Can you guess which Bob Dylan songs Elvis Presley sang?
Since Elvis Presley was not a songwriter, he was always on the lookout for a good song to sing. He rose to worldwide fame in the 1950s hailed as The King of Rock and Roll as a result of having an uncanny ability to select the right songs to record that shot to the top of the charts.
So it’s not surprising that Presley was astute enough to cover songs by Bob Dylan and The Beatles, a band who as John Lennon explained would not exist without Elvis.
And it wasn’t just The Beatles that looked up to Presley. It may sound far-fetched, but Elvis was a huge influence on Bob Dylan. As a teenager growing up in Hibbing, Minnesota, Dylan idolized Elvis. He played in several rock and roll bands during high school and afterwards, but none of his groups ever seemed to stay together.
In 1966, Elvis recorded Bob Dylan’s “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” which appeared on the Spinout soundtrack album. Elvis was inspired by Odetta’s version of the song, since Dylan had not yet released his own version at that point. Elvis Presley recorded the song on May 26, 1966 during sessions for his gospel album, How Great Thou Art.
Presley recorded Dylan’s 1962 classic “Don’t Think Twice, It’s All Right” on May 16, 1971 at RCA’s Studio B in Nashville. Elvis originally recorded a 12-minute version of the song, repeating the verses several times. An edited version of the song under 3 minutes in length was featured on the 1973 album, Elvis.
Elvis also sang an informal version of Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released” (two verses only) during a recording session on May 20, 1971. It was later released in the box set of Presley’s 1970s songs, Walk A Mile In My Shoes.
It’s no question that Elvis’ beautiful singing voice rendered great versions of these Dylan songs. Dylan was later quoted as saying: “The highlight of my career? That’s easy, Elvis recording one of my songs.”
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Find out what else Bob Dylan and Elvis Presley had in common in the book, ELVIS: Behind The Legend: Startling Truths About The King of Rock and Roll’s Life, Loves, Films and Music
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Elvis Presley’s version of “Tomorrow Is A Long Time” is brilliant & beautiful !