long live the king country salutes elvis

The single took the 20-year-old boy from Tupelo and placed him squarely in the national consciousness. 1 hit single on any chart, as it hit the top of the Billboard country charts for two weeks the following February. 27 that summer, the first copy of the 198-page The Guinness Book of Records was bound by printers, ready to soon be released for the first time en route to becoming a UK bestseller by Christmas.Įxactly one week earlier, Sun 223 records released “I Forgot to Remember to Forget.” It would go on to be Presley’s first No. In this first installment of our 60 at 60 series, we start at the very beginning: 1955. In the U.S., Presley notched 18 career No.

That’s because “The King of Rock and Roll” remains an icon, a legend, and, 61 years after his first professional recording session in Memphis’ Sun Studios – a record holder for the most No. Lightfoot wrote the song about his feelings of homesickness that prompted him to drive out to Los Angeles Airport to watch the planes on rainy days and think about his home in Canada.Now find a dozen friends and ask them to name a favorite Elvis Presley song.Ĭhances are, you’re going to come back with a lot of answers.

“Early Morning Rain,” a 1966 song by singer-songwriter Gordon Lightfoot, was covered by Elvis Presley in 1972 and his version includes some sparkling harmonica playing by Charles Ray McCoy, a regular sideman for Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn, and Bob Dylan. 10: Early Morning Rain (Gordon Lightfoot) Here, however, we look at ten of the most surprising Elvis Presley cover versions. Presley, who was only 42 when he died on August 16, 1977, listened intently to the songs suggested for him and had a superb instinct for picking winners. And while he would record many definitive versions of songs such as “Hound Dog” and “Suspicious Minds,” there is no shortage of surprising Elvis Presley covers of songs more often associated with artists like The Beatles and Carpenters. His co-writing credits were limited – and some were there just for publishing and rights purposes – but he was a master at selecting good songs. Though Elvis Presley recorded more than 700 songs, he did not pen any of them himself.

Long live the king country salutes elvis