Real Talk Co.

Today I’ll be answering the question, “Did The Beatles Cover Any Elvis Presley Songs?”.

Let’s get to it!

Did The Beatles Cover Any Elvis Presley Songs?

Yes, the Beatles covered Elvis Presley’s songs. 12 of them in fact! Elvis actually was a huge inspiration for the Beatles. His inspiration for them could’ve been in question because of the song “Kiss Me Quick.”

Yes

When I make the claim that they did indeed cover Elvis Presley songs, these were merely songs made famous by him.

Suspicious Minds by Mark James is a famous song that Elvis made a lot more popular.

Ironically, Elvis seemed to be famous for rarely writing his own music.

Same as Eazy-E (refer to the article on Eazy-E for context).

However, what’s different is that he seemed to pull off a better interpretation of the music wrote for him.

Another thing that separates the two in comparison is the Elvis actually had numerous songs written by different people.

These people ranged from high school teachers.

Label mates.

The list goes on.

4 Songs

Elvis and the Beatles have been known to make covers of each other’s songs.

However.

There were four songs that the Beatles recorded that were first sung by the King of Rock and Roll.

• “That’s All Right” – The song charted at #3 in the UK. Real fans of Elvis collectively love this song. A fun fact about this song is that although Elvis made this song before the Beatles, he actually covered it by blues singer Arthur Crudup.
• “I Got a Woman” – Although “I Got a Woman” is a short song by Elvis, it was good enough to be covered by the Beatles. (It was originally titled “I’ve Got a Woman.) The song was covered by more than the Beatles. The most famous cover was arguably done by Ray Charles.
• “I’m Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)” – The song was first written in 1953 by Joe Thomas and Howard Biggs. However, was originally recorded by Roy Hamilton. Elvis did a cover to this song that became popular, but had the Beatles spread their talents to cover this song as well. John Lennon did the vocals, and rhythm guitar. Paul McCartney did the vocals as well, with the bass. George Harrison did the lead guitar, and Ringo was on the drums.
• “I Forgot to Remember to Forget” – This song was recorded in 1955 by Elvis, and written by Stan Kesler and Charlie Feathers. The Beatles recorded this track as well for the BBC radio show in 1964. The inspiration was given to the Beatles after Elvis gave the song a more pop feel after it’s initial country sound.

Elvis Influenced The Beatles

Obviously, with the Beatles covering quite a few Elvis songs, it should go without saying that Elvis had somewhat of an influence on the Beatles.

On Aaron Krerowicz dot com they had a quote from John Lennon that perfectly captured how the Beatles felt about Elvis.

Lennon said, “”[W]hen I heard [“Heartbreak Hotel”], it was the end for me. … Once I heard it and got into it, that was life, there was no other thing. I thought of nothing else but rock ‘n’ roll”.

Another Beatles member who was known to have Elvis inspire their career early was Paul McCartney.

Elvis’s influence and admiration was happening from more than music.

Paul said his interest in Elvis grew from his (Elvis’s) humor, and movies.

Elvis’s display of confidence and sex appeal played another role in his appeal to the Beatles.

“Kiss Me Quick”

The reason this is even a question is because it’s been noted that the Beatles actually hated one Elvis Presley song.

And you guessed it.

It was “Kiss Me Quick”!

It was quoted to be “a load of rubbish.”

Conclusion

Hopefully this answers your question. The Beatles did in fact cover Elvis’s music. His (Elvis’s) influence was a big factor in the Beatles’ inspiration. They also decided to make 12 covers to Elvis’s songs, despite their dislike for the song “Kiss Me Quick.”