1/8/10 – Elvis vs. Elvis: The Songwriter?
Posted: January 8th, 2010 | Author: Matt The Cat | Filed under: Pop, Rock n' Roll | Tags: Elvis Presley, Friday Night Cat Fight, Matt The Cat, Podcast, Rock & Roll | 12 Comments »Elvis vs. Elvis
The Songwriter?
I thought I’d feature Elvis on this, the 75th anniversary of his birth. Now Elvis is known for many things; icon, performer, singer, actor, etc. But he is not known for his songwriting, which is virtually nonexistent. However, Elvis did participate in the true writing of only two songs, “That’s Someone You Never Forget” and “You’ll Be Gone.” His name appeared on a few other songs, which he did not help write in order to insure publishing royalties. But these two songs appear to have been at least co-written by the King himself. Listen to both of them back to back and judge which one you dig the most. In a world where we hear the Elvis hits ad nauseam, this week’s Cat Fight focuses on two of his lesser known songs. There are also a few extra goodies in here for Elvis fans of all walks of life. Long live THE KING!
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Wish I could have voted for both songs. I chose You’ll Be Gone, an extra on the Girl Happy album, the last track, but I liked Red’s song too. Doesn’t seem fair to have allowed Elvis’ name to be listed as writer when he wasn’t, but guess the colonel could get away with most anything. Still, loved both songs!
Why could you not play this version of Lonesome Tonight on XM? He really messed it up, didn’t he? Was it deliberate?
I loved this Cat Fight – one of the best ever! Voted for “You’ll Be Gone.”
Sierra,
I couldn’t play that version on XM, because XM didn’t have it in their library. I have it in MY library.
-MTC
“That’s Someone You Never Forget” was was so romantic I just loved it. Virginia
‘That’s Someone You Never Forget’ is Elvis at his best. I’m almost certain that it was on ‘Are You Lonesome Tonight’ that there was an ‘extra’ little sound in the original recording. It was Jerry Lee Lewis dropping a nickle in a coke machine. New versions have it edited out.
Since we are judging Elvis as a songwriter and really not the tempo of the song, my vote goes to “That’s someone you never forget”. The song brings out Elvis’ personna as it did in ” Love me tender”
Hey Steve,
You’re mixing up your stories here. The coke machine incident occured during the recording of “Heartbreak Hotel” and it wasn’t Jerry Lee at all.
Matt The Cat
Loved this cat fight! Thanks!
reminds me of Marie’s the Name
Elvis vs Elvis is more like shadow boxing than a cat fight. It’s more of a compare the tunes. Though I’m not an Elvis fan, and usually vote against Elvis, this time, I had no choice. So, instead of voting for the song I dug the most, I voted for the song I disliked the least. To me, That’s Someone you can’t forget, was the lesser of two evils. I did enjoy the Al Green tune at the end though. Sorry to all Elvis fans, but you can like him if you want to. Elvis fans need their time too.
Keep the cat fights coming, and keep on prowlin.
Well I’m not a big Elvis fan, either. I noted that in my iTunes library of over 5000 songs, I had exactly one by Elvis. But I was genuinely touched and suprised by “That’s Someone You Never Forget,” a track I don’t think I’d ever heard before this Cat Fight. I agree with Steve, that’s Elvis at his best. Strong song, great performance. The other one was totally forget-table for me.