night are songs Elvis is associated with (not sure about other singers of Mountain). I Got A Woman goes back to his first album, That's All Right was of course his first record, Are You Lonesome? was a hit, Love Me was huge, Jailhouse Rock is maybe his most recognized song, It's Now Or Never was his biggest selling record, Tryin' To Get To You is a SUN classic, The Hawaiian Wedding Song is another widely recognized movie song, as is Teddy Bear. Don't Be Cruel was #1, he had been doing My Way for years, Hurt was good enough to be on The Essential Elvis Presley, Hound Dog we all know about, Unchained Melody was big after his death, and to round it out Can't Help Falling In Love, which, you guessed it, was a big movie song.

The problem isn't how many of his hits he sang in one night -- it's how he sung them.
The ones in blue are the actual, bonafide Elvis Presley hits, or signature songs. We see 10 / 21 fall into that category, and three are shoved in medleys. The rest are covers, and most poorly performed. Welcome to 1976-1977.

So, when you go to see your precious Bruce Springsteen you don't expect to hear songs from his albums then, just his hits?

What's more, if I recall correctly, Hurt was a top 30 hit, was it not?

And C C Rider, My Way, Mountain and Early Morning Rain were both featured on the American showing of the historic Aloha special which went to #1 in the charts, with C C Rider on two other albums as well. And Hawaiian Wedding Song was included on an album that remained #1 for nearly 20 weeks. That leaves a grand some of two songs not heavily associated by fans with Elvis in the concert.

What's more, the only way you get to a total of 21 songs is by including Amen and O Sole Mio as songs, and we both know they are simply tagged on to the beginning or end of the main number and not a song in their own right, nor intended to be.

So, without your skewed maths, that's 12 out of 19 being top 30 hits or signature songs (according to you), not 10 out of 21. Plus the extra five, all well-known for having been performed by Elvis on #1 albums, that makes 17 out of 19. Case closed.

#1405682

Robert wrote:This is no Frank vs Elvis thing, think bigger.

My Way is Sinatra, but. Think bigger, sounds interesting. What you got?

Matthew · #1405683

Oh dear.

poormadpeter · #1405684

Matthew wrote:Good one!

My Way is not a Presley signature song, never was, sorry!

No, but it was part of an historic TV special and a #1 album. So, while not a signature song, there is no reason at all why it shouldn't be in his setlist. Unless album tracks were out of the window too - in which case he should have cut I Got a Woman from his act back in 1969, and Love Me shouldn't have been performed either.

Matthew · #1405685

poormadpeter wrote:No, but it was part of an historic TV special and a #1 album. So, while not a signature song, there is no reason at all why it shouldn't be in his setlist.

The question was whether the song was associated as an Elvis song for fans attending shows in the 70s.

The answer is of course, no.

#1405686

Matthew wrote:Good one!

My Way is not a Presley signature song, never was, sorry!

It became a signature song based on Elvis tragic end.
Fans and international media picked that up. Except two souls on this message board;)

#1405688

Though not a signature song by definition for Elvis, My Way was in the Aloha show, so I guess a fair few people knew it as one of his songs

#1405689

Matthew wrote:The question was whether the song was associated as an Elvis song for fans attending shows in the 70s.

The answer is of course, no.

For "fans attending shows in the 70s", the answer is, yes.

For everybody else, it's a 'no'.

#1405691

Matthew wrote:The question was whether the song was associated as an Elvis song for fans attending shows in the 70s.

Did any of these fans buy the Aloha album?

#1405693

Posthumous or not, it's a song associated with Presley.

Matthew · #1405694

That it appeared on a live album, doesn't make it an Elvis song for anyone attending a show in the 70s.

Matthew · #1405695

SteamrollerBlues wrote:Posthumous or not, it's a song associated with Presley.

Posthumous, and only for some hardcore fans.

Matthew · #1405696

Wiebe wrote:
Matthew wrote:
poormadpeter wrote:No, but it was part of an historic TV special and a #1 album. So, while not a signature song, there is no reason at all why it shouldn't be in his setlist.
The question was whether the song was associated as an Elvis song for fans attending shows in the 70s.

The answer is of course, no.
Of course the answer should be yes because as a fan one would have seen the Aloha concert and bought the record.
Which officially made it part of his repertoire.

By this argument any song that Elvis sang on a release becomes an "Elvis song", which is of course wonky thinking!

#1405697

Wiebe wrote:Of course the answer should be yes because as a fan one would have seen the Aloha concert and bought the record.

Spot-on. And if said "fans" were familiar with 70's Elvis, even more so.

Matthew · #1405698

Of course all these concert attendees were digging through their vast array of FTD and bootleg CD releases along with watching up on the CBS special and online forum discussions before hitting the road to go attend the local Elvis show in anticipation and hope that he'd sing his signature song, My Way!

#1405699

Matthew wrote:
SteamrollerBlues wrote:Posthumous or not, it's a song associated with Presley.
Posthumous, and only for some hardcore fans.

I wouldn't say only for hardcore fans. In my experience most general Elvis fans associate the song at least a tiny bit with Presley.

#1405700

Matthew wrote:Of course all these concert attendees were digging through their vast array of FTD and bootleg CD releases along with watching up on the CBS special and online forum discussions before hitting the road to go attend the local Elvis show in anticipation an hope that he's sing his signature song, My Way!

No. But, if those concert attendees were familiar with the King's set-list, then hell-yeah! They would have been expecting "...........this next song is by Frank Sinatra, it's called My Way, I don't know the words, I'll have to read it, if you don't mind."

#1405701

Matthew wrote:
SteamrollerBlues wrote:Posthumous or not, it's a song associated with Presley.
Posthumous, and only for some hardcore fans.

I question that.
Clips from My way 73/77 have been aired countless times related to his life story.
The song is (next to FS) associated to Elvis by many outside of the hardcore fanbase, including the media.

Matthew · #1405703

Those were dynamite years for our man Elvis!

Personally I'd be hoping he'd whip out his signature song Sweet Caroline, or Proud Mary!

Matthew · #1405704

Wiebe wrote:
Matthew wrote:Of course all these concert attendees were digging through their vast array of FTD and bootleg CD releases along with watching up on the CBS special and online forum discussions before hitting the road to go attend the local Elvis show in anticipation and hope that he'd sing his signature song, My Way!
I'm sorry, but you make no sense. Aloha was a big record, so I'm sure people noticed My Way, as he sang it well with that beautiful violin arrangement.

Sure, but it didn't make it an "Elvis song", did it?

No.

For Elvis CD Collectors