ELVIS “COVERED” THE
CLASSICS
A satirical article By Steve Losee
When one thinks of classical
music, one name that usually does NOT come to mind is Elvis
Presley.
Also, when one thinks of the old, infamous practice
of “covering”, when white performers copied songs and styles of
black artists and took credit for it, classical music is NOT what
one is reminded of. But, sadly, that is what happened. In one of
the most infamous crossovers in music history, the “King of Rock
and Roll” actually “covered” several classical pieces.
We all know he was involved in the more familiar
forms of covering during the fifties: from “That’s All Right”
through “Hound Dog”, “Long Tall Sally”, “Tutti Frutti” to “his”
rendition of “White Christmas”, it was all originally the work of
black artists.
But let’s be fair about it: he wasn’t subtle
enough to actually be a part of the covering plot. He basically
sang what he was given. However, this matter of the classics is
the thing that gets my goat, primarily because nobody’s made a
stink about it yet.
One could say it goes back to 1956, when he recorded
“Love Me Tender”, giving English teachers across the nation yet
another reason to gnash their teeth. The melody was obviously that
of an old standard, “Aura Lee”, yet not one word was ever said
about that.
Well, let’s put that one aside, since it’s not
technically considered a “classic”. This serious offense didn’t
begin until he came out of the army, with his new voice and range.
His second post-army hit, “It’s Now or Never”, was “O Sole Mio”
with a cha-cha beat! Three singles later we heard him sing
“Surrender”, which was, in actuality, “Return to Sorrento”. They
didn’t even disguise the title very well that time!
His first post-army movie (which did a lot to
change his image), “GI Blues” had the song “Tonight is So Right
for Love”. That song was a replacement for the original “Tonight’s
All Right for Love”, which took its melody from “Tales of the
Vienna Woods”. In fact, its original title was “Vienna Woods Rock
& Roll”, but I guess that gave too much credit to the original
composition. That movie also featured the cute song “Wooden
Heart”. How surprised I was one summer, working for a German
resort, to hear the original without a single word in English!
Then came his mega-hit movie, the one that both made
and ruined his career, “Blue Hawaii”. In that movie the songs were
shamelessly ripped off from classics all over the place. “Aloha Oe”
was at least honestly presented for the song it really was. The
jazzy “Almost Always True”, though almost unrecognizable, was “Alluette”.
Then he sang something called “No More” which was a rhythmic “La
Paloma”. And, of course, there was the song that would later be
the climax of all his concerts, “Can’t Help Falling in Love”…in
reality, Martini & Martini’s “Plaisir d’Amour”.
Jump ahead to his next notable film, “Viva Las
Vegas”. The tender love song, “Today, tomorrow and Forever” that
he sings to Ann Margret, is actually Liszt’s “Lieberstraume No, 3
in A Flat”.
Around then, someone must have started feeling
guilty. It only happened twice more, as far as I can tell. The
movie “Speedway” contained a song entitled “Five Sleepy Heads”, a
covering for Brahms’ “Lullaby”, but the song was cut from the
movie…and wasn’t even on the soundtrack album until years later.
Finally, the movie “Stay Away, Joe”, which was
an embarrassment to all concerned, had the song “Stay Away” during
the opening credits. I didn’t recognize it at first, but, under
all those frantic guitars, there he was singing new words to…no,
it couldn’t be…yes! It was “Greensleeves”, of all things!
Well, the evidence is finally in. What astounds me is
that in NONE of the above cases is any credit given to the
original composers! They all go to whoever wrote the new (and, in
most cases, lame) lyrics.
So, the next time you hear that familiar crooning or
growling on the radio, listen up! It might be something that’s
making one of the original longhairs do 78 rpm in his grave!
end
