The CHUM chart's first number one had been in the spring of 1957 which was only about a year after the rise of Elvis Presley to superstardom — and I was already convinced that The King was heading downhill. In some ways I wasn't entirely wrong. "All Shook Up", his first Canadian chart topper, smacks of more of the same, "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" is the first of his big hits you'd be forgiven for forgetting all about and the double A-side "I Beg of You" / "Don't" is just plain coasting. But the good side of Elvis could still assert himself. "Jailhouse Rock" is a certified banger, "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck" is far more enjoyable than its problematic title would suggest and then we come to "Hard Headed Woman" from the film King Creole.
Fred Bronson's The Billboard Book of Number One Hits spends much of the entry on this single discussing the final days of Gladys Presley's life, as well as how much her death in August of 1958 turned her son's life upside down. After initially being refused his request for leave from the army, he was finally given permission to be by her side only for her to pass away just two days later. He was inconsolable. It is said that Elvis collapsed more than once at his mother's funeral. Those close to him would say he was never the same.
With this devastating news, it must have been something of a gut punch that his most recent hit single was an attack on women ruining things for the "soft hearted men" in their lives. Eve failed to listen to Adam and Samson warned Delilah to stay away from him — perhaps a Cleopatra or an Emma of Normandy had also been in line for verses of their own but kept out for fear of hammering the point home. But the figures from history mythology begin to fade away as the lyrics get more vague — and, perhaps, somewhat more personal. Next up is a "king" who was doing "swell" until everything came apart because of an "evil Jezebel". At this point it feels like Elvis didn't regret releasing "Hard Headed Woman" just week's before Gladys' passing since his controlling, over-protective mother would have warned him about those evil harlots.
Even if they secretly pay tribute to his mother (which, needless to say, he didn't write), the good old fifties' misogyny in the lyrics are hard to swallow. Luckily, you can barely make them out with a powerhouse band performance and Elvis at his belting best. The horn section adds an extra blast to the rollicking 12-bar blues. Good fun all around and yet another welcome reminder that while his love songs could often be dull and lifeless, there really is nothing like Elvis doing pure rock 'n' roll. (As big a fan I am of brevity in pop, a minute-and-fifty seconds though is way too brief; it's difficult to take a record completely seriously if it can't even cross the two minute mark)
So, I'm done with trying to work out the "beginning of the end" of Elvis as a top recording artist. Since I treasure the 1969 From Elvis in Memphis album so much — it's superior to many of that year's big blockbuster LP's like Abbey Road, Let It Bleed and Led Zeppelin II, you know — I ought to be well aware that he still had it long after his military discharge. Deeply flawed and with an erratic muse, Elvis Presley was far from perfect but he had plenty left in him at the tender age of twenty-three. I have no doubt there will be some clunkers ahead but I'm now optimistic I'll be encountering some minor masterworks along the way as well.
Score: 7
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Can Con
Oscar McLollie & Jeanette Baker: "Hey Girl — Hey Boy"
If longtime American resident Paul Anka can qualify as 'Canadian Content' then surely an American who spent some of his life residing in Chiliwack, BC should count as well. With that out of the way, may I present Oscar McLollie with this groovy shuffle alongside the equally-unknown-to-me-until-quite-recently Jeanette Baker. Amusing and engaging if a little pointless but I prefer to focus on the positive. Apparently "Hey Girl — Hey Boy" was his only hit. If the number sixty-one spot proved to be disappointing, maybe he took solace in the fact that it spent three weeks on the CHUM chart at a more respectable thirty-two. No wonder he would eventually migrate north. Yet another one who is well worth investigating further.
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