Any Major Dude With Half A Heart

Tomorrow, on January 8, Elvis Presley would have turned 90 years old, which is an absurd thought. Perhaps it is because we never saw Elvis grow old, he will be forever young — like James Dean or Marilyn Monroe, or later Jimi Hendrix or Kurt Cobain. Even if Elvis looked not much like Elvis by the time he departed in 1977 at the age of 42. Like Michael Jackson, he neglected the latter component of the live-fast-and-die-young adage.

To mark the beginning of the last ten years before the King’s centenary, here’s a collection of good songs about Elvis. Some are directly about him, and others more by implication or tangential reference. So a song like Black Velvet might not seem to be about Elvis, but it was inspired by the writer’s visit to Graceland, and is about Presley.

I have stayed away from novelty numbers — there was an industry of those in the 1950s and early ‘60s, including the inevitable musical call for Elvis to be president — and also from mawkish tributes issued in 1977. Both of these types may find inclusion in a possible Volume 2, to accompany the various tracks by the likes of U2, Frank Zappa, Queen, Billy Joel and others which found no inclusion on this mix.

At least one person appears here twice: Mark Knopfler in his 2004 song, and almost a quarter of a century earlier on Phil Lynott’s tribute to Presley, to which he contributed the guitar, including a quite lovely solo. Lynott wrote and co-produced the song, but it sounds a bit like a Dire Straits track.

As ever, the mix is timed to fit on a standard CD-R, and inludes home-gracelanded covers and the present text as an illustrated PDF. PW in comments.

1. Mojo Nixon & Skid Roper – Elvis Is Everywhere (1987)
   What the Presley: Look, Elvis isn’t dead.
2. Alannah Myles – Black Velvet (1990)
   What the Presley: The titular fabric is a metaphor for Elvis’ voice.
3. Bruce Springsteen – Johnny Bye-Bye (1985)
   What the Presley: “The man on the radio says Elvis Presley’s died.”
4. Cowboy Junkies – Blue Moon Revisited (A Song For Elvis) (1989)
   What the Presley: Dedicated to Elvis; not much else.
5. Gillian Welch – Elvis Presley Blues (2001)
   What the Presley: He shook it like a chorus girl, a Harlem queen and a midnight rambler.
6. Kate Bush – King Of The Mountain (2005)
   What the Presley: “Elvis, are you out there somewhere, looking like a happy man?”
7. Prefab Sprout – Moon Dog (1990)
   What the Presley: “Beyond the Colonel’s arms, handsome doggone rake the truly weightless…”
8. Marc Cohn – Walking In Memphis (1991)
   What the Presley: “Saw the ghost of Elvis on Union Avenue, followed him up to the gates of Graceland…”
9. Steve Forbert – House Of Cards (1978)
   What the Presley: The sorry tale of the “hillbilly singer who conquered the world.”
10. Mark Knopfler – Back To Tupelo (2004)
    What the Presley: He could’ve been Marlon Brando and the King of Rock & Roll.
11. Jimmy Webb – Elvis And Me (1993)
    What the Presley: The story of Jimmy and Elvis in Las Vegas.
12. Rickie Lee Jones – Elvis Cadillac (2007)
    What the Presley: Riding around heaven in Elvis’ upscale automobile.
13. Emmylou Harris – Boy From Tupelo (2000)
    What the Presley: “Just ask the boy from Tupelo. He’s the king and he ought to know.”
14. Warren Zevon – Jesus Mentioned (1982)
    What the Presley: Going down to Graceland to think about the King.
15. Phil Lynott – King’s Call (1980)
    What the Presley: What Phil did the night Elvis died.
16. Gruppo Sportivo – I Said No (1978)
    What the Presley: “I told her all about Elvis. She begged me to go on.”
17. The Screaming Jets – Elvis (I Remember) (1997)
    What the Presley: “It’s not enough to be like Elvis, the subjects only have one king.”
18. Wall of Voodoo – Elvis Bought Dora A Cadillac (1987)
    What the Presley: Elvis tips a waitress, and a story begins.
19. Belle And Sebastian – A Century Of Elvis (2005)
    What the Presley: Elvis is still alive, standing next to the postman’s van.

GET IT!

More Elvis-related stuff:
The Originals: Elvis Presley Vol. 1
The Originals: Elvis Presley Vol. 2
Any Major Elvis Covers
Any Major Movie Elvis (and a quiz)