ELVIS PRESLEY- The 100 Most Essential Songs (#3). Continues: tomorrow.  

Caffè Lattè presents:

THE 100 MOST ESSENTIAL SONGS BY

ELVIS

Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935. His family relocated to Memphis, where the teenager absorbed the blues, gospel and country music. Young Elvis cut records for personal use and came to the attention of Sun Records. Sam Phillips recognized potential in the youth: a white singer with a ‘black’ sound. From these humble origins, Elvis influenced countless other white rockers and achieved sales that were unprecedented.

 

These 100 songs corroborate that Presley is the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”…

👑

Hear the songs on the special Spotify playlist regularly updated as the countdown continues:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6KLsvwG7sBR45Xzq2WUWMD?si=1b8724d6f6744b89&pt=7a4da6b5756f5effebbb68199f80442e

E  3

HEARTBREAK HOTEL

It’s important to remember that rock ‘n’ roll was still dismissed by many as a fad that would soon peter out in the mid-1950s. Bill Halley & His Comets’ “Rock Around The Clock” is seen as a watershed record that announced the dawn of the Rock Era by becoming the first rock ‘n’ roll disc to reach #1 in America. The next significant milestone took place on April 21, 1956. Elvis had already developed a following in the South. He had switched from Sun Records to a major label with additional clout: RCA. His first release for the company was “Heartbreak Hotel”. Recorded in Nashville on January 10 and 11, 1956, the session featured Scotty Moore on guitar, Bill Black on bass and D.J. Fontana on drums. Also conbtributing to the recording were guitarist Chet Atkins, pianist Floyd Cramer and some members of his backing singers The Jordanaires.

The song was inspired by a newspaper article about a man who committed suicide leaving behind a note with the words: “I walk a lonely street”. Mae Brown Aston co-wrote the hit with Tommy Durden. Preslety was credited too, but was not involved in the song's creation. The single spent 8 weeks topping the US chart starting in late April and peaked at #2 in Britain. Billboard listed it as the #1 single of 1956. It was the first of numerous chart-topping singles for Elvis. 

   

THE TIME CAPSULE: ANIMAL. More retro tomorrow.

<<<THE T⏳ME CAPSULE<<<

ANIMAL

Def Leppard

1987

U.K. - #6; U.S.A. - #19

Trivia:

Def Leppard formed in 1977. The British group had to wait 10 years for its first single to reach the UK Top 40. By then, they had placed 3 in the American equivalent listing.

 

Check out all the songs that have been featured in this daily segment on Spotify, including today’s retro track.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1fw40hqEA0Fgh4cq4yoXD0?si=BYCiWGK3QRim_FaIIkAIdg

spotify:playlist:1fw40hqEA0Fgh4cq4yoXD0

 

CAFFE´ LATTE´

TOP 10 ALBUMS- FEB. 2023

1

HIGH DRAMA

Adam Lambert      NEW            

2 HARRY’S HOUSE Harry Styles      RE-ENTRY     

3 PERMANENT DAMAGE Joesef      3 2

4 DIRT FEMME Tove Lo      7 6

5 TRUSTFALL P!nk      NEW

6 GLORIA Sam Smith      8 2     

7 ONLY THE STRONG SURVIVE

    Bruce Springsteen      2 4

8 RUSH! Måneskin      6 2

9 KING OF A TRAGEDY Isak Danielson      5 11

10 CHARLIE Charlie Puth      4 5

                             

 ELVIS PRESLEY- The 100 Most Essential Songs (#4). Continues: tomorrow.    

Caffè Lattè presents:

THE 100 MOST ESSENTIAL SONGS BY

ELVIS

Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935. His family relocated to Memphis, where the teenager absorbed the blues, gospel and country music. Young Elvis cut records for personal use and came to the attention of Sun Records. Sam Phillips recognized potential in the youth: a white singer with a ‘black’ sound. From these humble origins, Elvis influenced countless other white rockers and achieved sales that were unprecedented.

 

These 100 songs corroborate that Presley is the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”…

👑

Hear the songs on the special Spotify playlist regularly updated as the countdown continues:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6KLsvwG7sBR45Xzq2WUWMD?si=1b8724d6f6744b89&pt=7a4da6b5756f5effebbb68199f80442e

E  4

IT’S NOW OR NEVER

Elvis had already established his rock ‘n’ roll credentials by 1960. He had also demonstrated his ability to deliver R&B and rockabilly with authenticity. The King would increase his sales with a new and unlikely source: opera! “It’s Now Or Never” was based on “O Sole Mio”, popularized by Mario Lanza. An English adaptation already existed, but new lyrics were commissioned. Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold delivered a hit for Elvis. His interpretation sold over 20 million copies. It stayed at #1 for 8 weeks in Britain and for 5 in America. The track was recorded in Nashville on April 3 and 4, 1960. “It’s Now Or Never” resulted in a wider fan base for the singer. This more adult-oriented material also ensured his original teen fans who were now adults too remained faithful to Elvis. Schroeder and Gold also wrote "Good Luck Charm" for the King.

THE TIME CAPSULE: CHIP CHIP. More retro tomorrow.

<<<THE T⏳ME CAPSULE<<<

CHIP CHIP

Gene McDaniels

1962

U.S.A. - #10

Trivia:

Gene McDaniels is remembered not only for his R&B recordings such as "Chip Chip", but for his songwriting and production work. He penned "Feel Like Makin' Love" and "Compared To What" by Roberta Flack. McDaniels also produced recordings by Gladys Knight & The Pips, The Floaters and Nancy Wilson. He passed away in 2011.

 

Check out all the songs that have been featured in this daily segment on Spotify, including today’s retro track.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1fw40hqEA0Fgh4cq4yoXD0?si=BYCiWGK3QRim_FaIIkAIdg

spotify:playlist:1fw40hqEA0Fgh4cq4yoXD0

 

 ELVIS PRESLEY- The 100 Most Essential Songs (#5). Continues: tomorrow.    

Caffè Lattè presents:

THE 100 MOST ESSENTIAL SONGS BY

ELVIS

Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935. His family relocated to Memphis, where the teenager absorbed the blues, gospel and country music. Young Elvis cut records for personal use and came to the attention of Sun Records. Sam Phillips recognized potential in the youth: a white singer with a ‘black’ sound. From these humble origins, Elvis influenced countless other white rockers and achieved sales that were unprecedented.

 

These 100 songs corroborate that Presley is the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”…

👑

Hear the songs on the special Spotify playlist regularly updated as the countdown continues:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6KLsvwG7sBR45Xzq2WUWMD?si=1b8724d6f6744b89&pt=7a4da6b5756f5effebbb68199f80442e

E  5

DON’T BE CRUEL

On the US chart, Elvis’ biggest hit remains the double A-sided single “Don’t Be Cruel” b/w “Hound Dog”. The songwriting credits for the former mention Otis Blackwell and Presley. It was the custom that Elvis would receive songwriting credit (and therefore royalties) in exchange for recording songs, even though he had no involvement in their composition. Blackwell penned other rock classics such as “Great Balls Of Fire”, “Breathless” (both recorded by Jerry Lee Lewis) and later Elvis hits “Return To Sender” and “All Shook Up”. The 1956 single reigned in America for 11 weeks, a Rock Era record that remained unbroken until 1992’s “End Of The Road” by Boyz II Men.

THE TIME CAPSULE: VACATION. More retro tomorrow.

<<<THE T⏳ME CAPSULE<<<

VACATION

The Go-Go’s

1982

U.S.A. - #8

Trivia:

On the Billboard Hot 100, The Go-Go's only placed 2 singles in the Top 10: "We Got The Beat" and "Vacation". The latter is the title track from the American group's second album. "Head Over Heels" just missed out on cracking the Top 10, peaking at #11 in 1984.

 

Check out all the songs that have been featured in this daily segment on Spotify, including today’s retro track.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/1fw40hqEA0Fgh4cq4yoXD0?si=BYCiWGK3QRim_FaIIkAIdg

spotify:playlist:1fw40hqEA0Fgh4cq4yoXD0

 

 ELVIS PRESLEY- The 100 Most Essential Songs (#6). Continues: tomorrow.   

Caffè Lattè presents:

THE 100 MOST ESSENTIAL SONGS BY

ELVIS

Elvis Aaron Presley was born in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1935. His family relocated to Memphis, where the teenager absorbed the blues, gospel and country music. Young Elvis cut records for personal use and came to the attention of Sun Records. Sam Phillips recognized potential in the youth: a white singer with a ‘black’ sound. From these humble origins, Elvis influenced countless other white rockers and achieved sales that were unprecedented.

 

These 100 songs corroborate that Presley is the “King of Rock ‘n’ Roll”…

👑

Hear the songs on the special Spotify playlist regularly updated as the countdown continues:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/6KLsvwG7sBR45Xzq2WUWMD?si=1b8724d6f6744b89&pt=7a4da6b5756f5effebbb68199f80442e

E  6

ARE YOU LONESOME TONIGHT?

In 1960, Elvis was in RCA’s Nashville studio early in the morning to record a song especially requested by his manager Colonel Tom Parker. The latter had never asked Presley to record a song before, but he believed that this 1926 Al Jolson song could be a hit once again. For this recording, Elvis widened his musical horizons by tackling a song written by 2 vaudevillian composers: Roy Turk and Lou Handman. The source material resulted in airplay on radio stations that had previously not played songs by Presley. During the session, Elvis felt that his rendition was not good enough. Co-producer Steve Sholes encouraged him to persist. The single features Elvis’ first and only take. As far as his fans were concerned, this was obviously considered good enough, as the public took the disc to the top in America (for 6 weeks), Britain (4 weeks), Australia, Canada and other countries. Part of its appeal was the spoken portion where Elvis paraphrased William Shakespeare.