First of all, it’s fairly well known that Elvis didn’t write any of his hits–BUT–he had a fantastic ear for music…and knew a hit when heard one. This led his Manager,   Colonel Tom Parker to routinely  demand that Elvis get songwriting credits–basically because Tom could smell some extra money in the process The upside was that Elvis would cash in if the song were a hit..along with the songwriter–and The Colonel. Everybody wins, so to speak.

In the case of “Suspicious Minds,” however…things turned out a little bit differently:

The song was written by Mark James from .personal experience. He was married but still had feelings for his childhood sweetheart who was also married. Mark’s wife was suspicious and he felt all three of them were “Caught  in a Trap–to coin a lyric. Mark recorded his version in 1968 but it didn’t chart— Elvis, however, heard it and fell in love with it.  Naturally, Tthe Colonel wanted to grab the rights, but before he could even START the process, the King had recorded it for his next album “From Elvis in Memphis.”

The single went to #1 in 7 countries..including the US, of course…in spite of that weird fade out–fade-back-in near the end of the song. Legend has it that, producer Felton Jarvis was responsible for it…but nobody really knew why. Elvis liked it,however, so  they let it go as-is!

“Suspicious Minds:” a Great Song of 1969 by Elvis Presley…thanks to Mark James.