1 Elvis Presley Song Didn’t Hit No. 1 in the U.S. But a Quickly-Produced Cover Did
TL;DR:
- One Elvis Presley song contains some German-language lyrics.
- In the movie G.I. Blues, the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll sings the tune to a puppet.
- A cover of the track became the only No. 1 hit for another singer.
One Elvis Presley song contains a mix of English-language lyrics and German-language lyrics. He performed the song in one of his movies. Subsequently, a cover of the track became a massive hit in the United States.
Elvis Presley sang 1 of his songs to a puppet in a movie
Some of Elvis’ most famous songs were adaptations of old folk songs. For example, The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits says his track “Wooden Heart” was based on the German folk song “Muss I denn.”
“Wooden Heart” contains a mix of English-language and German-language lyrics. Elvis performs “Wooden Heart” in his movie G.I. Blues, where he sings it to a puppet. The track appears on the soundtrack for G.I. Blues.
A cover of the song completed in 3 days became more popular than the original in the U.S.
The tune became a single in the United Kingdom. Record producer Shelby Singleton Jr. went to see a screening of G.I. Blues and noted the song had not yet become a single in the United States. He decided to have an unknown singer named Joe Dowell record a version of “Wooden Heart” immediately.
Dowell was given three hours to learn the song. He learned to sing some of its lyrics phonetically. He completed his cover in three days and went on tour to promote it. Ultimately, his cover of “Wooden Heart” was far more successful than Elvis’ in the U.S., becoming Dowell’s signature tune.
Elvis Presley’s ‘Wooden Heart’ and Joe Dowell’s cover version hit No. 1 in different parts of the world
Elvis’ “Wooden Heart” was massively popular in the United Kingdom. According to The Official Charts Company, the tune was No. 1 in the U.K. for six weeks in the 1960s, remaining on the chart for a total of 27 weeks. The song’s parent album, G.I. Blues, was even more popular. There, it hit No. 1 for 22 weeks, lasting a total of 65 weeks on the chart.
Dowell’s “Wooden Heart” reached No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 for one week, staying on the chart for 10 weeks in total. According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, Dowell released two more top 50 singles (“The Bridge of Love” and “Little Red Rented Rowboat”) before he was dropped from his label at age 23.
Elvis’ “Wooden Heart” wasn’t popular in the U.S. but it indirectly gave Dowell his 15 minutes of fame.
