“Wouldn’t it be great if Elvis was still alive and all his impersonators were dead?” – Jorge Carlin
This week marks the thirty-first anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death. He died in Memphis on August 16, 1977. He was only 42 years old.
It’s hard to believe that the kid who won a talent show at the age of eight by singing “Old Shep” would have become a music icon.
He sang in high school shows after learning to play the guitar. Before his stardom, Elvis worked as an usher and truck driver after graduating from high school.
He signed with Sun Records in 1954 and then with RCA in 1955. According to Billboard magazine, Elvis reached the weekly Top 40 107 times; a record that has yet to be broken. Of those 107 trips to the Top 40, eighteen of them went to the number one spot.
Below is a list of Elvis’ thirty greatest hits:
1. Shocked – 1957
2. Heartbreak Hotel – 1956 – Elvis’s first number one hit for RCA.
3. Don’t Be Cruel – 1956 – This record has the honor of having the only record in rock history where both the A and B sides (Hound Dog) hit number one on the weekly charts.
4. Jailhouse Rock – 1957 – This song and the B-side “Treat Me Nice” appeared in Elvis’s third film, “Jailhouse Rock.”
5. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear – 1957 – This song, along with the B-side, “Loving You,” was from the second Elvis movie, “Loving You.”
6. Are you alone tonight? – 1960 – This song was also a number one hit for Vaughn Deleath back in 1927.
7. Love Me Tender – 1956 – From the first Elvis film of the same title. Love Me Tender was an adaptation of the 1861 popular song, “Aura Lee”.
8. It’s Now or Never – 1960 – Another adaptation, this time of the 1899 Italian song, “O Solo Mio.”
9. Don’t – 1958 – The B-side of this song, “I Beg of You”, also reached the weekly Top 10.
10. Hound Dog – 1956 – Big Mama Thornton took it to number one on the R&B charts in 1953.
11. Stuck On You – 1960 – This number one song was recorded just 15 days after Elvis left the army.
12. Too Much – 1957
13. Hard Headed Woman – This song comes from Elvis’ personal favorite movie he did, “King Creole.”
14. Surrender – Yet another adaptation, this time of the Italian song “Come Back to Sorrento.”
15. Good Luck Charm – 1962
16. A Big Hunk O’ Love – 1959 – One of four new songs released while Elvis was on military duty.
17. I want you, I need you, I love you – 1956 – Elvis’s second number one song, behind “Heartbreak Hotel”.
18. Suspicious Minds – 1969 – Elvis’s last number one song.
19. Return To Sender – 1962 – This is from another Elvis movie, “Girls, Girls, Girls.”
20. Love Me – 1956 – This song comes from one of the many EPs that Elvis released.
21. Put my ring around your neck – 1958
22. Can’t Help Falling In Love – 1961 – from the Elvis movie “Blue Hawaii”.
23. Burning Love – 1972 – This was Elvis’ last Top 10 hit.
24. (Every once in a while, there’s a fool) Just Like Me – 1958 – This was a big country hit for Hank Snow in 1953.
25. Crying In The Chapel – 1965 – This song was recorded in 1960, but was not released for five years.
26. In the ghetto – 1969
27. (You’re the) Devil in Disguise – 1963
28. One Night – 1958 – Smiley Lewis had a huge R&B hit with this one in 1956.
29. I Need Your Love Tonight – 1959 – another of four songs recorded while Elvis was serving his country.
30. (Marie is the name of) Her last flame – 1961
Elvis won a Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 1971. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1986. His last live performance took place in Indianapolis on June 26, 1977. He would turn 73 this year.
It’s hard to believe that Elvis last “left the building” 31 years ago.