The Definitive 1000 Songs Of All Time 1955 to 2005: Number 443

Number 443

Elvis Presley

"In The Ghetto"

(1969)

Genre: Gospel

Young Elvis or the old Elvis? Rock n Roller or the leather clad comeback? Got to love the Elvis fans, staunchly divided into two camps and fiercely devoted to two different persona's. I have never seen the 68 Comeback Special, although it was broadcast live, it certainly wasn't "live" here in good ole New Zealand. Mind you, i was 3 years old so, uh ... I probably had other things to do, like put food all through my hair. But i do remember seeing one of Elvis "Las Vegas" shows on telly where he is wearing the Batman cape and belt buckles the size of suitcases. Now i know where Elton John got his ideas on costumes.

"In The Ghetto" is a genuine powerful song and to give credit where credit is due, the song is powerful because of Elvis.

young Elvis by Klebstoff

After a 14-year absence from Memphis, Elvis Presley returned to cut what was certainly his greatest album (or, at least, a tie effort with his RCA debut LP from early 1956). The fact that From Elvis in Memphis came out as well as it did is something of a surprise, in retrospect -- Presley had a backlog of songs he genuinely liked that he wanted to record and had heard some newer soul material that also attracted him, and none of it resembled the material that he'd been cutting since his last non-soundtrack album, six years earlier. And he'd just come off of the NBC television special which, although a lot of work, had led him to the realization that he could be as exciting and vital a performer in 1969 as he'd been a dozen years before.

mid Elvis

And for what was practically the last time, the singer cut his manager, Tom Parker, out of the equation, turning himself over to producer Chips Moman. The result was one of the greatest white soul albums (and one of the greatest soul albums) ever cut, with brief but considerable forays into country, pop, and blues as well. Presley sounds rejuvenated artistically throughout the dozen cuts off the original album, and he's supported by the best playing and backup singing of his entire recording history. ~ [Bruce Eder, All Music Guide]

Lisa Marie Presley duet version: The song was recorded by Lisa Marie Presley as a duet to raise money for the Presley foundation. The song was released on iTunes, it reached # 1 on i tunes in the US. The song's video stirred up controversy for its stark depiction of guns in the crib with toddlers. ~ [Source: Wikipedia]

In The Ghetto

old elvis

“In the Ghetto” is a song written by Mac Davis and was originally titled "The Vicious Circle". The song was made popular by rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released in 1969 as a 45 rpm single with "Any Day Now" as the flip side. It is a narrative story of a young boy who grows up in the ghetto, steals and fights, and eventually is shot and killed.

The song was Presley's first Top 10 hit in the US in four years, peaking at number 3, and his first UK Top 10 hit in three years.

“In the Ghetto” was recorded during Presley's session in the American Sound Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. It was Presley's first creative recording session since the '68 Comeback, and the songs recorded here probably owed some of their financial success to that. Other hits recorded at this session were “Suspicious Minds”, “Kentucky Rain”, and “Don't Cry Daddy”. There were initial fears that the song would damage Presley's reputation for being politically unbiased, but he loved the song and recorded it anyway.

After Elvis Presley, the song has been performed by many other artists. Among them were, most notably, Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, The Cranberries, Merle Haggard, Dolly Parton, Leatherface, Three Six Mafia, Frank Flynn and Natalie Merchant. The KLF used a sample of the Elvis recording in their ambient DJ album Chill Out. ~ [Source: Wikipedia]

For more on Elvis see Number 501 & #840

For Nick Cave see Number 701

For the Cranberries see Number 525 & MM Vol 1 #120

What does Rolling Stone think of Elvis?

In the Eighties, U2 went to Memphis, to Sun Studio -- the scene of rock & roll's big bang. We were working with Elvis' engineer and music diviner, Cowboy Jack Clement. He reopened the studio so we could cut some tracks within the same four walls where Elvis recorded "Mystery Train." He found the old valve microphone the King had howled through; the reverb was the same reverb: "Train I ride, sixteen coaches long." It was a small tunnel of a place, but there was a certain clarity to the sound. You can hear it in those Sun records, and they are the ones for me -- leanness but not meanness. The King didn't know he was the King yet. It's haunted, hunted, spooky music. Elvis doesn't know where the train will take him, and that's why we want to be passengers.

art by Braldt Bralds

Some commentators say it was the Army, others say it was Hollywood or Las Vegas that broke his spirit. The rock & roll world certainly didn't like to see their King doing what he was told. I think it was probably much more likely his marriage or his mother -- or a finer fracture from earlier on, like losing his twin brother, Jesse, at birth. Maybe it was just the big arse of fame sitting on him. I think the Vegas period is underrated. I find it the most emotional. By that point Elvis was clearly not in control of his own life, and there is this incredible pathos. The big opera voice of the later years -- that's the one that really hurts me.

Why is it that we want our idols to die on a cross of their own making, and if they don't, we want our money back? But you know, Elvis ate America before America ate him. ~ [Source RS #946 written by Bono for The Immortals]

For U2 see Number 661, MM Vol 1 #038 & MM Vol 1 #129

Rolling Stone magazine deemed their '443rd Song of all Time' was "I Shot the Sheriff" by Bob Marley. Bob Marley has appeared in The Definitive 1000 @ Number 482