The King simply never goes out of style. How else can you explain the fact that several artists from the 1980s, a forward-looking musical decade, dipped back in the past to score hit singles with songs Elvis Presley first made famous?<\/p>\n
In some cases, these were radical departures from Elvis\u2019 originals. But they nonetheless proved that Presley\u2019s legacy still had a hold on the scene.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways On My Mind\u201d by Willie Nelson<\/p>\n
When Elvis Presley released this song in 1972, he was in the middle of a separation from his wife, Priscilla. Written by Johnny Christopher, Wayne Carson, and Mark James, \u201cAlways On My Mind\u201d taps into the regretful feeling one can have after they\u2019ve misplaced priorities and shortchanged their significant other. Presley sang it as if on bended knee, pleading for forgiveness. Willie Nelson, however, took a different approach on his cover, which was a giant crossover success in 1982. Nelson, with his one-of-a-kind vocal phrasing, makes it seem as if there\u2019s little chance for reconciliation. But he must apologize anyway, if only to make peace within his own soul.<\/p>\n
\u201cAlways On My Mind\u201d by Pet Shop Boys<\/p>\n
You never can tell when a song is going to catch fire, even if it\u2019s a song that\u2019s been done several times before. If you can find a new way inside of it that folks haven\u2019t heard before, there\u2019s always a chance. The Pet Shop Boys did a take on \u201cAlways On My Mind\u201d for a British television special devoted to Elvis\u2019 work on the tenth anniversary of his death. They received such a positive response for what they did with the song that Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe decided to hit the studio. What a far cry their take is from both Presley\u2019s and Willie Nelson\u2019s. The thrilling reimagining still captures the song\u2019s feelings of regret while suggesting a hopeful outcome is possible.<\/p>\n
\u201cSuspicious Minds\u201d by Fine Young Cannibals<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re going to tackle an Elvis Presley song, it helps to have a vocalist who can deliver something that won\u2019t make you miss what The King did with it originally. Fine Young Cannibals boasted just such an iconic singer in Roland Gift. \u201cSuspicious Minds\u201d, written by Mark James, helped restore Presley\u2019s artistic reputation when he released it in 1969. As for FYC, they hadn\u2019t yet made their big splash in America with \u201cShe Drives Me Crazy\u201d <\/a>when their version of the song arrived in 1986. Nonetheless, they manage to pay grateful tribute to the original while also venturing into new territory thanks to Gift\u2019s bold vocals.<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t Be Cruel\u201d by Cheap Trick<\/p>\n \u201cDon\u2019t Be Cruel\u201d looms pretty large among the early songs that helped create the legend of Elvis Presley. Written by Otis Blackwell, the song proved that Presley could be mesmerizing on a track without having to overemote. More than three decades after the King recorded his version, Cheap Trick did their take. At the time, the band\u2019s record label had insisted they work with outside writers to revive their commercial fortunes. It worked when the power ballad \u201cThe Flame\u201d soared to the top of the charts. Cheap Trick\u2019s irreverent take on \u201cDon\u2019t Be Cruel\u201d made for a recognizable choice as the second single from the LP Lap Of Luxury. And it landed the band a Top 5 single.<\/p>\n Photo by Liaison<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The King simply never goes out of style. How else can you explain the fact that several artists…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":635478,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[15762,88,216,17172,2156],"class_list":["post-647280","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-music","tag-elvis-presley","tag-entertainment","tag-music","tag-pop-music","tag-rock-music"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647280","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=647280"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/647280\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/635478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=647280"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=647280"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=647280"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}