“Suspicious Minds” (Elvis Presley)

Today’s classic song of the day is “Suspicious Minds,” a huge comeback hit for Elvis Presley. The song was written by Mark James, who also wrote “Always On My Mind” (a hit for Willie Nelson in 1982) and “Sunday Sunrise” (a country hit for Brenda Lee in 1973). “Suspicious Minds” was James’ first big songwriting success.

Following the success of his ’68 comeback special (official title: Singer Presents … Elvis), Elvis Presley was enticed to record a whole album of tunes at Memphis’ American Sound Studios. Those sessions, produced by Chips Moman, introduced a new sound for Elvis and resulted in a string of hits, including “In the Ghetto,” “Don’t Cry Daddy,” “Kentucky Rain,” and “Suspicious Minds.” The latter was released as a single in August of 1969 and shot all the way to #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

“Suspicious Minds” is a terrific track. The song features a driving four-on-the-snare beat that just doesn’t stop—until the bridge, that is, where the tune shifts into a slower 6/8 section, before eventually picking back up in that 4/4 groove. The single also features an unusual false ending, fading out at 3:36 until it fades back in 15 seconds later. That was on purpose, not a mistake, done by RCA Records staff producer Felton Jarvis, against the wishes of Memphis producer Chips Moman. Here’s how Chips felt about it:

“So when Jarvis took the tape of ‘Suspicious Minds’, he added this crazy 15-second fade toward the end, like the song was ending, and brought it back by overdubbing to extend it. I have no idea why he did that, but he messed it up. It was like a scar. None of which mattered. Soon after the song was released, Elvis was back on top of the charts”

The initial recording for “Suspicious Minds” took place at American Sound Studios in a single session on January 23, 1969, between 4 am and 7 am. Elvis was backed by members of the Memphis Boys, including Reggie Young on guitar, Bobby Wood on piano, Bobby Emmons on Hammond organ, and Gene Chrisman on drums. Today it’s regarded as one of Elvis’ best, one that helped to revive his then-sagging career.

And here’s your daily bonus video of the day, Elvis Presley singing “Suspicious Minds” live in Las Vegas in 1970. (That’s the amazing Ronnie Tutt on drums, by the way.) Yeah, Elvis is back to the superhero jumpsuit and showbiz sizzle, but he’s still one hell of a performer and “Suspicious Minds” is a hell of a song. I wish he’d stayed with the grounded approach of the Memphis recordings instead of the more comfortable Vegas showbiz approach, but he got caught in that trap, for better or for worse.