Categories Pigshit

ELVIS’ HOT 100

 

No, EP would not have turned 100 this January 8th …though had he made it this long, he very well could have looked that old.

Nevertheless, here’s a century-count of Elvis numbers absolutely, truly, and without a single doubt Fit for The King…

100. “Old MacDonald
         (whilst getting into Double Trouble on the silver screen with Annette Day no
         less)
  99. “Here Comes Santa Claus” 
         (has hung below my mistletoe ever since hearing it featured, repeatedly, in a
         late-80s very-late-night television ad for some mail-order Elvis Xmas
         album)
  98. “Surrender
         (speaking strictly Beatles, I bet when this one first came out John HATED
         it …but Paul? He was [secretly] …intrigued)
  97. “Fools Rush In
         (Elvis doing Rick Nelson doing Elvis)
  96. “The Walls Have Ears” 
         (more than worth watching Girls! Girls! Girls! for)
  95. “Follow That Dream” 
         (caught the movie on TV yet again just the other night)
  94. “Moody Blue” 
         (I was actually listening to this when the news broke on 8/16/77)
  93. “Party
         (I’ve never kissed a bear / I’ve never kissed a goon / But I can shake a
         chicken In the middle of the room)
         (© WB Music Corp., Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Leeds Music
         Corp., Olman Music Corp., MPL Music Publishing Inc.)
  92. “Old Shep” 
         (too bad there weren’t any cell phones handy when Elvis first sang this in
         1945 at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair and Dairy Show…)
  91. “Early Morning Rain” 
         (the undeniable highlight of the Elvis: A Canadian Tribute album …along with
         “Snowbird,” of course)
  90. “Any Way You Want Me (That’s How I Will Be)
         (Strong as a mountain …yet weak as a willow tree)
  89. “Fever
         (Peggy Lee? Elvis is Back!)
  88. “Big Boss Man
         (that’s just gotta be Jerry Reed on the nylon 6-strings on the ’67 version,
         right?!)
  87. “Money Honey
         (the very last song from Elvis’ very first RCA Victor album …from Elvis’ very
         first RCA Victor recording session)
  86. “Got A Lot O’ Livin’ To Do
         (sung to Big Mama Gladys in that Loving You movie …if you watch closely)
  85. “It’s Now Or Never
         (What do you get when you prep “O Sole Mio” for American ears? 20 million
         copies sold) (and counting)
  84. “I Was The One
         (truer words were seldom ever sung)
  83. “My Way” 
         (even better than Sid Vicious’ version!)
  82. “I Love You Because
         (yes, this is how Elvis, Scotty Moore on lead, Bill Black on bass and Sam
         Phillips behind the board spent their Fourth of July, 1954)
  81. “Loving You
         (Duane Eddy twanged a cooool version as well)
  80. “My Happiness
         (Elvis …for Gladys) (of course)
  79. “Sweet Caroline” 
         (hear Elvis positively kneel on Neil Diamond)
  78. “Tumbling Tumbleweeds
         (Live from …or should I say in Graceland, February ’66)
  77. “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” 
         (for the eight-minute-plus, undubbed the Our Memories Of Elvis, Volume 2
         album mix)
  76. “Patch It Up” 
         (Ronnie Tutt’s drums thoroughly thundered this one home on stage)
  75. “Bossa Nova Baby” 
         (for those fiddle-de-dink keyboard ’n’ bass breaks at the end of each chorus)
  74. “She’s Not You
         (I must admit it wasn’t until that ELV1S CD that I finally recognized this one)
  73. “Until It’s Time For You To Go
         (things did get kinda morbid, musically and otherwise, post-Priscilla, didn’t they?)
  72. “A Little Less Conversation” 
         (even the Junkie remiXL!)
  71. “See See Rider” 
         (Elvis opened his final concerts with this one …how else to segue out of
         “Also Sprach Zarathustra”??)
  70. “Guitar Man
         (yeah, that’s just gotta be Jerry Reed!!)
  69. “Ready Teddy
         (Elvis makes his Ed Sullivan Show debut with this sock hop ball)
  68. “Stuck On You
         (still sticks like glue!)
  67. “Suspicion” 
         (Bonzo Dog Viv Stanshall’s interpretation, “produced” by Keith Moon I kid
         you not, also torments my heart)
  66. “Wear My Ring Around Your Neck” 
         (with rhyming couplets every syllable the equal of even Jonathan Richman’s, by heck!)

 










 
 
  65. “Elvis Sails” 
         (my Very First Elvis record!)
  64. “Always On My Mind
         (so sorry, Willie Nelson, but you should’ve left this one with “E”)
  63. “Wooden Heart” 
         (I’m still not sure why this one beat so far out of the Worldwide 50 Gold
         Award Hits Vol. 1
vinyl boxed set for me…)
  62. “Blue Christmas
         (Accept NO Substitutes every December 25th!)
  61. “I Got A Woman
         (another road-tested gem from Elvis’ first RCA session)
  60. “You Gave Me A Mountain” 
         (Live from Hawaii via Satellite, that is)
  59. “Flip, Flop And Fly
         (shrewdly medley’d with “Shake, Rattle and Roll” for his World Television
         Debut
as 1956 dawned)
  58. “I Got Stung
         (I do believe this to be one of Elvis’ shortest chart-toppers)
  57. “Baby I Don’t Care” 
         (and Buddy Holly cut a far-from-square version as well!)
  56. “If I Can Dream” 
         (where hope keeps shining on ev-er-y-one)
  55. “Good Luck Charm
         (later covered, electro-pop style! – by none other than Alvin and the
         Chipmunks)
  54. “That’s When Your Heartaches Begin
         (y’know, my Dad was a huge Ink Spots fan too)
  53. “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You
         (just how to possibly follow-up “Heartbreak Hotel”??)
  52. “You’re A Heartbreaker
         (Elvis, Scotty and Bill …with Sam for Sun)
  51. “Love Me Tender
         (note: there’s an Extra verse in the movie version!)
  50. “An American Trilogy” 
         (One Nation Under God, Indivisible, with Liberty and the Elvis On Tour
         documentary)
  49. “Brown Eyed Handsome Man” 
         (thrill as that Million Dollar Quartet marvel over Chuck Berry’s coffee-colored
         lyrics)
  48. “Young And Beautiful” 
         (That ain’t tactics, honey: It’s just the Big Beat Ballad outta the Jailhouse
         Rock
movie)
  47. “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” 
         (for the vintage-’69 Live in Vegas version)
  46. “Baby What You Want Me To Do” 
         (a ’68 Comeback SUPER Special!!)
  45. “Love Me
         (originally envisioned by writers Jerry Leiber & Mike Stoller as, quote, “a
         parody of country and western music.” In Elvis’ hands however…)
  44. “Crying In The Chapel” 
         (somehow sat most securely right alongside The Supremes and Sam the
         Sham atop the June 12, 1965 Billboard Hot 100)
  43. “A Fool Such As I” 
         (especially the “you taught me how to milk a cow” USS Arizona Memorial
         Benefit performance)
  42. “Happy, Happy Birthday Baby” 
         (as Home Recorded alongside Eddie Fadal’s phonograph in Waco, TX circa
         Summertime 1958)
  41. “Can’t Help Falling In Love
         (the raw session tapes for this one are a true hoot!)
  40. “Polk Salad Annie” 
         (I actually prefer Elvis’ salad to Tony Joe White’s)
  39. “Way Down” 
         (ever notice how so many singers’ final vinyl, before dying, always seem to
         be so downright prophetic??)
  38. “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You)” 
         (those Beatles did a pretty good version too)
  37. “My Baby Left Me
         (D.J. Fontana’s snare drum!!)
  36. “Blue Moon” 
         (cut at Sun on August 19, 1954 …but still sounds more like 2054!)
  35. “Promised Land” 
         (I vividly recall being carted off to school one cold, too-early morning and
         being immediately warmed upon hearing this blasting out of the bus driver’s
         radio)
  34. “Such A Night” 
         (to my ears, the defining three-minutes-30 of that A Legendary Performer,
         Volume 2
complication …I mean compilation)
  33. “Viva Las Vegas” 
         (perfect, in every single way) (…and not a bad at all movie either!)
  32. “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” 
         (who knew The King collected Dylan bootlegs??)
  31. “Milkcow Blues Boogie
         (hold it, fellows…)
  30. “Burning Love” 
         (hunka! hunka!)
  29. “Don’t Cry Daddy” 
         (including a 1997 “duet” with Lisa Marie)
  28. “Treat Me Nice
         (Vince Everett’s Greatest Hit)
  27. “I’m Left, You’re Right, She’s Gone
         (Sun Record # 217 …say no more)
  26. “Trouble” 
         (you came to the right place)
  25. “Baby Let’s Play House” 
         (ever heard Mungo Jerry’s version? I’m damn sure The Cramps did!)
  24. “Return To Sender
         (never understood what “Special D” meant until years later)
  23. “I Need Your Love Tonight
         (another of the King’s cut by Alvin’s Chipmunks!)
  22. “I Forgot To Remember To Forget
         (wherein Elvis, Scotty and Bill bid a most fond farewell to Sun Records)
  21. “Teddy Bear
         (custom-crafted, and perfectly fit for The King. As such, it instantly sold about
         a billion copies…)
  20. “Lawdy Miss Clawdy” 
         (another ’68 Comeback Special)
  19. “I Don’t Care If The Sun Don’t Shine
         (Elvis’ second-ever B-side, vintage ’54)
  18. “Don’t Be Cruel” 
         (right there on the backside of “Hound Dog” = one of the Greatest 7-inch
         one-two single punches EVER)
  17. “Little Sister” 
         (why, even those Ghost Rockets did a version!)
  16. “In The Ghetto
         (Mac Davis’ working title when composing? “The Vicious Circle”)
  15. “Too Much” 
         (just LISTEN to Scotty Moore’s direct-from-the-Twilight-Zone guitar solo!)
  14. “Merry Christmas Baby
         (definitive reading, to my ears)
  13. “Good Rocking Tonight” 
         (yep, I certainly remember when I first heard the news)
  12. “All Shook Up
         (Wild as a Bug!)   
  11. “Kentucky Rain” 
         (an absolute favorite amongst of all of his “comeback” hits)
  10. “Tryin’ To Get To You
         (‘68 Special rendition) (of course!)
    9. “Hound Dog
         (also Absolutely required listening – and viewing – is its 6/5/56 Milton Berle
         Show
unveiling)
    8. “His Latest Flame” 
         (yes, Marie’s the name)
    7. “Suspicious Minds” 
         (the Vegas That’s The Way It Is rendition especially …once again, thanks in
         no small part to drummist Ronnie Tutt)
    6. “Devil In Disguise” 
         (one of the Very First songs I Ever remember hearing …by Elvis or by
         anyone else for that matter)
    5. “Mystery Train” 
         (Greil Marcus’ book is damn good too)
    4. “Jailhouse Rock” 
         (should’a stuck the horns from the movie version onto the RCA 45 though)
    3. “Blue Moon Of Kentucky” 
         (“Them’s some powerful checks!” composer Bill Monroe marveled upon
         receiving his fair shares of Elvis’ debut B-side)
    2. “Heartbreak Hotel” 
         (has there been any mid-Sixties British Invading musician who hasn’t cited
         this particular two-minutes-six as the initial inspiration behind their ultimate
         career choice??)
    1. “That’s All Right” 
        (the First …in SO many ways!!)

 

 

By Gary Pig Gold

Gary Pig Gold is a singer-songwriter, record producer, filmmaker, and author. His fanzine The Pig Paper was Canada's first independently published music magazine, and among the recording artists he has worked with are Pat Boone, Dave Rave, Endless Summer, Simply Saucer and Shane Faubert.