100 Greatest Songs of the 60’s #11 Elvis Presley – Suspicious Minds

Released: 1969

One way or another all kings eventually lose their crown. If by the end of the decade Elvis Presley had become something of an anachronism, his descents into self abuse by contrast still presented ever more unlikely shots at redemption. And so in 1968 it became that way again.

Presley’s tangled personal and business relationship with Colonel Tom Parker had many implications for his career, not least of which was the neutering of his stage personality and a marked commercial decline in what should have been his creative prime. Parker was far from the first manager who sought total control over a once naive protégé, but by the time he rolled into Memphis to record what would become colloquially known the the ’68 comeback special, the need for it’s success was paramount to both.

Suspicious Minds was a token of their mutual appetite for risk. It was written by Mark James, the in house writer at the decrepit American Sound studios in which the sessions were held. James was in awe of Presley, so much so that he couldn’t bear to listen, and recording overnight the singer made take after take in an effort to achieve perfection.

Far away from the AOR schmaltz of his movie appearances, this was a song rooted in soul and country, but more contemporary in feel; a star left behind by progress had grabbed the mantle once more. The lifestyle a return to the duties of a rock n’ roll icon lead him to would eventually cost him his life, but all kings lose their crown, it’s simply a matter of time.