Elvis Presley: The Top 100 Songs

First posted 8/18/2012; updated 1/5/2020.

Elvis Presley image from goldderby.com

Singer Elvis Aron Presley was born 1/8/1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi. He died in Memphis on 8/16/77 of heart failure caused by prescription drug abuse. Often called “The King of Rock and Roll,” his role as the pioneering artist of the genre made him the best-selling solo artist in the history of recorded music. His family moved to Memphis, Tennessee, when he was 13. He began his recording career there in 1954 at Sun Records. On 11/22/55, he signed to RCA Victor in a deal arranged by Colonel Tom Parker, who managed Elvis for more than two decades. In 1956, he starred in Love Me Tender, his first of 31 feature films. He served in the U.S. Army from 3/24/58 to 3/5/60. He married Priscilla Beaulieu on 5/1/67; divorced on 10/11/73. Their only child, Lisa Marie (born 2/1/68), married Michael Jackson on 5/26/94; divorced in 1996. Six of his songs (“Don’t Be Cruel,” “Hound Dog,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Jailhouse Rock,” “Suspicious Minds,” and “It’s Now or Never”) are featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Songs of the Rock Era, 1954-1999. His Sun Sessions collection is featured in the DMDB book The Top 100 Albums of All Time.

Awards:

Top 100 Songs Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. Songs which hit #1 on various charts are noted. (Click for codes to singles charts.) DMDB Top 1%: 1. Don’t Be Cruel (1956) #1 US, CW, RB 2. Heartbreak Hotel (1956) #1 US, CW 3. Hound Dog (1956) #1 US, RW 4. Jailhouse Rock (1957) #1 US, CW, RB, UK 5. Suspicious Minds (1969) #1 US 6. Love Me Tender (1956) #1 US 7. All Shook Up (1957) #1 US, CW, RB, UK 8. It’s Now or Never (1960) #1 US, UK 9. Are You Lonesome Tonight? (1960) #1 US, UK 10. That’s All Right (1954) 11. Can’t Help Falling in Love (1961) #1 AC, UK 12. Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear (1957) #1 CW, RB DMDB Top 5%: 13. Mystery Train (1955) 14. In the Ghetto (1969) 15. Return to Sender (1962) #1 UK 16. Stuck on You (1960) #1 US 17. Now and Then There’s a Fool Such As I (1958) #1 UK 18. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You (1956) #1 US, CW 19. Surrender (1960) #1 US, UK 20. Burning Love (1972) 21. Good Luck Charm (1961) #1 US, UK 22. Don’t (1957) #1 US 23. The Wonder of You (1970) #1 AC, UK 24. Too Much (1956) #1 US 25. Blue Moon (1954) 26. Blue Suede Shoes (1956) 27. A Little Less Conversation (JXL remix, 2002) #1 UK 28. One Night (1957) #1 UK 29. Crying in the Chapel (1960) #1 AC, UK 30. Kentucky Rain (1969) DMDB Top 10%: 31. Hard Headed Woman (1958) #1 US 32. Any Way You Want Me (1956) 33. My Way (live, 1973) 34. You’re the Devil in Disguise (1963) #1 UK 35. A Big Hunk O’ Love (1958) #1 US 36. Wooden Heart (1960) #1 UK 37. Marie’s the Name His Latest Flame (1961) #1 UK 38. Wear My Ring Around Your Neck (1958) #1 RB 39. Little Sister (1961) #1 UK 40. Way Down (1976) #1 CW, UK 41. I Need Your Love Tonight (1958) 42. Viva Las Vegas (1963) 43. Always on My Mind (1972) 44. She’s Not You (1962) #1 UK 45. Blue Christmas (1957) 46. You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me (1970) #1 AC 47. My Boy (1974) #1 AC DMDB Top 20%: 48. Rock-A-Hula Baby (1961) #1 UK 49. Ain’t That Loving you Baby (1958) 50. Don’t Cry Daddy (1969) 51. Hurt (1976) 52. Frankie and Johnny (1965) 53. T-R-O-U-B-L-E (1975) 54. Moody Blue (1976) #1 CW 55. I Got Stung (1958) #1 UK 56. I Beg of You (1957) 57. Guitar Man (1967) #1 CW 58. Promised Land (1973) 59. Doncha Think It’s Time (1958) 60. Blue Moon of Kentucky (1954) 61. You’ll Never Walk Alone (1967) 62. Bossa Nova Baby (1963) 63. Love Letters (1966) 64. Follow That Dream (1962) 65. I’m Yours (1961) #1 AC 66. I’ve Lost You (1970) 67. One Broken Heart for Sale (1963) 68. I Feel So Bad (1961) 69. Blue River (1963) 70. If I Can Dream (live, 1968) 71. I Really Don’t Want to Know (1970) 72. Tell Me Why (1957) 73. Loving You (1957) 74. Puppet on a String (1965) 75. Love Me (1956) 76. Clean Up Your Own Back Yard (1968) 77. Playing for Keeps (1957) 78. I Was the One (1956) 79. U.S. Male (1968) 80. Treat Me Nice (1957) 81. I Just Can’t Help Believin’ (live, 1970) 82. Separate Ways (1972) 83. Such an Easy Question (1962) #1 AC 84. Baby Let’s Play House (1955) 85. What’d I Say (1963) 86. Wild in the Country (1961) 87. My Wish Came True (1957) 88. Such a Night (1960) 89. I Forgot to Remember to Forget (1955) #1 CW 90. If You Talk in Your Sleep (1974) 91. Until It’s Time for You to Go (1971) 92. Kissin’ Cousins (1964) 93. Memories (live, 1968) 94. Unchained Melody (1977) Not in DMDB Top 20%: 95. I’m Leavin’ (1971) 96. An American Trilogy (1972) 97. I’ve Got a Thing About You Baby (1974) 98. All That I Am (1966) 99. Do the Clam (1965) 100. Good Rockin’ Tonight (1954) Resources and Related Links: Elvis Presley’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry

Sun Records opened: January 3, 1950

First posted 1/3/2012; last updated 12/29/2019.

Sam Phillips opened the Memphis Recording Service in Memphis, Tennessee, on January 3, 1950. The building served as the headquarters for the failed Phillips Records and his later Sun Records label. He used the studio to record amateurs such as B.B. King, Howlin’ Wolf, and Junior Parker and then sold their performances to larger record labels. During its 16-year run, Sun produced 226 singles and more rock and roll records than any of its contemporary record labels. ^WK One of the most significant songs to come out of Sun was “Rocket 88” by Jackie Brenston & His Delta Cats. The song was released by Chess in 1951 and has been called the first rock and roll record by some historians.

Phillips was interested primarily in the blues, an art form which he thought both white and black people understood. As he said, it was how people “relieved the burden of what existed day in and day out.” ^WK In addition to the blues artists mentioned above, Bobby “Blue” Bland, Little Milton, and Rufus Thomas recorded there.

Part of the company’s appeal, however, was its broad range of genres. Sun has become most associated with launching the careers of more rockabilly-oriented artists like Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Roy Orbison. Of course, the label benefited most from its discovery of Elvis Presley. When Sun was experiencing financial trouble in 1955, Phillips famously sold Elvis’ contract to RCA Records. The sale helped boost some of the other artists, most notably the distribution for Carl Perkins’ “Blue Suede Shoes”, the first national hit for Sun Records.

In 1959, Phillips Recording opened to replace the old facility. Phillips sold the label in 1969. Gary Hardy reopened the original building in 1987 as Sun Studio and attracted artists such as U2, Def Leppard, Ringo Starr, and Bonnie Raitt. In 2003, the building was recognized as a National Historic Landmark.

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Resources and Related Links:

• Sam Phillips’ DMDB Encyclopedia entry
• Wikipedia: Sam Phillips
• Wikipedia: Sun Studio

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