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TL;DR:

  • One of Elvis Presley’s songs became a top 5 hit for Roy Orbison.
  • Tom Petty said a lyric from Elvis’ song “was pretty heavy stuff for a little kid like [him] to hear.”
  • Petty recalled seeing the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll on the set of a musical.

An Elvis Presley song from one of his classic movies has a deceptive title. Roy Orbison covered the song as the B-side to his single “Blue Bayou.” Subsequently, Tom Petty said the King of Rock’ n’ Roll‘s version of the song inspired him musically.

1 of the songs from Elvis Presley’s film ‘Loving You’ became a hit for Roy Orbison

Despite its bluesy title, “Mean Woman Blues” is an uptempo rock number that featured on the soundtrack of Elvis’ film Loving You. The Billboard Book of Number 1 Hits doesn’t mention “Mean Woman Blues” ever charting on the Billboard Top 100. The tune appeared on the compilation album Elvis: 2nd to None. That compilation hit No. 3 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for 16 weeks.

Orbison covered the song as the B-side for his hit “Blue Bayou.” Orbison’s “Mean Woman Blues” reached No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, staying on the chart for 13 weeks. Notably, “Mean Woman Blues” performed better than “Blue Bayou,” which merely hit No. 29 and remained on the chart for 10 weeks. Both tunes appeared on the compilation album More of Roy Orbison’s Greatest Hits. That record climbed to No. 19 on the Billboard 200 and stayed on the chart for 90 weeks.

Tom Petty said the song influenced him and sounded like ‘old gospel music’

During a 2011 interview with Rolling Stone, Petty named “Mean Woman Blues” as one of the Elvis songs that influenced him. “‘She kiss so hard she bruise my lips/Hurts so good my heart just flips,'” Petty quoted. “That was pretty heavy stuff for a little kid like me to hear. 

“He brought in backup singers The Jordanaires, and used them as a rhythm instrument, which was usually done in old gospel music,” Petty added. “That added a whole other dimension.”

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Tom Petty discussed seeing Elvis Presley on the set of 1 of his musicals

Notably, Petty became an Elvis fan because he saw Elvis arrive on the set of a movie, but it wasn’t the film that gave us “Mean Woman Blues.” Instead, it was the forgotten musical Follow That Dream. “He arrived in a fleet of white Cadillacs,” Petty said. “People were screaming, handing records over a chain-link fence for him to sign. 

“I remember his hair was so black that the sunshine was glowing off of it,” Petty continued. “Just a nod and a hello made your skin tingle. I was high for weeks. It lit a fever in me to get every record I could, and I really digested it. Elvis became the soundtrack of my early years.”

Elvis’ “Mean Woman Blues” wasn’t much of a hit but it was a big inspiration to a future star.

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