Stacy Conradt
The Quick 10: 10 Unexpected Elvis Covers
by Stacy Conradt - January 8, 2010 - 5:04 PM

q10

It’s Elvis’ 75th birthday! I’m sure he’s out there celebrating somewhere with a Fool’s Gold sandwich. To celebrate his birthday here on the _floss, we thought we’d forego the calories and check out some rather interesting cover versions of his songs instead. The King had such a large repertoire (many of which he covered) that his songs have been covered by everyone from Andrea Bocelli to the Dead Kennedys – here are 10 of the more intriguing ones.

1. Viva Las Vegas, the Dead Kennedys. If you’ve seen Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, you’ve probably heard it, and if you haven’t, here you go:

2. All Shook Up, Billy Joel. It was on the Honeymoon in Vegas soundtrack for you fans of pre-Sex and the City Sarah Jessica Parker.

3. Are You Lonesome Tonight, Sam Kinison. I think you’ll be surprised at first:

4. Ringo Starr, Don’t Be Cruel. (Also: Neil Diamond, Cheap Trick, Blondie and Devo. Definitely an eclectic group.)

5. Fools Rush In, Bow Wow Wow. Yep, the ‘80s band behind “I Want Candy,” which was also a cover song.

6. Heartbreak Hotel, Dread Zeppelin. Maybe you haven’t heard of Dread Zeppelin, but they sound pretty entertaining – they’re a reggae band with an Elvis impersonator for a lead singer. And Bill Clinton did his version on the sax when he famously played on The Arsenio Hall Show during his presidential campaign.

7. In the Ghetto is another one that has been covered by a wide range of artists, including The Cranberries, Leatherface, Three Six Mafia, Natalie Merchant and Merle Haggard.

8. Jailhouse Rock, ABBA with Olivia Newton John and Andy Gibb. Also: ZZ Top, Twisted Sister, Miranda Lambert, and Motley Crüe. But you know you’re the most curious about ABBA with ONJ and Andy Gibb! It starts at 7:10… I won’t make you sit through the first seven minutes like I just did.

9. Suspicious Minds, Fine Young Cannibals (“She Drives Me Crazy”).

10. Hound Dog has been covered by a lot of people over the years, including John Lennon, Jimi Hendrix, and John Entwistle of The Who. But the ones that sound the strangest to me are Robert Palmer and James Taylor. I happened to hear James Taylor do his version last year, and I actually enjoyed it quite a bit. I can’t vouch for Robert Palmer’s!

Do you have one to add to the list? Share in the comments! And if you’re still in an Elvis mood, this little Wikipedia entry is kind of interesting: Songs About or Referencing Elvis Presley.

« Previous Post   -   Next Post »
Click here to get a Risk-Free issue of mental_floss magazine
Comments (24)

  1. Cartman from South Park has also sung “In the Ghetto” and it’s hilarious

    posted by Vanessa on 1-8-2010 at 6:18 pm

  2. The FYC version of Suspicious Minds is so good. Seriously. Best…cover…ever!

    posted by Andrew on 1-8-2010 at 7:48 pm

  3. Dwight Yoakam did a great “Suspicious Minds”.

    And Dread Zeppelin was a great band. Nice to see they made the list!

    posted by Jay on 1-8-2010 at 7:56 pm

  4. Billy Joel did an amazing version of Heartbreak Hotel.

    posted by Mike on 1-8-2010 at 8:45 pm

  5. Joni Mitchell did a great cover of “You’re So Square” on the album Wild Things Run Fast.

    posted by Otis Criblecoblis on 1-8-2010 at 9:06 pm

  6. Why does no one ever care that Elvis wasn’t the first “Hound Dog”? Big Mama Thornton! And it will break your heart in a way that makes you think you wanted your heart to be broken. It’s true.

    posted by Anne on 1-8-2010 at 9:57 pm

  7. How about the version of Jailhouse Rock by the Blues Brothers?
    And good old Sammy Kinison, another great one gone too soon. AAAAAAAAHHHHHHH.

    posted by dbus on 1-8-2010 at 11:15 pm

  8. UB40′s cover of “Can’t help Falling in Love” was a fairly decent hit back in the early 90s if I can recall correctly. I love their version of the song.

    posted by mdl0100 on 1-9-2010 at 12:59 am

  9. “Always On my Mind” by the Pet Shop Boys is fantastic!

    posted by Marty on 1-9-2010 at 3:38 am

  10. Big Mama Thornton deserves a second mention. She sang about a man, Elvis about a dog!

    posted by gus on 1-9-2010 at 10:09 am

  11. Heartbreak Hotel was the name of the demo tape from Guns N’ Roses (yes, before Live Like a Suicide).

    The first words you hear at the beginning of the song is “Elvis is Dead”.

    Truly kick-azz cover!

    For anyone who cares, also on that demo was a song titled “Shadow of Your Love”, sadly never released on any US recording.

    posted by Wayne on 1-9-2010 at 10:16 am

  12. #5- Rick Nelson covered it, and so did his sons Matthew & Gunnar.

    posted by Sara in AL on 1-9-2010 at 12:03 pm

  13. If you are including Dread Zeppelin you can’t forget about El Vez – the Mexican Elvis – with great renditions such as Está Bien Mamacita or En el Barrio.

    posted by Spliff Johnson on 1-9-2010 at 4:26 pm

  14. ZZ Top also did a great version of Viva Las Vegas,

    posted by Lamar Fike on 1-9-2010 at 6:31 pm

  15. Ray Romano sang a snippet of “In the Ghetto” on Everybody Loves Raymond. After that, I can only hear Ray’s falsetto in my head with that song.

    posted by Barbara on 1-10-2010 at 2:07 am

  16. Dave matthews band incorparates fools rush in into one of there songs, FYC’s cover is awful, and I love me some big momma thorton.

    posted by CJ on 1-10-2010 at 12:38 pm

  17. “Don’t Be Cruel” was also covered, very well, by The Judds. “Heartbreak Hotel” was redone, slightly upbeat, by Leon Russell & Willie Nelson. A 3rd mention for Big Mama Thornton: Her version is actually better than Elvis’s. Trouble is, back “in those days”, non-white artists had trouble getting their songs played on white stations, so not many folks have heard her original version.

    posted by oldguy45 on 1-10-2010 at 1:58 pm

  18. Bruce Springsteen did a great version of Viva Las Vegas, also on the Honeymoon in Vegas soundtrack.

    posted by shirleyfeeney on 1-11-2010 at 12:27 am

  19. Eighties kids will remember the cover of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” from the soundtrack of “Some Kind of Wonderful” by Lick the Tins. Sweet, sweet, sweet.

    posted by Gidget on 1-11-2010 at 11:20 am

  20. “Little Less Conversation” (“Let it Ride” in other countries) — Theme song to “Vegas”

    posted by Jenner on 1-11-2010 at 12:13 pm

  21. You can’t forget Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds cover of “In the Ghetto”.
    Creepy.

    posted by David on 1-11-2010 at 12:40 pm

  22. Arlo Guthrie does a good version of \I Can’t Help Falling In Love with You.\

    posted by Laura on 1-11-2010 at 12:46 pm

  23. Elvis didn’t write any of his own songs, and many of his biggest hits were covers to begin with (“Hound Dog” is tired compared to the original, and Blue Suede Shoes is almost a note-for-note cover of Carl Perkins’ version.) He was a great entertainer and singer, but unless he penned it, the song is not his.

    posted by Chicago ExPat on 1-11-2010 at 1:22 pm

  24. The Vandals Covered heartbreak hotel but they changed a couple of the lyrics and its punk…
    Slightly more parental advisory.

    while we’re on the topic most people don’t realize that LOVE BUZZ from Nirvana is actually a shocking blue cover.

    posted by hockey zombie on 1-11-2010 at 3:27 pm

Comment

commenting policy