Elvis Presley’s Signature #1 Hit “Suspicious Minds” Celebrates 50th Anniversary Today

Elvis Presley’s 1969 has been deemed by some as the greatest comeback in musical history – a year that boasted the release of his universally-beloved album From Elvis In Memphis while marking his first live shows in eight years and first #1 single in nine. That single, “Suspicious Minds,” celebrates its 50^th anniversary today, a signature song of Presley’s late career renaissance that would also become his 18^th and final Billboard 100 chart-topper. To mark the anniversary, Ernst Jørgensen – considered to be the world’s leading expert in Elvis’ music – has shared a list of his five favorite versions of “Suspicious Minds” from the King’s career. 

Read and listen to Jørgensen’s selections here via Ultimate Classic Rock: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/elvis-presley-suspicious-minds/

Prior to its release as a single, “Suspicious Minds” also was notable for its role as a nightly cornerstone of Presley’s August 1969 residency at Las Vegas’ International Hotel. Live 1969 – a recent 11-CD box set released by RCA/Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment, marks the definitive collection of this transformative 57-show run. The set includes eleven complete shows from the engagement, including four sets that are being released in full for the first time and two that have remained almost completely unheard for half a century.

Live 1969 has received praise across the board, deemed a “stunning 11-CD set” by the Washington Post and praised by Rolling Stone as a “snapshot of a world-class entertainer successfully rediscovering the magic that made him so in the first place.” The New York Times added that the performances on Live 1969 “not only revitalized his career, but changed the face of Las Vegas entertainment,” while USA Today called them “a crown jewel in the King’s comeback.” 

This past Friday, RCA/Legacy Recordings also unveiled the digital set American Sound 1969 – which features over 90 tracks of rare and unreleased Elvis material from his 1969 American Sound Studio sessions. These sessions later resulted in From Elvis In Memphis, and the new set includes alternate versions of many of the album’s most indelible hits, including eight takes of “Suspicious Minds.”

Order Live 1969 here: https://Elvis.lnk.to/Live1969PR

Listen to American Sound 1969 here: https://Elvis.lnk.to/AS1969PR