“Suspicious Minds,” covered by Elvis Presley … (Rock / Pop – Music to Your Ears, Covers–8)

Elvis transformed it into one of the greatest songs of all time.

Elvis Presley – “Suspicious Minds”

“Suspicious Minds” (1969 – original from 1968)

This classic song was written by Mark James. His 1968 recording of it was a commercial failure. The following year, however, the Elvis version became a Number 1 hit (the final Number 1 of his career).  

Elvis’ version relied on a similar arrangement to that of the James original, but Elvis gave the lyrics a much more dynamic punch. While the video is excessively flashy, the suspicious-looking silhouettes and shadows provide fitting images and some interesting scenery.  

Scarred but Starred 

This recording is marred by a bizarre fade-out / fade-in, which a sub-producer had inserted near the song’s halfway point (at 2:15 of this video). The producer called that brief portion a “scar,”  noting that the sub-producer had “messed it up.”   

Regardless of the various merits and drawbacks, Elvis transformed this mediocre song into one of the “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”  – in fact, it ranks as high as Number 92 on Rolling Stone magazine’s list. It remains one of Elvis’s signature songs.   _{(Image source)}

Elvis Presley

As the Forgotten Rebels sang, “Elvis is dead.”  

But, as Mojo Nixon sang, “Elvis is everywhere.”    Nuff said.

We're caught in a trap
I can't walk out
Because I love you too much baby

Why can't you see
What you're doing to me
When you don't believe a word I say?

We can't go on together
With suspicious minds
And we can't build our dreams
On suspicious minds

So, if an old friend I know
Drops by to say hello
Would I still see suspicion in your eyes?

Here we go again
Asking where I've been
You can't see these tears are real
I'm crying

We can't go on together
With suspicious minds
And we can't build our dreams
On suspicious minds

Oh let our love survive
Or dry the tears from your eyes
Let's don't let a good thing die

When honey, you know
I've never lied to you
Mmm yeah, yeah   _{(Image source)}

        Mark James – “Suspicious Minds”    
          _{(Right-click to hear on YouTube)}

Lyrics by Mark James, courtesy of – AZLyrics.com
Reference – Wikipedia
Reference – Wikipedia
Reference – YouTube.com

Into your ears … through 5 channels

 The various posts are categorized into 5 channels _{(Right-Click to see details)}
         1 – “Music to Your Ears” (MTYE)
         2 – “Cover Versions”
         3 – “Honor Roll”
         4 – “Documentaries”
         5 – “Mock’n’Roll”

Links to my other series ...

          Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 1"
          Lou Reed – "Anthology of Memorable Lyrics, Part 2"

          Great Lyrics, a compilation – “Part One – My Lyrics Posts 3~30”
          Great Lyrics, a compilation – “Part Two – My Lyrics Posts 31~60”  

          Vocab-Ability – "Introduction to Vocab-Ability"  
          Vocab-Ability – "Index"  to all Chapters and Sections  

          Notes from Under the Tatami Mats – "Part One – Notes 1~50"  
          Notes from Under the Tatami Mats – "Part Two – Notes 51~87"