Elvis Presley’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ Became a Hit for a Classic Rock Band
Elvis Presley‘s “Don’t Be Cruel” remains one of his most beloved tracks. A classic rock band put their own spin on the track in the 1980s. Subsequently, the same band had a hit covering “Can’t Help Falling in Love.”
Deciding to cover Elvis Presley’s ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ was ‘torture’ for Cheap Trick
Cheap Trick had a huge hit with their 1988 power ballad “The Flame,” a song that wasn’t written by any of the members of the group. During a 2023 interview with Songfacts, Cheap Trick’s Ben E. Carlos said the band wanted their follow-up single to be a cover. “I literally went through piles of tapes with Richie [Nielsen] from publishers, went through hundreds of songs,” he recalled. “We’d sit there in a room with a ghetto blaster, put a tape in, get about 10 seconds in, and usually just pop the tape out and pitch it in the circular file. We did that for just days in a row — it was like torture.
“And I was like, ‘We should do this song by The Equals,'” Carlos recalled. “‘Oh, Bonnie Raitt did it — forget that one.’ Finally, Robin [Zander] or Richie or someone said, ‘How about ‘Don’t Be Cruel?’ The Judds had just had a country hit with it.’ We’re like, ‘Well, how about we try it like this?'”
Nielsen wanted the verses of their cover to sound like Fats Domino’s “Ain’t That a Shame.” Cheap Trick previously had a hit with a cover of “Ain’t That a Shame.”
Elvis Presley’s version of the song blows Cheap Trick’s out of the water
If you come at the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll, you’d better not miss. Elvis was one of the greatest singers ever, and the main vocal on Cheap Trick’s “Don’t Be Cruel” is adequate at best. The chirpy backing vocals sound more like a doo-wop parody than the real thing.
Cheap Trick could rock a cover song, but there’s no passion in the instrumentation of their “Don’t Be Cruel.” Also, their heavy sound doesn’t work with the vibe of the original song.
How both versions of ‘Don’t Be Cruel’ performed on the charts in the United States
The original “Don’t Be Cruel” was released as a double A-side single with “Hound Dog.” According to The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits, the tunes were No. 1 in the United States for 11 weeks. This record would stand until Santana and Rob Thomas released their 1999 hit “Smooth.”
Cheap Trick’s “Don’t Be Cruel” became a more modest hit. The track peaked at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 17 weeks. It became the band’s longest-charting track besides “I Want You to Want Me” and their only No. 1 single, “The Flame.” Cheap Trick would later release a cover of Elvis’ “Can’t Help Falling in Love” that hit the top 20.
Cheap Trick included “Don’t Be Cruel” on the album Lap of Luxury. That album peaked at No. 16 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 47 weeks. It was the band’s most popular studio album, and their second-most popular album besides the live record Cheap Trick at Bodukan.
Cheap Trick’s “Don’t Be Cruel” showed the world loved the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’s music well after his era.
