Following the theme which Jetblack set in with "The Elvis Songs of Aaron Schroeder" (http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=93460#p1499533), and which was followed by "The Elvis Songs of Winfield Scott" (http://www.elvis-collectors.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=93535#p1500657), we now dig into:
The Elvis Songs Of Jerry Chesnut
From his personal website:BIOGRAPHY
JERRY CHESNUT was born May 7, 1931 and raised in the Harlan County coal mining camps of eastern Kentucky. He grew up with his guitar, listening to the Grand Ole Opry and the Mid Day Merry Go Round (a country radio show broadcast daily out of Knoxville). Following High School, he enlisted in the Air Force and served in the Far East during the Korean War. Upon discharge, he settled in Florida, where for seven years he performed on local radio stations and worked as a conductor for the Florida East Coast Railway System.
In 1958, Jerry moved to Nashville to pursue his first love, music. In 1967 (nine years later), Del Reeves released Jerry's first hit song, "A DIME AT A TIME".
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Artists and producers were so impressed with Jerry's fresh approach to music that some even attended his demo sessions to get the first shot at this new supply of material. In those days, (Singers Sang), (Producers Produced), (Labels sold Records), (Bookers Booked), (Managers Managed), (Publishers Published), (Writers Wrote), and no one dreamed of trying to do it all. During this era, Jerry signed a contract with United Artist records and could possibly have had a successful recording career, however after several releases, his creative nature overcame his desire to be an artist, and to the amazement of his producer, he resigned.
At the prompting of Roy Clark and others, Jerry became a regular on the Hee Haw Show for a couple of years. Finding it was interfering with his songwriting, he also gave that up. In need of a place to meet with Artists and Producers, Jerry purchased a building in the heart of Music Row and settled down to writing and pitching his songs. The years that followed exceeded his fondest dreams. Jerry became involved with, and a friend of nearly everyone in the music industry throughout the entire world. In the late sixties and early seventies, he became known as the most versatile, productive, independent, hit songwriter of the times. For several years, he licensed the release of more than 50 recordings per year. This was the average of an unbelievable one per week. One particular week, he had 5 songs in the Billboard national chart and 3 in their Top Ten. In 1972, Jerry was named the Songwriter of the Year and in 1973, was acclaimed the International Writer of the Year. Jerry is the recipient of dozens of BMI Awards, 2 from ASCAP, 2 Grammy Nominations and 1 Tony, numerous Gold Records, and several Platinum ones.
After 12 nominations in 1996, Jerry's career was finally crowned by his induction into the Nashville Songwriters Foundation HALL OF FAME.
He was also inducted into the International Songwriters Association (ISA) HALL OF FAME in 1999.
WHEN JERRY CHESNUT MET ELVIS
"I met Elvis through a mutual friend of ours, and so called Memphis Mafia member, Lamar Fike. I guess, to be perfectly honest, I have to say it was a somewhat
disappointing experience. I knew I was being introduced to the King of Rock And Roll and the Entertainer of the century. This was the greatest thing that could
happen to a songwriter like myself!
I had experienced my songs being recorded by Tom Jones, Brook Benton, George Jones, Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, Jerry Lee Lewis, and some of the greatest
entertainers on earth, but this was different. This man was the Superman of the music world.
I guess I expected some supernatural feeling, but the fact is...
We shook hands, and in a voice kinda like a little humble, shy, teenage boy, he asked "How you doing'?" I don't remember how I answered...
It amazes me, to this day, looking back, how very simple and sincere True Greatness can really be. Without thinking, I found myself trying to write
Great Songs, not just Hit songs...
In the next two or three years, I frequented Graceland, went to the movies and recording sessions, took drives with Vernon, Elvis' father, put a TCB around my neck.
Elvis had it made for me and gave me the last one and I then stood and watched in disbelief as they opened his casket...
He had released 5 of my songs and was learning another (The Wonders You Perform), but suddenly he was gone...
I remever him as nothing amazing, nothing supernatural, never trying to impress anyone, just a Simple, Wonderful, Sweet American Kid that never really had a
chance to grow up, and yet...
Somehow I knew the entertainment world, and my life, would never be the same...
To me, this was, and always will be, "ELVIS".
Jerry"
The five Jerry Chesnut songs Elvis recorded were:
It's Midnight
Love Coming Down
Never Again
Woman Without Love
T.R.O.U.B.L.E
In this part of a radioshow, you'll hear Elvis' live versions of It's Midnight and T.R.O.U.B.L.E. and Jerry Chesnut who's telling that his wife is listening to Elvis
constantly:
http://www.jerrychesnut.net/JCElvisInterview_1.mp3
From a 2012 interview:
It's Midnight
A song Chesnut co-wrote with Billy Edd Wheeler.
Asserting that he generally disdained co-writing with anyone, Chesnut said he agreed to make an exception when Wheeler attempted to write a pop music variation on Chesnut’s “It’s Four in the Morning,” which had been a No. 1 for Faron Young in 1972.
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After Wheeler failed in his attempt, he asked Chesnut, who was then running Wheeler’s publishing company, to help him with the song. Chesnut agreed and finished writing “It’s Midnight” on the drive back to Nashville from a golf tournament at a nearby state park.
How Elvis got the song
"Lamar Fike had been running Hill & Range,” Chesnut said, “and they gave Lamar a Fleetwood Cadillac to leave. … [After that] he wanted an office in my building and wanted to pitch songs for me. … Elvis was cutting [in town and Lamar] took [‘It’s Midnight’] down and played it for him, and he loved it. That was my tie-in. From that time on, when Elvis was in town and getting ready to cut, he’d tell Lamar to ‘see what Jerry’s got.'”
Presley cut “It’s Midnight” in 1973, and it became a No. 9 country hit.
Chesnut noted that Jose Feliciano has just released a version of “It’s Midnight.”
From a 2014 interview:
'T-R-O-U-B-L-E' spelled success for Jerry Chesnut in 1975. The Nashville songwriting great originally wrote the clever tune for singer Little David Wilkins, who really did play from '9 til half past 1' in a Nashville bar, and he had a stroke of genius when he realized he could rhyme certain words if he spelled them out.
The song became a hit with rock legend Elvis Presley, and again two decades later with country star Travis Tritt.
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Chesnut recalled writing 'T-R-O-U-B-L-E' with Bart Herbison of Nashville Songwriters Association International. Nashville Songwriters Association's Bart Herbison talks with Jerry Chestnut.
Where did the idea for the song come from?
Little David Wilkins kept bugging me: 'Write me a hit, write me a hit'. He was playing Ireland's Restaurant. It was steak and biscuits, and they had a bar set up. David would go over there and play the piano from 9 til 1.
He's like Jerry Lee (Lewis), man, he's wild and great. We'd go over there and eat, have a few drinks and listen to David. I had watched him do this for a long time, and one morning, I decided to write a song for him, and I thought, 'What would I write for David that he could really do? It needs to be uptempo', because man, he could get out there and rock. 'He'll probably play it at that place, and he plays from 9 til 1. Well, I'll just write it about him'. I started out with 'I play an old piano from 9 til half past 1/ I'm trying to make a living watching everybody have fun'. I'd played so many skull orchards myself, and seen a good-looking woman walk in by herself, and it's trouble. I thought of that and thought, 'I'll put that in there'.
... It just kind of fell in place, and then I realized something. If you go to write down 'Bart', you can't write it without in your brain saying 'B-A-R-T'. It's the only way you can write it... . I got to realizing, not (just) the words, every letter is rhyming! (T-R-O-U-B-L-E, A-L-O-N-E, L-O-O-K-I-N-G).
It was meant to be.
Everybody was asking me, 'How in the world did you do that?' And I said, 'I don't know. It just happened. That's the way it was'.
Never Again
This song was born in a motel in Ashville, N.C. I was there for a visit with my friend, Billy Edd Wheeler, who lived nearby. Since we had enjoyed such good luck with 'It's Midnight', the first song we'd written together, we decided to write another song. Elvis captured both these songs, and strangely enough, we never even thought of writing anything together again. I guess there was nothing left to prove ...
Elvis recorded this song in the Jungle Room of Graceland in the last album he ever recorded, titled 'From Elvis Presley Boulevard'. It has since been re-released in a CD titled 'The Jungle Room Sessions'. Later, he came to Nashville, to record and they took him to a house with a studio in it, which was the fad here at the time. He took one look at it and left. I guess he thought, if he was going to record in a house, he'd do it in his!
Love Coming Down
In my catalog of several hundred songs I've written, this is one of my personal favorites. This is one of those songs that when you're writing it, the melody, and lines of the lyric just seem to fall together like they belong there. This is usually what occurs when you're working on a gigantic Hit song. I really believe that this song's day will come ... When I found out that Elvis was going to record it, I went to Memphis and attended the session in the Jungle Room of Graceland. I found Elvis quite upset because his dog was very ill.
He did the song, and also 'Never Again', another of my songs and then retired for the evening after remarking that I had destroyed him. What he meant, of course, was that the words of these two songs really got to him. He didn't just sing a song, he more or less lived it as he sang it. He was very conscience of what the song was all about. I hope you like it, and the way Elvis did it. This was in the album titled 'ELVIS PRESLEY BOULEVARD' and has been re-released on a new CD titled the 'The Jungle Room Sessions'. Jerry
Woman Without Love
This song is either loved or hated by women ! The ones who hate it are few, thank goodness, and do so because they resent hearing a man say a woman is nothin' at all, under any circumstance.
I still feel that a woman who has never known love, has never lived. I am certain this is one of the real standards I have written, and believe it will live long after I am gone.
I have recently changed the lyric slightly, to create a female version of it and maybe, it will be accepted by all ...
In the early 70's, Bob Luman released a single on this song and was immediately covered by Johnny Darrel. T.D. Valentine then released it (POP), and Brook Benton covered him and had the Hit on it. Elvis recorded it many years later ...
It was nominated for Song of the Year and was in the Top 40 National charts by all four Artists at the same time. It also came out in a couple dozen other albums, and was an award winner by the Nashville Song Writers Association. Now the verdict is yours, what do you think??
I am only certain of one thing, as I once wrote in a letter to Richard Nixon, we are all capable of being wrong, but 'critics never make history'
Not recorded by Elvis, but it seemed to be in the planning:
The Wonders You Perform
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SOURCES
http://www.jerrychesnut.net/bio.html
http://www.jerrychesnut.net/songs44.html
http://www.cmt.com/news/1691776/elvis-presley-songwriters-recall-their-creative-contacts-with-the-king/
http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/jerry-chesnut-remembers-elvis-presley.shtml
Here's Johnny Cash's My Old Kentucky Home from 1974 if the point need to be proved (the lyrics are by Randy Newman from 1970, but live versions by Newman from the mid-1970s as well).
