Stanford Clark's 1956 rockabilly classic came high on the list of songs Elvis wished he'd recorded. At home on Goethestrasse in Bad Nauheim, Germany, he installed a tape machine and a piano, and played favorites. "The Fool" was unique in that the song's "hook" was a repeated guitar lick. With no one to play that lick, Elvis sat at the piano and treated it as a mid-tempo boogie. Although he had no thought of releasing it, Elvis still wanted it as good as it could be and called for several takes. He returned to the song for ELVIS COUNTRY June 4, 1970, but by then he had James Burton on hand to play the "Fool" tick. Written by Lee Hazelwood (1955); Credited to Naomi Ford
After a break on June 4, 1970, Elvis launched into another number from his youth, Bob Will's western-swing standard "Faded Love." "We got the words to that, Lamar?" Elvis called out, already caught up in the feel of the song. When the answer came back in the negative, Elvis suggested: "While we wait, let's do "The Fool.' "Chip Young and James Burton immediately picked up the delta-blues guitar riff of Stanford Clark's infectious 1956 hit, and everyone else fell into the swing of it, wrapping up a master in two takes. Photo's are from 1972.
(Information taken from Today, Tomorrow & Forever)
(The Complete Recording Sessions by Ernst Jorgensen) |
