...still had the 50s rock'n' roll spirit but with that great, almost Stones-like guitar riff

and my guilty pleasrue choice is...

As with so many of the songs that Elvis covered - although this was after Elvis' version, which throws my theory into a cocked hat - other people's versions are often incredibly similar: I'm thinking of Jerry Reed's original Guitar Man, or Tony Joe White's Polk Salad Annie, where Elvis literally tried to reproduce the performance as faithfully as he could. Anyway, Terry Stafford's version of Suspicion came two years after Elvis'. But it's still worth a listen.

If I had to have one Elvis song; or, if, in terms of the David Hepworth One Song Challenge, I had to play someone one song that would perfectly encapsulate his entire career, it would have to be something from his January 1969 Memphis sessions. Probably this:

Washed My Hands In Muddy Water

(Tomorrow's pick might not be that, but it's a belter!)

Only one Elvis for me and that's the pretty, pre-army, pre-three films a year, pre-duet with Frank Sinatra Elvis.
Favourite 45 is 'Hound Dog'/'Don't Be Cruel' and it's probably the most influential record of all time.

... but this song just gives me shivers. In a good way. I don't know if it's the echo on the voice, the scream at the end, the jittery playing, I just know that this tune is magical.

one early... I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone.

one later on... Stranger in the Crowd.

I get his importance and his early greatness and his iconic musical resurrection in '68. However, being young when he was bloated and ridiculous means I can't take him quite seriously - without thinking of the Chinese Elvis-a-likee second on the bill Karaoke night at Butlin's, Rhyll.

Or the fact that he stands for a an uneasy stew of redneck and reactionary mores. That may not be his fault but a by-product of the way in which all major artists are reflections and constructions of their audiences.

Having said all that, I can't listen to "That's Alright Mama" from his early period or "I Just Can't Help Believing" from his Vegas years without getting chills.

something in my eye

1. All the Sun Sessions stuff
2. The first two albums on RCA
3. "From Elvis in Memphis"
4. The '68 Comeback Special (with that black leather suit)
5. Peter Guralnick's "Last Train to Memphis" and "Careless Love"

What good stuff am I missing? "Elvis Country", perhaps? Or "Elvis is Back"?

'Elvis Today' from 1975:

http://open.spotify.com/track/7tRGYZvqjoYUFEsZtPRxBP