The song that helped revive Elvis Presley’s career was “Suspicious Minds”. This was originally recorded by Houston songwriter, Mark James. In 1968, Chips Moman asked him to come to Memphis to write songs for American Sound Studio. Though having written three number one hits in the Southern United States, James decided to move to Memphis. This is because American Sound Studio was starting to make a name in the music industry.
According to James, while he was fooling around on his Fender guitar and using his Hammond organ pedals late one night, he came up with a catchy melody. He was married to his ex-wife, but still had feelings for his married childhood sweetheart in Houston. That is when his wife started to doubt his feelings towards her. He felt that they were trapped and unable to get out of it.
He then recorded the song. After mixing the tape, his manager arranged a meeting with Scepter Records in New York. Scepter fell in love with the song and released it. Unfortunately, they did not have enough money to promote new singers and so the song did not make it to the charts.
“The King” had booked Scepter’s studio later that year to record the album ‘From Elvis in Memphis’. Don Crew, Moman’s partner, asked James if he had any songs that would be right for Elvis. Mark James felt Presley needed a mature rock ‘n’ roll song to bring him back, and ‘Suspicious Minds’ was the one. After Presley heard the song, he decided to record it. He made it a hit and he was really back.
Dwight Yoakam’s Cover
Elvis undoubtedly nailed it, but Dwight Yoakam’s distinctive twang made it sound more captivating. Though the video is a bit weird, once you hear the beautiful instrumentation, you will love it.