Playlist: Elvis Presley Annotated

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As much as late-era Elvis Presley has become a joke in contemporary pop culture—shorthand for washed up, corny, bloated and sweaty, as well as fly-by-night Vegas weddings—there is no overestimating the singer's revolutionary ways. He completely shook up radio and TV and pretty much invented teenage fandom (not to mention worried parental hysteria). No less than John Lennon worshiped him. Yes, he borrowed liberally from Black music to create his sound and style. But he set a blueprint for rock 'n' roll that literally shaped everything. This playlist takes a look back at how Elvis changed the world. "My Happiness" In August 1953, an 18-year-old Elvis Presley paid $3.98 to record an acetate of "My Happiness"—a pop standard made popular by Jon and Sondra Steele—backed with a cover of the Ink Spots' "That's When Your Heartache Begins" at the Memphis Recording Service (aka Sun Studio). It's said he claimed the record was a birthday gift for his mother; but given that there was a cheaper record-making service nearby, biographer Peter Guralnick has argued that Presley chose Sun hoping he'd get discovered by producer Sam Phillips. After the quick session, Guralnick wrote in his 1994 book Last Train to Memphis, Phillips did notice, asking his receptionist to take note of Presley's name. "That's All Right" Phillips and Presley would team up in 1954, as the producer was said to be looking to introduce the sound of the many Black musicians the studio focused on to a new audience. Phillips invited the teen in to sing some numbers and introduced him to bassist Bill Black and guitarist Scotty Moore—who would play with the future king of rock 'n' roll on most of his biggest hits. The session was reportedly a bit of a dud, until, at the end of the night, Presley launched into blues man Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right." Within three days, local DJ Dewey Phillips was playing the recorded song on his Red, Hot & Blue radio show and it became a hit with listeners, helping Presley land a deal with Sun Records. "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" Presley's first nation-wide No. 1 was this 1955 tune which, while still having a rockabilly flavor, was the closest that he came to making a "traditional" country song for Sun. The Beatles would later cover the song on a BBC radio program. "Mystery Train" The B-side to "I Forgot to Remember to Forget," "Mystery Train" nevertheless became a fan favorite. Originally written and recorded by blues man Junior Parker, Presley recast the song as a rockabilly number with the singer on rhythm guitar, Scotty Moore on finger-picking lead and Bill Black on bass. "Heartbreak Hotel" Later that year, Phillips sold the young singer's contract to RCA. Preslely's first single with the label was a major hit. Tommy Durden and Mae Boren Axton were allegedly inspired to write "Heartbreak Hotel" after seeing a newspaper report about a lonely man who had jumped to his death from a hotel window. Presley recorded the eight-bar blues track in early 1956 with his Blue Moon Boys band, as well as Chet Atkins on guitar and Floyd Cramer on piano. It went No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying there for seven weeks. "Blue Suede Shoes" Also in 1956, Presley recorded this Carl Perkins cover—which had already been a big hit for the rockabilly singer and guitarist—as the opener for his self-titled debut album. Various tales have circulated about the song's origins, one of which has Johnny Cash taking credit. In his Cash: The Autobiography, the singer recalled touring with Presley and Perkins for the radio show Louisiana Hayride and claimed he told them about an airman he'd served with in Germany who'd referred to his regulation "blue suede shoes" and how he couldn't let anyone step on them. "Hound Dog" Written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller for Big Mama Thornton, this twelve-bar blues riff was regularly covered by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys at their gig in Las Vegas—which is how Presley fell for it in 1956. His version would sell some 10 million copies worldwide and set a record, topping the pop chart for 11 weeks. (That title stood for 36 years, when it was broken by Boyz II Men with "End of the Road.") But Presley was gaining an unwanted reputation as trouble. With girls going crazy for the handsome singer and his dance moves, a Wisconsin diocese sent a letter to J. Edgar Hoover and the FBI, warning "Presley is a definite danger to the security of the United States ... [His] actions and motions were such as to rouse the sexual passions of teenaged youth." The singer was dubbed "Elvis the Pelvis" by a Jackson, Mississippi, newspaper—a nickname he reportedly hated. "Don't Be Cruel" Also that year, Presley scored big with this track by Otis Blackwell, which he would go on to perform during all three of his appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show. His publisher at the time, Freddy Bienstock, would later explain why the singer had received a co-writing credit on "Don't Be Cruel" and other songs, though he technically didn't have a hand in writing them. "In the early days Elvis would show dissatisfaction with some lines and he would make alterations, so it wasn't just what is known as a 'cut-in.' His name did not appear after the first year," Bienstock told an Australian media outlet. "But if Presley liked the song, the writers would be offered a guarantee of a million records and they would surrender a third of their royalties to Elvis.'" "Love Me Tender" Originally, Sullivan resisted having Presley appear on his TV program—until a Steve Allen Show episode with the singer beat Sullivan in the ratings. Still, according to the book Down at the End of Lonely Street: The Life and Death of Elvis Presley, the host was unnerved, telling producers he thought Presley had "some kind of device hanging down below the crotch of his pants—so when he moves his legs back and forth you can see the outline of his cock ... We just can't have this on a Sunday night. This is a family show!" A record 60 million people watched the first of his three Sullivan appearances, on September 9, 1956, as Presley performed "Love Me Tender," from his movie debut of the same name. The song, which put new lyrics to the tune of the Civil War ballad "Aura Lee," went to No. 1. "When the Saints Go Marchin' In" Late 1956 saw an incredible moment in music history, as Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins met up at Sun Studio for a spontaneous jam session one afternoon—very loosely riffing on a clutch of gospel songs (including "When the Saints Go Marching In"), some of Presley's hits, and snippets of a couple of Chuck Berry tunes. Lewis and Cash mostly harmonized, with Presley sitting in on the piano until the last few songs. The recording—with the four rising stars later dubbed the Million Dollar Quartet—is as casual as it gets, but a fascinating time capsule released only 25 years after it was made. "All Shook Up" According to Guralnick's book, this chart-topper came about because Presley had the idea for the title (earning him a songwriting credit, while Otis Blackwell wrote the actual song). "I've never even had an idea for a song. Just once, maybe," the singer explained in a 1957 interview. "I went to bed one night, had quite a dream, and woke up all shook up. I phoned a pal and told him about it. By morning, he had a new song, 'All Shook Up.'" The Jordanaires' Gordon Stoker provides the duet vocal that shadows Presley's. "Jailhouse Rock" This catchy song from Elvis' third movie, of the same name and released in 1957, was written by Brill Building writers Leiber and Stoller (over his career, Presley would record at least a dozen of the duo's creations). Rolling Stone called the number "decidedly silly, the kind of tongue-in-cheek goof [Leiber and Stoller] had come up with for The Coasters"—such as "Yakety Yak." Presley, the magazine reported, "sang it as straight rock & roll, overlooking the jokes in the lyrics (like the suggestion of gay romance when inmate Number 47 tells Number 3, 'You're the cutest jailbird I ever did see')." It's also been reported that some of the characters name-checked in the song are based on real people—including Los Angeles blues musician Shifty Henry and bootlegging mobsters the Purple Gang. "Santa Claus Is Back in Town" Blush-inducingly sexy, this song from the best-selling Christmas album of all time (1957's Elvis' Christmas Album, since reissued multiple times) uses twelve-bar blues, Presley's husky growl, juke-joint piano and a whammy of a double entendre to set the holiday scene. As the Jordanaires intone "Christmas," Presley tells his baby to "Hang up your pretty stockings/ Cut off the lights/ Santa Claus is coming/ down your chimney tonight." "King Creole" Five days before Christmas in 1957, Presley received his draft notice for the Korean War, but was granted a deferment to complete the movie musical King Creole. Studio sessions for the soundtrack took place in January of the next year, in Hollywood. Hitmakers Leiber and Stoller had irked Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, while writing songs for the singer's previous movie, Heartbreak Hotel. Known for his controlling ways, Parker reportedly didn't like that the songwriting duo had easy access to Presley. So for King Creole, Stoller later recalled, "They kept him separate" from contributors and crew. Still, Lieber and Stoller's three songs, including the title track, are widely considered the best in the film. Presley was drafted into the Army on March 24, 1958. "A Big Hunk O' Love" This was the highest-charting (No. 1) of the ten Top 40 hits Presley had between his 1958 Army induction and discharge in March 1960. "A Big Hunk O' Love" came out of the singer's only recording session while enlisted, in Nashville. The boogie-woogie rocker features Chet Atkins on rhythm guitar. While serving in Germany, Presley met future wife Priscilla Beaulieu—who was all of 14 years old to his 24. "Are You Lonesome Tonight" Presley was honorably discharged in 1960 and returned to the US at the beginning of March. Back in the studio, he recorded "Are You Lonesome Tonight" at the behest of his manager—it was reportedly the only time that Colonel Tom Parker made such a request (the song, a vaudeville ballad from 1927, was a favorite of his wife). After Presley recorded the eight songs previously agreed upon for his upcoming Elvis Is Back! album, he ended the session at 4AM, by asking everyone else to leave. Two takes in, Presley was ready to throw in the towel. But producer Steve Sholes cajoled him into an extra try, which became the master for the standalone single. RCA stalled the release, however, unconvinced of its potential. And yet, "Are You Lonesome Tonight" landed atop the Billboard Pop Singles chart. "Surrender" One of 25 songs written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman that Presley recorded, this 1961 chart-topper is an adaptation of the music from a 1902 Neapolitan ballad, "Torna a Surriento." "Can't Help Falling in Love" This tune, from the album Blue Hawaii and with a melody based on a French love song ("Plaisir d'Amour)" circa 1784, was originally written as "Can't Help Falling in Love with Him" before getting a gender-bending turn by Presley. That's the reason for the lines "only fools rush in" and "would it be a sin?"—despite not rhyming with "you." "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" Driven by a Bo Diddley-style beat, this 1961 hit—originally recorded by Del Shannon before Elvis covered it—stalled at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100. "Return to Sender" Otis Blackwell—who also composed "Don't Be Cruel" and "All Shook Up"—and Winfield Scott co-wrote this track for Presley's 1962 film Girls! Girls! Girls! According to author Bar Biszick-Lockwood, while other songwriters penned music to fit specific scenes in the film, the duo decided just to write a great tune and not worry about it fitting the plotline. Inspired by a mailed demo that came back to them stamped with "Return to sender! No such person! No such zone!," they crafted lyrics about a man jilted via the mail. "Return to Sender" was blocked from reaching the No. 1 on the charts by the Four Seasons' "Big Girls Don't Cry." "(You're The) Devil in Disguise" John Lennon, who once worshiped Presley, declared this song a "miss" when it debuted in the UK on the BBC TV show Juke Box Jury in 1963—doubling down by saying Presley was "like Bing Crosby now." That didn't stop "(You're The) Devil in Disguise" from reaching the top of the charts in that country and No. 3 on the US singles charts. You can hear The Jordanaires' Ray Walker's deep bass echoing Presley at the end of the song—"Oh yes you are"—allegedly to mimic the devil himself. "Viva Las Vegas" Recorded for the 1964 film of the same name, starring Presley and Ann-Margret, this ring-a-ding number sounds like a casino full of slots going off. In 2002, the city of Las Vegas wanted to make "Viva Las Vegas"—which, despite its close association with Presley, he never performed live—its official song but couldn't reach an agreement with the trust that controls licensing for Presley's estate. Still, the song has been adopted by NHL hockey team the Vegas Golden Knights as its victory anthem. "Crying In The Chapel" From 1964 until 1968, Presley—who had all but abandoned his music career for movies—had just one Top Ten hit, this swooning gospel number recorded in 1960 and released five years later. "A Little Less Conversation" This buoyant funk track had a weird road to success. Co-written by Mac Davis and The Wrecking Crew guitarist Billy Strange, it was first recorded in 1968 for the Presley movie Live a Little, Love a Little, but didn't make much of an impact. The singer reportedly then re-made it with the intention of including it as part of his '68 Comeback Special, with girl-group the Blossoms on backing vocals, but the song ended up dropped. It was revived in 2001 for the movie Ocean's Eleven and, a year after that, Dutch DJ Junkie XL remixed "A Little Less Conversation"—majorly amping up the original horns and drums. It peaked at No. 50 on the Billboard Hot 100 but went all the way to the top in the UK, making this the only No. 1 by Presley released after his death. "In the Ghetto" By 1967, Presley's film career was foundering—due to the productions getting more low-budget and fly-by-night, not to mention manager Colonel Tom Parker burning bridges by being difficult to work with. Meanwhile, Presley's music career seemed over. At 33 years old, he was viewed as a has-been. So Parker hatched the idea for a TV special to remind people Elvis was a rock'n'roll star. Aired on NBC on December 3, 1968, Elvis (later to be known as the '68 Comeback Special) was his return to the concert stage after seven years. Both the show and the soundtrack were major hits, prompting Presley's "comeback" album, From Elvis in Memphis. Among the record's dozen tracks is this now-iconic song, written by Mac Davis. "Suspicious Minds" Presley's final No. 1 pop song, this 1969 stunner was reportedly chosen to move the singer into a more mature phase of his career and position him as a Tom Jones type. You can hear future Grateful Dead vocalist Donna Jean Godchaux on the memorable backing vocals. The song has an odd fade-out that lasts nearly 15 seconds before fading back in, secretly added by RCA staff producer Felton Jarvis. According to producer Chips Moman, who also worked on the record, Jarvis wasn't happy with the recording—which took place between 4 and 7AM—and added the fade as "a control thing … he messed it up." "Kentucky Rain" Co-written by Eddie Rabbitt and with Ronnie Milsap on piano, this 1970 track veers between delicate, string-laden moments and hard-charging passion. The lyrics are about a man who hitchhikes through the cold Kentucky rain, asking strangers if they've seen the lover who left him in the middle of the night. "Always on My Mind" Recorded weeks after Presley's 1972 separation from wife Priscilla, this epic ballad was believed to be about his personal situation: "Maybe I didn't love you/ Quite as often as I could have/ And maybe I didn't treat you/ Quite as good as I should have." But in fact, it had been written by a team of songwriters well before the split and was first recorded by Brenda Lee. Years later, both Willie Nelson and the Pet Shop Boys would have hits with their versions. "Burning Love" Presley's last Top 10 hit on the American Hot 100, 1972's "Burning Love," was also one of the last rock songs he recorded. Most of the singer's work until his death were ballads relegated to country radio. "Way Down" Released two months before Presley's death, at age 42, from a heart disorder, "Way Down" was the singer's final single during his lifetime. A little bit country, a little bit gospel, a little bit disco and a little bit soul, it was recorded at his home studio at Graceland and features gospel singer J.D. Sumner singing the title in a C note so low it sounds altered. Photo courtesy of Sony Music