ELVIS PRESLEY - “Wooden Heart”
(25 March 1961)
Presley may not have written his own material but his influence on its direction is pretty clear - how else to explain the bizarre Euro-stylings that crept into his records immediately after his army stint? “It’s Now Or Never” just about pulled its operatic ambitions off, but “Wooden Heart” is a recasting too far, a real ‘what was he thinking?’ moment. (Likely answer: Deutschmarks)
It’s funny enough to be quite likeable but you wouldn’t want it jumping out of a playlist at you. Elvis sings the song - twee even on paper - in a comedy burgher accent straight out of Heidi, with a fey music box arrangement. Then he does it again - in German. That bit was surely the Colonel’s idea. Marketing gold it may be, but this is calamitous stuff for the listener: a rotten record. If even a quarter of the people who bought “His Latest Flame” a year later also shelled out for this, it’s proof that a big enough star really can release anything and get away with it. 2
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Joe Williams on August 29th, 2005
I might be wrong about this, as I haven’t seen the film, but I think the German bits are because it was in the film ‘GI Blues’, where I think Elvis played an American GI stationed in Germany (probably not that difficult a part for him to get to grips with)
Waldo on April 19th, 2007
This piece of crap was Number One the day I was born. God help me.
FT's richard thompson on June 7th, 2008
I wasn’t born then but I’ve seen the film, this must have been when Lennon suggested he died when he entered the army.
rosie on June 14th, 2008
You’ll all be shocked to hear, then, that when invited to choose nine records for my guest appearance on Bill Clark’s Abbey FM show in April this year, I chose this as one of my nine.
Not because it ranks particularly high in my estimation (it doesn’t, but nor does it make me squirm) but because I clearly remember it being the first Elvis I ever heard.