For Elvis Presley’s Birthday, Great Covers That Never Were
The King would have done a first-rate job with these songs by Elton John, Sam Cooke, ZZ Top and nine other artists
If Elvis Presley were still with us, he would be turning 86 today. But the King of Rock-n-Roll left for that great concert hall in the sky some 43 and-a-half years ago, meaning he has already been gone longer than the 42 years he lived.
Elvis packed a lot of accomplishments into a career spanning more than two decades before a heart attack brought his life to an abrupt end at his home in Memphis on Aug. 16, 1977.
From the mid-1950s through 1977, Elvis recorded more than 600 songs and released 57 albums, resulting in 14 №1 singles on Billboard. He made 31 movies and two concert documentaries — and he made a lot of songwriters and fellow musicians happy when he covered their songs.
Some of The King’s better know covers include “My Way,” made famous by Frank Sinatra, the Righteous Brothers’ “Unchained Melody” and the early ’70s ballad “Always on My Mind.” He also recorded two songs by the Beatles, “Yesterday” and “Something,” as well as the Simon and Garfunkel hit “Bridge Over Troubled Water.” There were many others.
If only Elvis could have recorded more songs …
Despite his impressive catalog, there are times when Elvis fans will hear a song he never recorded and think about what might have been.
It’s a flight of fancy, of course, something that exists only in the imagination. And yet, if in some alternate universe Elvis is giving thought to what songs to cover on his next album, it can’t hurt to offer some suggestions.
1. “Don’t Let the Sun Go Down on Me” By Elton John.
This is one of John’s signature songs, but Elvis could have delivered a powerful version, too. I can almost visualize the concert crowds being overcome with emotion as Elvis sings the opening lyrics: “I can’t light no more of your darkness/ all my pictures seem to fade to black and white.”
2. “Rub It In” by Billy “Crash” Craddock.
Much respect to Crash, but the fact that Elvis never recorded this song is almost impossible to fathom. Maybe the risqué lyrics were just too much for Elvis’s manager Col. Tom Parker, who was known for his play-it-safe, stick-to-the-formula sensibilities.
3. “Try One More Time” by the Marshall Tucker Band.
This bluesy song about giving it another go seems almost tailor-made for The King’s voice, which is not to say Doug Gray did anything less than a stellar job on the vocals for MTB.
4. “La Grange” by ZZ Top.
This could have been a reliable pick-up-the-tempo song to signal that the rockin’ portion of the show had returned after a couple heart-touching ballads midway through the concert. It would have been right up there with his version of Tony Joe White’s “Polk Salad Annie” in terms of audience favorites.
5. “Chain Gang” by Sam Cooke. It would be hard to top the original by Cooke, but Elvis could have done a terrific job with this terrific song.
6. “Who’s Crying Now?” by Journey.
This is one of Steve Perry’s finest vocal performances, but if Elvis would have had the chance to record it, his version might be better known that the original.
7. “Ready to Take a Chance Again” by Barry Manilow.
No sampling of Elvis songs, real or imagined, would be complete without an ample selection of cheesy Seventies songs. This Manilow classic could vie for the title of the Cheesiest Cheese, and the King’s voice would have taken this Manilow melody to the moon and back.
8. “Givin’ It Up for Your Love” by Delbert McClinton.
Here we have another pick-up-the-tempo melody that would have been a perfect concert choice. McClinton’s vocals are outstanding on this song, but Elvis would have done it up right, too.
9. “Far in the Faraway” by Jim Lauderdale.
If ever a perfect song existed for Elvis to pour his heart into, it’s this sweet and sorrowful ballad cowritten by Lauderdale and longtime Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter.
10. “Pickin’ Up Strangers” by Johnny Lee. This classic from the early 1980s would have been a natural for Elvis to cover. And you just have to know Elvis would have sounded like he was singing from experience, whether he was or not.
11.. “Satellite” by Elvis Costello. Since we’re engaging in alternate history, why not pick out a Costello song for Presley to cover? There are other good choices, to be sure, but after giving it more thought than any sane person should, I think The King would have excelled on these lyrics. He would have been especially adept at the “all over the world, at the very same time …” portions, making this one into a top-tier Presley favorite.
12. “My Woman, My Woman, My Wife” by Marty Robbins. Considering the great job Elvis did with “This Time You Gave Me a Mountain” by Robbins, and in keeping with our alternate history theme, this would have been a good choice for Elvis about 30 years into his second marriage. Whatever her name might have been, there is no doubt at all Elvis would have charted a №1 with this tender and touching song about a lifetime love growing stronger every day.
Thanks for the memories, Elvis, and happy birthday — whatever that may mean to you in the realm where your spirit now abides.
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