Elvis Aaron Presley, the “King of Rock and Roll”, was born on January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. He would not only go on to take over the world with his charm, voice, and his moves, but he would also redefine a genre. In honor of the “King’s” birthday, here are six of his most iconic hits.
“Can’t Help Falling In Love”
This single was released in 1961 off of his Blue Hawaiialbum. The melody is actually based off of a 1784 French love song.
“Suspicious Minds”
“Suspicious Minds’’ was originally recorded by Mark James. However, it did not perform well commercially for him. Elvis took it and made it the number one song in 1969. This iconic song even made it on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time’’ at number 91.
“All Shook Up”
This song stayed as the top single on the U.S. Billboard Top 100 charts for eight weeks. It was the second time Elvis had a song top the Billboard R&B charts, lasting for four weeks. Also, it peaked at number 1 on the country charts. “All Shook Up” also made it on Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time”, coming in at number 352.
“Blue Suede Shoes”
BSS is considered by many as the first rockabilly record. Elvis recorded the song in ’56. The origin of the song actually comes from Johnny Cash. Cash told the writer of the song, Carl Perkins, a story of a military man who referred to his airman shoes as “blue suede shoes” and proceeded to get Perkins to write a song about it. BSS is also one of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”.
“It’s Now or Never”
“It’s Now or Never” sold 20 million copies, making it the best-selling single for the King. In 1960 it spent five week as the number one record; it was also Elvis’s best selling international single.
“Hound Dog”
This song was originally recorded in 1952 by Big Mama Thornton and is in both Rolling Stone’s “500 Greatest Songs of All Time” and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll”. In ’56 Elvis got a hold of the song. His performance of the song on the Milton Berle Show triggered the first controversy of his career due to his “pelvis shaking.”
