The Originals Vol. 21 – Elvis edition 4

This is the fourth and final Elvis special in the Originals series. That is 20 cover versions (plus Glenn Reves’ demo acetate of Heartbreak Hotel), out of some 250 cover versions Elvis recorded. Most of these are, however, relatively obscure or better known in previous versions. Featured here are six songs: Are You Lonesome Tonight, [...]

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The Originals Vol. 16 – Elvis edition 3

In the third Elvis special in this series we look at the originals of That’s All Right  (1954), My Baby Left Me (1956), His Latest Flame (1961), Cant’ Help Falling In Love With You (1961) and Viva Las Vegas (1964) — though the last of these is not really an Elvis cover.
Charles Gilibert – Plaisir [...]

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The Originals Vol. 15 – Elvis edition 2

Big Mama Thornton – Hound Dog.mp3
Freddie Bell & the Bellboys – Hound Dog.mp3
Elvis Presley – Hound Dog.mp3
RCA Studios, New York. Monday, 2 July 1956. Elvis turned up for his third and final recording session there to lay down the tracks for Hound Dog, Don’t Be Cruel and the ballad Any Way You Want Me. By [...]

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The Originals Vol. 13 – Elvis edition 1

After a three-months absence, The Originals are returning. I must admit to having been discouraged from continuing it after more than half of the previous instalments were DMCAed by Blogger. Happily, the deleted posts were all backed up and are available here. So we resume this series of the lesser known original songs of hits [...]

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Elvis movies quiz

What it says in the title… Guess the Elvis movie from the synopsis. Clue: all these movies were made after Elvis served his fatherland. The answers are in the comments section. Not that I’d know any of them. Except two. When Elvis went to Hollywood, he hoped to inherit James Dean’s mantle of rebellion. As [...]

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Perfect Pop – Vol. 8

Here are a few more perfect pop records which brings the number of featured songs up up to 100 (by my rough count).
Stevie Wonder – You Are The Sunshine Of My Life.mp3
This song has been covered a zillion times and by some of the finest singers ever to commit their voices to record (Sinatra, Fitzgerald). [...]

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Perfect Pop – Vol. 6 (’60s special)

Looking over my shortlist for the Perfect Pop series, I realised that the ’60s column was much longer than that of other decades. I guess that pop might have been more perfect in the 1960s than in other decades because it had developed from the raw sounds of early rock & roll, but had not [...]

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Perfect Pop – Vol. 5

Thank you for all the comments. I really, really appreciate them. It’s great just to hear somebody say that they are happy to have found a long-forgotten song or discovered a favourite new artist through this blog. The many kind words and encouragement are a most welcome bonus.
It’s also great to see people still getting [...]

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Albums of the Year: 1950s

A new series of (more) old music. In an anorak-y moment, I decided to identify my top 10 favourite albums of all time. Variables such as subjective affection and objective quality aside, the challenge with such a venture is to not forget any contenders. So I sorted through my fairly extensive music collection, including stored [...]

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That Elvis guy…

Having been notified that it is a legal requirement as an MP3 blogger (law abiding folks, us) to mark the 30th anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death on August 16, I hereby wish to fulfill my contractual obligation.
See, I can’t be described as much of an Elvis fan. Oh, I did manage to bang together a [...]

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