The way Elvis towers over his father in height, but he still stands there, shifting his weight from foot to foot like an awkward teen in his dad's presence... this is magical.
I like the bit in Elvis’s book/memoir where he says during the early years with the Attractions they’d be touring in England and stop off at some motorway café in the middle of the night for a cuppa and a meal and who should walk in, but his Dad Ross who’d just come in, too, from playing some gig at an out of the way place and on his way home. Seeing them together is just brilliant.
Witnessing genetics consistently astounds me. There's an old clip of his young Dad performing. It looks like an Elvis Costello video trying to look vintage.
BBC 2's Saturday Review from 1985 and the clip at the head of this is NME Poll Winners on ITV's ABC TV Show 'Big Beat 1964' featuring The Joss Loss Orchestra with Elvis's dad on Bongos.
Ross is a serious talent and has a wonderful voice. His career was doing this sort of stuff so it was second nature to him. Elvis really cuts it but remember he was doing harder poppier stuff at the time, great stuff. John Lennon's dad brought out a single in 1965 which is pretty good although a bit of an embarrassment to John. Paul Mccartneys Dad payed in a brass outfit also, and I bet he was dam good as well.
Thanks for posting. Reading EC's memoir and was curious about his pa. Elvis said cab drivers back home would tell him he'd never be as good a singer as his dad, and he agreed with them. May be true, though Elvis (unlike pa) is one of the dozen or so great living pop songwriters, in my view.
Elvis was light years ahead of his father and he knew it....yet he honored his father...Dec, if you're listening....You know the truth, come to Christ!
Great song, but just awful singing. Declan hasn't bothered to actually learn the song either, and is just miming random chords on his guitar. Mediocre performance at best.
Well, I think what with Joe's arrangement covering the entire gamut from Loud to Very loud, and Thick to Extra Syrupy, they had no choice but to belt out the song. If it had had more of a soulful, deep touch à la Ray Charles, I think Elvis would have nailed a gorgeous, close-mike breathy version. Just my opinion of course...
