Friday 3 January 2014

Elvis Presley-It Hurts Me



By the mid 1960's Elvis was trapped in a rut of recording drivel for movie soundtracks that were selling in fewer and fewer numbers, it was rare for Elvis to record material that wasn't intended for use in one of his movies. From the the start of 1964 until the end of 1966 Elvis recorded no non movie songs, It Hurts Me is a gem and probably should have been an A side, instead it was relegated by the title of his movie Kissin Cousins. This is a classic slice of country soul, written by the great Charlie Daniels and Nashville producer Bob Johnston. Daniels had come up with the idea for the song in late 1962 whilst on a road trip from Texas to the East coast, Daniels was invited by producer Bob Johnston to head to Nashville to write material and participate in some of the sessions he was working on. The two finished the song in early 1963 and Elvis picked up a demo whilst in Nashville, he held on to it for almost a year before recording it in Janurary 1964.

It sounds like the song was recorded at RCA's Nashville studio, the song starts off with a slow bluesy piano refrain from Floyd Cramer, in a rare occasion you hear Elvis in full throat, pleading for the girl to realise that she is being duped. Scotty Moore played on some of these Nashville sessions alongside the great Grady Martin, the guitar interplay is amazing, crisp notes and then a gentle drift. The backing chorus adds an almost gospel feel to the song, as an impassioned Elvis declares all he will do for his unrequited love. Elvis gave a great rendition of the song as part of his 1968 NBC comeback special, he gives another very soulful performance of the song.


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