Classic rock star Glenn Danzig threw fans a curveball by releasing an entire album of Elvis Presley songs. He said one of the tracks was much more challenging to perform than the others. The tune in question was actually composed as a parody. Regardless, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll put it out during one of the most important epochs of his career.
Glenn Danzig said 1 song proves Elvis Presley’s voice was ‘insane’
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During a 2020 interview with Billboard, Danzig discussed Danzig Sings Elvis. “It’s not easy singing a lot of Elvis songs, man,” he said. The album includes standards like “Fever” and “Always on My Mind” alongside more obscure tracks such as “Pocketful of Rainbows” and “Young and Beautiful.”
Danzig said the hardest of the bung to sing was the ballad “Love Me.” “His voice was insane,” Danzig opined. “So to sing it right, you have to go from the low to the mid to the high — that thing he does so effortlessly. And that took some effort to get right.”
The writers of the song wanted it to be a spoof of hillbilly music
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“Love Me” was co-written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. They were the songwriting team behind other Elvis classics such as “Jailhouse Rock,” “Hound Dog,” and “Don’t.” In the 2009 book Hound Dog: The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography, Leiber said “Love Me” was written as a spoof of a hillbilly country song. After Elvis’ “Hound Dog” became one of the defining hits of the 1950s, his people wanted another hit single. Leiber sent “Love Me” to Elvis’ management, half as a joke. The songwriter implied that the song might have been corny even at the time.
Regardless, Elvis’ management liked the track. The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll put it out as a record in 1956. That year turned out to be one of his biggest. That was the year he released “Hound Dog,” “Heartbreak Hotel,” “I Want You, I Need You, I Love You,” “Don’t Be Cruel,” “Love Me Tender,” and “Blue Suede Shoes.” Few people were ever as famous as the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll was in 1956.
Glen Danzig wanted to make Elvis Presley’s catalog sound ‘more haunting or sadder’
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The “Mother” singer explained his approach to covering Elvis. “Mostly, I just stripped the songs down,” he told Billboard. “I felt like a lot of the background vocals got in the way of the song and Elvis’ vocals. And I changed some of the arrangements a little bit to make some of the music more haunting or sadder.”
Danzig didn’t feel the album reflected his usual style. “This is not my metal hard-rock band,” he said. “I pretty much did this as a vanity project for myself. I couldn’t wait to sing these songs. Some people will like it, and some won’t. I’m fine with that, but a lot of people that have heard it are digging it, which is great.”
Danzig took a different approach to the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s music and that makes his album all the more fascinating.
