Sunday 25 August 2019

Elvis Presley - Trouble


Sunday, time for a classic.

But before that, I have to mention that both Thetania and I have gotten a few assignments. "Choosing 10 vinyl albums that greatly influenced my taste". One album per day, 10 consecutive days. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. Every day I ask someone else to do the same." Pretty fun thing a little boring at the same time, just a cover, even if a picture tells more than 1000 words you would like to know the story behind it specially when it's regarding a records.

One of my first albums that I can remember is "King Creole", by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor, in September 1958, this was the second soundtrack album from him, recorded in four days at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. It contains songs written and recorded expressly for the 1958 film of the same name starring Presley, and peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It followed the film's release by over ten weeks. It was certified Gold on July 15, 1999 by the Recording Industry Association of America.

I believe I can blame my mum for this, a record that I got from her when I was around 6-7 years old and just had open my ears for music that I hardly could understand as it was in a foreign language :) An artist who was always up to date when you got home, even in old age when you came home for Christmas and summer time to visit mother and siblings. Elvis was also my big sisters big Idol that also imprinted me with Rock n Roll.


Today's tune "Trouble" is a blues song written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, originally performed by Elvis Presley in 1958 and covered by a number of artists in later years, most notably by Amanda Lear. The tune is taken from the album "King Creole". "Trouble" also made a big impact, I believe it was Presley's "growling snarl" which laid the foundation for what is to come.

Elvis Presley performed the song in the 1958 motion picture King Creole, and his recording was included on the soundtrack of the same name. "Trouble", featuring Scotty Moore on guitar, was one of only three songs written by Leiber and Stoller for the feature. Presley's performance in the film alludes to Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley. "If you're looking for trouble", he intones, "then look right in my face. Because I'm evil. My middle name is Misery". Music critic Maury Dean suggests that "Trouble", with Presley's "growling snarl", is one of the earliest proto-punk rock songs.

Ten years later, Presley opened his 1968 comeback special with this number. With dark, moody lighting highlighting his sneer, the sequence alluded to Presley's checkered past and "dangerous" image and served to prove that the singer was still "sexy, surly and downright provocative". The piece then segued into "Guitar Man" against a "Jailhouse Rock" backdrop featuring male dancers in cells. Presley performed the song several times on tour in the early 1970s and unofficial recordings of these performances have circulated. In 1975, Presley recorded "T-R-O-U-B-L-E" for a single, but this is a completely different song.

The song was included in the musical revue Smokey Joe's Cafe. Enjoy!



More info @

Official Elvis Presley Web

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