Thursday July 15, 2021 “Surrender” Elvis/Cheap Trick
Elvis was The King and if you have any doubts as to his worthiness of that title spend two minutes with his version of “Surrender” an adaptation of a 1902 Neapolitan ballad updated by hitmaking songwriters Doc Pomus/Mort Shuman and listen to the heights of his vocal range and the purity of his voice.
Elvis belongs at the top of the very short list of artists who changed the course of popular music in the 20th century. He may not have invented rock & roll, but he was indisputably its first rock star, a singer whose charisma intertwined with a natural musical talent and a stage presence that seemed combustible, sexy, and dangerous. And during his shortened career Elvis sold over 500 million records in the US and it is estimated that he had sold, and continues to sell over one billion records worldwide.
Nominated for fourteen Grammys, Elvis surprisingly had only won three times, was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in its first year of existence, and has one hundred forty nine charting hit singles.
And then you have Cheap Trick, the very best band from Rockford IL (and the only one of any note). Founded by guitarist and primary songwriter Rick Neilsen as Fuse, the band moved to Philadelphia and changed their name to the more audience friendly Sick Man from Europe.
One more name change before hitting their own solo stride and Cheap Trick opened for bands like the Kinks, Kiss, Santana, AC/DC, and Queen. In the world of musical cliches, Cheap Trick just couldn’t get the recognition they deserved in the US but were big in Japan, think their multi-platinum album/CD Live from Budhokan. The band is responsible for more than twenty million record sales which includes today’s “Surrender” and is a member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Stay safe and well...and if you compare and contrast these two same titled songs they could not possibly be more different in every way, title aside.