Remembering more of Elvis’ greatest songs…

Between his first demos at the Sun Studios in 1953 and Elvis Presley’s final concert on June 26, 1977, at the Market Square Arena in Indianapolis, Ind., the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll” performed a grand total of 786 songs. 

 

In addition to the tunes cited in this and previous columns about Elvis’ contributions to American music culture, let’s consider a few other songs that have special significance.

Buddy Holly, who was an Elvis contemporary and also a great admirer, said his favorite Elvis song was “I Forgot to Remember to Forget.” It’s a 1955 country song written by Stan Kesler and Charlie Feathers. 

The single was the fifth and final recording released on Sun Records before Elvis moved to RCA Records.

Pam Windsor of Nashville, Tenn., who writes about music and entertainment, is a frequent contributor to Forbes magazine. She “nominated” three of her personal Elvis favorite tunes for special mention.

 

The first is “In the Ghetto” (1969). “Elvis had never recorded a ‘message song’ when he heard this one written by Mac Davis,” Windsor said. “Elvis recorded the song during a 1969 studio session Memphis, and it became a hit, as well as an emotional favorite during his live shows.”

 

“His daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, later recorded the song and her vocals were mixed with his for a posthumous father/daughter duet released in 2007.”

 

For his book, “Writing for the King,” author Ken Sharp (shown below) interviewed more than 140 songwriters whose work was recorded by Elvis. One of them was Mac Davis, who said he knew “In the Ghetto” could be a hit…“if the right person cut it. I think Elvis took a huge chance in doing ‘In the Ghetto.’ It was a big risk.”

 

The song was not consistent with Elvis’ image. Davis said: “He was always middle of the road when it came to controversy. I was shocked that the Colonel allowed him to put out ‘In the Ghetto’ because it was controversial at the time. But I’m glad he did.”

 

“It was Elvis’ idea to add another ‘and his mama cries’ at the end of that song,” Davis said. “The song originally finished ‘And another little baby child is born – in the ghetto.’ That was the end of it. To me, the circle had been done, but he just emphasized it by saying ‘and his mama cries’ again. It would have been a hit without him doing it, but he improved it.”

Windsor is also partial to “Return to Sender” (1962). She said: “This was a last-minute addition to the soundtrack for the movie “Girls! Girls! Girls!” Manager Colonel Tom Parker heard it, liked it and pushed to add it to the film.”

 

“The song was written by Winfield Scott and Otis Blackwell to suit Presley’s rock ‘n’ roll musical style and received praise for its lyricism and melody.”

“After the song’s release,” Windsor said, “fans would send letters to Elvis at made-up addresses just to have the letters returned and marked ‘Return to sender, address unknown.’”

 

Windsor puts “Can’t Help Falling in Love” (1961) at the top of the heap among her Elvis favorites.

“More than six decades after its release, ‘Can’t Help Falling in Love’ remains one of his all-time, most popular songs,” she said. “With lyrics promising love and undying devotion, it continues to resonate with music fans around the world…and has been streamed hundreds of millions of times.”

 

“Elvis recorded the song for the film “Blue Hawaii” and later used it as a show closer for his live performances. It connected with the crowd every time,” Windsor said.

“Can’t Help Falling in Love” was written by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George David Weiss. The melody is based on “Plaisir d’amour,” a popular French love song composed in 1784 by Jean-Paul-Égide Martini.

“Elvis had a voice and stage presence like no one else before or since, along with a gift in choosing the songs to showcase both,” Windsor added.

 

Sharp interjected that most of the songwriters that he talked to while researching his book mentioned “Elvis’ uncanny ability to capture the essence of a song and make it his own. Like a musical geneticist, Elvis drew from every strand of DNA in a songwriter’s work, which ultimately helped shape his own distinctive personal interpretation.”

A key player behind the scenes was Freddy Bienstock, who was hired in 1956 by the New York City-based publishing firm, Hill & Range. He was given the responsibility as a liaison to present potential songs to Elvis. It was his job to know “what kind of songs Elvis liked and what might capture his attention.” Bienstock said that usually, it was a “terrific melody.”

 

“Elvis listened intently to demos and knew immediately if a song was right for him,” Bienstock said. “You couldn’t talk Elvis into doing a song; he had to feel it. He knew what would work for him. On songs that he was particularly fond of, he would make a real effort – sometimes he’d do 40 takes. When there was a song that he especially liked, he was almost a perfectionist about getting it just right.”

“If I Can Dream” was one of those special songs, Sharp stated. 

Written expressly for Elvis in 1968 by composer Billy Goldenberg (shown below in top photo) and lyricist Walter Earl Brown of The Skylarks (shown below in bottom photo), the song is notable for its similarities with the 1963 “I Have a Dream” speech by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Sharp said the song “was recorded by Presley in June 1968, just two months after Dr. King’s assassination,” and on the heels of Robert Kennedy’s assassination.

 

“If I Can Dream” was the grand finale of the Elvis “Comeback Special” that aired on NBC on Dec. 3, 1968. 

Sharp said the show marked Elvis’ “return to live performances after a seven-year period where he focused solely on his film productions.”