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TL;DR:

  • Stevie Nicks and another star covered one of Elvis Presley’s songs for Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis.
  • The producer behind the song had a strong reaction to Nicks’ vocal.
  • Luhrmann discussed Nicks’ vocal on the track and her artistry as a whole.
Elvis Presley with a guitar
Elvis Presley | Michael Ochs Archives/Getty Images

Several artists covered Elvis Presley‘s songs for the biopic Elvis. For example, Stevie Nicks covered an Elvis song in character as someone from the movie. Notably, she collaborated with another rock star on the cover.

Stevie Nicks covered an Elvis Presley song with Chris Isaak

Nicks and Chris Isaak covered “Cotton Candy Land” for the movie. During a 2022 interview with Grateful Web, record producer Dave Cobb discussed the cover. “Well, doing that song, cutting that with her vocal,” he said. “I’ll never forget. Listen, Stevie Nicks, Stevie Nicks is one of the best singers ever to walk the planet.”

In the movie, Nicks is the singing voice of a character named Madame Zeena. “She’d seen a little clip of the film and she was going to sing the character,” Cobb said. “And I remember her going, ‘I know this character, I know this person. I can be this person,’ and she became a character.”

What director Baz Luhrmann thought about Stevie Nicks and Chris Isaak’s cover of the song

Baz Luhrmann, director of Moulin Rouge!, helmed the biopic. He discussed the character of Madame Zeena. “There’s a young actor called Angie,” he said. “Angie, a friend of mine, who’s representing … There’s this character on screen, but it’s Stevie’s voice. I think we termed it carnival goth.”

Luhrmann explained how Nicks influenced the character. “She’s kind of got this tiny goth sound that Stevie came up with,” he said. “I mean, it’s her voice. I don’t know. There’s something just so perfect about it. She’s such a great artist too. And Chris [Isaak], kind of like contemporary Elvis, Roy Orbison too.”

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How Elvis Presley’s ‘Cotton Candy Land’ and the Stevie Nicks/Chris Isaak cover performed on the charts

Elvis’ “Cotton Candy Land” was not a single, so it did not chart on the Billboard Hot 100. The song appeared on the soundtrack of It Happened at the World’s Fair, one of the many musicals starring the King of Rock ‘n’ Roll. The album reached No. 32 on the Billboard 200, staying on the chart for nine weeks.

Nicks and Isaak’s “Cotton Candy Land” never charted on the Billboard Hot 100 either. The song appeared on the soundtrack of the film Elvis. The soundtrack hit No. 26 on the Billboard 200 and lasted on the chart for six weeks.

“Cotton Candy Land” was never a hit but it’s an interesting connection between the King and Nicks.

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