Padre

[Fabbe]

Thinking this was one of Elvis' favorite songs shows the variety of his tastes outside rock - the performance unfortunately is not on: it needed more takes , probably too high key and not a good voice day and the arrangement needed more work. Just my opinion of course.

Hey, twelve takes was all it took to nail "Padre."

12? I didn't know - sorry.

[Juan Luis]

Thinking this was one of Elvis' favorite songs shows the variety of his tastes outside rock - the performance unfortunately is not on: it needed more takes , probably too high key and not a good voice day and the arrangement needed more work. Just my opinion of course.


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Agreed. It's possible Elvis thought he nailed it though. Like he said about the '68 TV-show: you can't win them all.

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I am glad Elvis did "Padre". A burning desire since the 1950's. A true rebel. Did not care of it being commercial or not. He always performed what he wanted to perform. Critics be damned. He never changed in that sense.

[drjohncarpenter]

Agreed. It's possible Elvis thought he nailed it though. Like he said about the '68 TV-show: you can't win them all.

That statement wasn't made about the 1968 TV Special, nor was the actual comment serious.

I am glad Elvis did "Padre". A burning desire since the 1950's. A true rebel. Did not care of it being commercial or not. He always performed what he wanted to perform. Critics be damned. He never changed in that sense.

This is good stuff. Not at all true, but good stuff nonetheless.

[MikeFromHolland]

I am glad Elvis did "Padre". A burning desire since the 1950's. A true rebel. Did not care of it being commercial or not. He always performed what he wanted to perform. Critics be damned. He never changed in that sense.

I fully agree with you. I'm very glad his tastes went much further than that of the average music lover. And I must say: most of the time I share his taste. I guess I've listened 9 times to Elvis' Padre today, because of this thread. I listened and re-listened and compared it with the other versions. Of all of them Elvis is the one who showed most "duende" in this song. The most pathos. The most Spanish temperament .

Love it.

.

[Juan Luis]

I am glad Elvis did "Padre". A burning desire since the 1950's. A true rebel. Did not care of it being commercial or not. He always performed what he wanted to perform. Critics be damned. He never changed in that sense.

I fully agree with you. I'm very glad his tastes went much further than that of the average music lover. And I must say: most of the time I share his taste. I guess I've listened 9 times to Elvis' Padre today, because of this thread. I listened and re-listened and compared it with the other versions. Of all of them Elvis is the one who showed most "duende" in this song. The most pathos. The most Spanish temperament .

Love it.

.

[MikeFromHolland]

Agreed. It's possible Elvis thought he nailed it though. Like he said about the '68 TV-show: you can't win them all.

That statement wasn't made about the 1968 TV Special, nor was the actual comment serious.

Always thought that. Never too old to learn . What show did he do mean?

.

[drjohncarpenter]

Agreed. It's possible Elvis thought he nailed it though. Like he said about the '68 TV-show: you can't win them all.

That statement wasn't made about the 1968 TV Special, nor was the actual comment serious.

Always thought that. Never too old to learn . What show did he do mean?

He made the comment very specifically introducing the song "Memories," a recent RCA single and featured in the December 1968 TV Special. It was a self-deprecating joke, and very typical of Elvis' usual stage banter, from as far back as 1956. Why he knocked it may be due to Sam Phillips' criticism after seeing the opening night that it ruined the pacing of the performance.

Here are two examples released by RCA/FTD:

8-21-1969 MS - "I'd like to do a song I just did from my recent TV show, which wasn't very good but ..."
8-26-1969 DS - "A song that I just did on my recent TV show, which wasn't too good, but, you know, you can't win 'em all, man ..."

[poormadpeter2]

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Parts of the melody are based on a traditional Mexican song called "La Paloma Azul" ("The Blue Dove") the origins of which are difficult to ascertain. Some say "La Paloma" was composed by Spanish composer Sebastiàn Iradier around 1863 after visiting Cuba in 1861.

You're getting two songs mixed up here because of their titles. La Paloma Azul is not the same as La Paloma.

La Paloma, by Iradier, was the basis for the song No More, from Blue Hawaii. It was also given different English lyrics in a version sung by Dean Martin on his Dino Latino album - which also included an English version of Alla en el Rancho Grande!

..

La Paloma Azul is, I believe, a traditional Mexican children's song which, yes, probably inspired the melody of Padre. But it has no link with La Paloma except in the similarity of its title.

[ICanHelp]

Agreed. It's possible Elvis thought he nailed it though. Like he said about the '68 TV-show: you can't win them all.

That statement wasn't made about the 1968 TV Special, nor was the actual comment serious.

Always thought that. Never too old to learn . What show did he do mean?

He made the comment very specifically introducing the song "Memories," a recent RCA single and featured in the December 1968 TV Special. It was a self-depreciating joke, and very typical of Elvis' usual stage banter, from as far back as 1956. Why he knocked it may be due to Sam Phillips' criticism after seeing the opening night that it ruined the pacing of the performance.

Here are two examples released by RCA/FTD:

8-21-1969 MS - "I'd like to do a song I just did from my recent TV show, which wasn't very good but ..."
8-26-1969 DS - "A song that I just did on my recent TV show, which wasn't too good, but, you know, you can't win 'em all, man ..."

The "not very good" remark qualifies the 68 special and not the song Memories. MH was correct.

[poormadpeter2]

Agreed. It's possible Elvis thought he nailed it though. Like he said about the '68 TV-show: you can't win them all.

That statement wasn't made about the 1968 TV Special, nor was the actual comment serious.

Always thought that. Never too old to learn . What show did he do mean?

He made the comment very specifically introducing the song "Memories," a recent RCA single and featured in the December 1968 TV Special. It was a self-depreciating joke, and very typical of Elvis' usual stage banter, from as far back as 1956. Why he knocked it may be due to Sam Phillips' criticism after seeing the opening night that it ruined the pacing of the performance.

Here are two examples released by RCA/FTD:

8-21-1969 MS - "I'd like to do a song I just did from my recent TV show, which wasn't very good but ..."
8-26-1969 DS - "A song that I just did on my recent TV show, which wasn't too good, but, you know, you can't win 'em all, man ..."

The "not very good" remark qualifies the 68 special and not the song Memories. MH was correct.

Indeed. Elvis may still have been joking about it not being very good (although we should remember reviews at the time were mixed) - but he's definitely talking about the show.

[drjohncarpenter]

He made the comment very specifically introducing the song "Memories," a recent RCA single and featured in the December 1968 TV Special. It was a self-depreciating joke, and very typical of Elvis' usual stage banter, from as far back as 1956. Why he knocked it may be due to Sam Phillips' criticism after seeing the opening night that it ruined the pacing of the performance.

Here are two examples released by RCA/FTD:

8-21-1969 MS - "I'd like to do a song I just did from my recent TV show, which wasn't very good but ..."
8-26-1969 DS - "A song that I just did on my recent TV show, which wasn't too good, but, you know, you can't win 'em all, man ..."

The "not very good" remark qualifies the 68 special and not the song Memories. MH was correct.

That's your interpretation of the statement, and we already know you have trouble parsing sentences. Since you choose to be declarative I'll do the same: you're wrong.

The NBC-TV program was a huge ratings success and propelled Elvis into 1969 on very strong footing. There would be no reason to put down his transcendent network appearance. Furthermore, it had just been re-run and garnered more attention. It seems far more plausible he felt uncomfortable doing "Memories" after his early mentor shot it down, and so the "jokes" began. If he felt like denigrating the event he could have made the comment before any number of songs that were screened on NBC the previous winter which were also in the set. But he did not.

The tongue-in-cheek intro is only known before "Memories." It is a reactive, subtle act by the singer. Feel free to do some of your own research on this and share with us what you discover. In the meantime, I'll remain rooted in the facts, and common sense reasoning, that I have now shared on two consecutive replies.

[goldbelt]

Elvis really loved this song, he even asks a reporter if he's heard of it at the time of his embarkation to Germany in 1958.

As you say Mike people either love it or hate it, I fall somewhere in the middle, I don't love it but I do like it a lot. Elvis puts so much emotion into it, almost crying out the story in his anguish to the padre. IMO a very good performance.

..

[MikeFromHolland]

You're getting two songs mixed up here because of their titles. La Paloma Azul is not the same as La Paloma.

La Paloma, by Iradier, was the basis for the song No More, from Blue Hawaii.

You're absolutely right pmp2. Thank you!

The mixing up of the two songs found its source within the YouTube clip of La Paloma Azul which I posted in my OP:

La Paloma Azul - YouTube Info.png

Took the written info about "La Paloma" over without thinking.

.

[Juan Luis]

Agreed. It's possible Elvis thought he nailed it though. Like he said about the '68 TV-show: you can't win them all.

That statement wasn't made about the 1968 TV Special, nor was the actual comment serious.

Always thought that. Never too old to learn . What show did he do mean?

He made the comment very specifically introducing the song "Memories," a recent RCA single and featured in the December 1968 TV Special. It was a self-depreciating joke, and very typical of Elvis' usual stage banter, from as far back as 1956. Why he knocked it may be due to Sam Phillips' criticism after seeing the opening night that it ruined the pacing of the performance.

Here are two examples released by RCA/FTD:

8-21-1969 MS - "I'd like to do a song I just did from my recent TV show, which wasn't very good but ..."
8-26-1969 DS - "A song that I just did on my recent TV show, which wasn't too good, but, you know, you can't win 'em all, man ..."

The "not very good" remark qualifies the 68 special and not the song Memories. MH was correct.

That is very clearly heard and understood. Self-deprecating but still about the show not the song. Some have no excuse for misinterpreting plain English.

[goldbelt]

Agreed. It's possible Elvis thought he nailed it though. Like he said about the '68 TV-show: you can't win them all.

That statement wasn't made about the 1968 TV Special, nor was the actual comment serious.

Always thought that. Never too old to learn . What show did he do mean?

He made the comment very specifically introducing the song "Memories," a recent RCA single and featured in the December 1968 TV Special. It was a self-depreciating joke, and very typical of Elvis' usual stage banter, from as far back as 1956. Why he knocked it may be due to Sam Phillips' criticism after seeing the opening night that it ruined the pacing of the performance.

Here are two examples released by RCA/FTD:

8-21-1969 MS - "I'd like to do a song I just did from my recent TV show, which wasn't very good but ..."
8-26-1969 DS - "A song that I just did on my recent TV show, which wasn't too good, but, you know, you can't win 'em all, man ..."

The "not very good" remark qualifies the 68 special and not the song Memories. MH was correct.

That is very clearly heard and understood. Self-deprecating but still about the show not the song.

The comments of course related to the TV Special as a whole, not the song Memories.

Typical of Elvis' self deprecating humour and the tailor made place to reference the Comeback Special

[poormadpeter2]

He made the comment very specifically introducing the song "Memories," a recent RCA single and featured in the December 1968 TV Special. It was a self-depreciating joke, and very typical of Elvis' usual stage banter, from as far back as 1956. Why he knocked it may be due to Sam Phillips' criticism after seeing the opening night that it ruined the pacing of the performance.

Here are two examples released by RCA/FTD:

8-21-1969 MS - "I'd like to do a song I just did from my recent TV show, which wasn't very good but ..."
8-26-1969 DS - "A song that I just did on my recent TV show, which wasn't too good, but, you know, you can't win 'em all, man ..."

The "not very good" remark qualifies the 68 special and not the song Memories. MH was correct.

That's your interpretation of the statement, and we already know you have trouble parsing sentences. Since you choose to be declarative I'll do the same: you're wrong.

The NBC-TV program was a huge ratings success and propelled Elvis into 1969 on very strong footing. There would be no reason to put down his transcendent network appearance. Furthermore, it had just been re-run and garnered more attention. It seems far more plausible he felt uncomfortable doing "Memories" after his early mentor shot it down, and so the "jokes" began. If he felt like denigrating the event he could have made the comment before any number of songs that were screened on NBC the previous winter which were also in the set. But he did not.

The tongue-in-cheek intro is only known before "Memories." It is a reactive, subtle act by the singer. Feel free to do some of your own research on this and share with us what you discover. In the meantime, I'll remain rooted in the facts, and common sense reasoning, that I have now shared on two consecutive replies.

The only one having interpretation problems is yourself. Quite clearly, Elvis is joking about the show and not the song. The sentence structure also makes this clear. If he was talking about the song not being good, then the comment about show and song would have been juxtaposed:

"I recently did a TV show, and in it was a song which wasn't very good, but you can't win 'em all." There, he would have been talking about the song not being good, but that is not what is implied when he switches the song and TV show around in the sentence, not once, not twice, but three times - he says the same thing is said on the Collector's Gold version: "A song from my recent TV show, which was pretty bad, but you can't win 'em all."

Perhaps this inability to understand simple grammatical structures is why you feel so many people have problems understanding your posts. Would you like lessons, dear?

[fn2drive]

Another track that Elvis loved much like Rags To Riches. He produced another overmodulated mess. We were fortunate as the years went bye he sang fewer and fewer songs he liked so we were spared these messes. In the early days when he loved a song he made gold; post 1970 it was mostly lead. But i acknowledge the everything Elvis ever recorded would have been Top 10 crowd would believe this was another fantastic outing. Another one best left in the can imo. The best i can say it was at home on the most damaging album of Elvis' career.

[drjohncarpenter]

The only one having interpretation problems is yourself. Quite clearly, Elvis is joking about the show and not the song. The sentence structure also makes this clear. If he was talking about the song not being good, then the comment about show and song would have been juxtaposed:

"I recently did a TV show, and in it was a song which wasn't very good, but you can't win 'em all."

Elvis did not take elocution lessons prior to his stage return in the summer of 1969. He never spoke in such fashion on stage. The concert tapes provide ample proof of this. Perhaps you need to devote some time to listening to the man and his music, instead of constantly putting people down on an Elvis forum. That might be a wise move.

Another track that Elvis loved much like Rags To Riches. He produced another overmodulated mess. We were fortunate as the years went bye he sang fewer and fewer songs he liked so we were spared these messes. In the early days when he loved a song he made gold; post 1970 it was mostly lead. But i acknowledge the everything Elvis ever recorded would have been Top 10 crowd would believe this was another fantastic outing. Another one best left in the can imo. The best i can say it was at home on the most damaging album of Elvis' career.

Hey, he was a rebel. He had a burning desire since the 1950s to cut this song.

[goldbelt]

The histrionic delivery Elvis gives to the song Padre coupled with 'strip your gears' vocals, ultimately makes it an appealing listen, lifting the performance several notches above the lyrical content alone.

[poormadpeter2]

The only one having interpretation problems is yourself. Quite clearly, Elvis is joking about the show and not the song. The sentence structure also makes this clear. If he was talking about the song not being good, then the comment about show and song would have been juxtaposed:

"I recently did a TV show, and in it was a song which wasn't very good, but you can't win 'em all."

Elvis did not take elocution lessons prior to his stage return in the summer of 1969. He never spoke in such fashion on stage. The concert tapes provide ample proof of this. Perhaps you need to devote some time to listening to the man and his music, instead of constantly putting people down on an Elvis forum. That might be a wise move.

So your argument for your case of him talking about the song is "I don't believe Elvis could put a sentence together."

[fn2drive]

The only one having interpretation problems is yourself. Quite clearly, Elvis is joking about the show and not the song. The sentence structure also makes this clear. If he was talking about the song not being good, then the comment about show and song would have been juxtaposed:

"I recently did a TV show, and in it was a song which wasn't very good, but you can't win 'em all."

Elvis did not take elocution lessons prior to his stage return in the summer of 1969. He never spoke in such fashion on stage. The concert tapes provide ample proof of this. Perhaps you need to devote some time to listening to the man and his music, instead of constantly putting people down on an Elvis forum. That might be a wise move.

Self deprecating humor now equals elocution lessons. Only in the land where Padre would be Top 10 or at the Mass Hatter's Tea Party.

[Davelee]

A burning desire since the 1950's.

[Davelee]

I love it and have done from first hearing in 1973.

To me, there is no vocal strain - it's Elvis living the song. He liked the dramatic and this is a potent example.

Thanks, Mike, for the various links which I shall listen to later.

If the RPO had been on it, the song may have had more merit.

[Davelee]

Thinking this was one of Elvis' favorite songs shows the variety of his tastes outside rock - the performance unfortunately is not on: it needed more takes , probably too high key and not a good voice day and the arrangement needed more work. Just my opinion of course.


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

Agreed. It's possible Elvis thought he nailed it though. Like he said about the '68 TV-show: you can't win them all.

.

Nope. The 68 TV Show was a huge success (I hope you don't disagree with that) and Elvis knew it. In fact, it was what put him back where he belonged, the top, and it was one of the highest rated TV Shows of the year.

[Davelee]

I'm very glad his tastes went much further than that of the average music lover.

It seems Elvis became a "Very average music listener" himself recording such songs like Padre.