A Pop Star Performed on 1 Elvis Presley Gospel Song
Elvis Presley is most known for his rock and pop hits, but he also recorded some classic gospel songs. A major pop singer performed backup on one of Elvis’ gospel tracks. She also discussed attending religious services with the “Heartbreak Hotel” singer.
The most famous member of a girl group sang backup on 1 of Elvis Presley’s gospel songs
Darlene Love was a member of the girl group The Blossoms. She might be most known today for her solo hit “Christmas (Baby Please Come Home),” which was produced and co-written by the legendary producer Phil Spector. During a 2018 interview with The Village Voice, Love was asked to name some of the gospel songs she recorded with Elvis.
“There is ‘Let Us Pray,’ the one from the movie we did with Elvis, Change of Habit,” she recalled. “That was his last film.” In fact, Change of Habit was Elvis’ final film as an actor, though he appeared in two tour documentaries afterward: Elvis: That’s the Way it Is and Elvis on Tour.
Darlene Love sang gospel songs with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll during services
Love recalled attending a religious service with the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. “Even today, it’s more mixed than it was in the ’50s and ’60s,” she said. “Whites and Blacks didn’t go to church together back then. What Elvis told me he would do — we had night service on Sunday night when we did what we called ‘praise songs.’ A lot of them were songs he loved, what we called ‘hymn songs.'”
Love elaborated on the experience. “We didn’t have air conditioners, she recalled. “We had pushup windows, with a little rope. Elvis said he would stand outside the church rather than going in, because they didn’t think black and white should be in the same churches together. He said he would listen through the windows. It gave him such a thrill. It’s a big difference between the way Blacks sang gospel and the way whites sang gospel.”
How Elvis Presley’s ‘Let Us Pray’ and ‘Change of Habit’ performed on the pop charts
“Let Us Pray” appeared on the soundtrack of the film Change of Habit. The film starred Elvis and Mary Tyler Moore before the premiere of The Mary Tyler Moore Show. “Let Us Pray” was not a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100.
The soundtrack of Change of Habit did not chart on the Billboard 200. The most famous song from the record is not a gospel songs: it’s the funky tune “Rubberneckin’.” That track was later remixed by DJ Paul Okenfold. That remix reached No. 94 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for two weeks. “Rubberneckin'” gained a younger fan base when it appeared in the direct-to-video Disney film Lilo & Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch. Famously, Lilo from the Lilo & Stitch franchise is a big fan of the “All Shook Up” singer.
Love and Elvis made some beautiful music together, and they even shared some spiritual experiences.
