Elvis Presley was a huge fan of The Statesmen Quartet. He saw them sing when he was a child and idolized them to a degree. On at least one occasion, The Statesmen Quartet let him sing with them in the place of Jake Hess for a song or two.
Elvis went on to be a huge star in his own right. But, he got his style from The Statesmen Quartet. His leg shaking came from Jim "Big Chief" Wetherington, the bass for the Statesmen. Elvis patterned his vocal style after Jake Hess, the Statesmen's lead singer, who is said to be his favorite singer.
How Great Thou Art
When Elvis died in August of 1977 (just two days before my twelfth birthday), Jake was asked to sing at his funeral. He sang "Known Only to Him." The following video is Elvis' rendition of the song. Here is a link to The Statesmen Quartet singing the song as well: Known Only to Him.
Known Only to Him
Sources:
Elvis Australia
Wikipedia - The Statesmen Quartet
Wikipedia - Elvis Presley
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always loved to hear him sing.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Denise. So did I when I was a young pre-teen/teenager. It was made all the better by knowing that he was a distant cousin of mine. :)
DeleteThanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a blessed day!
I recognize that Elvis had a major influence on the music world but I was never a fan. I did enjoy his movies though.
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Wendy
Jollett Etc.
We all have different tastes in music and that is okay. It would be a boring world if we all liked exactly the same thing. There's certainly plenty today that I'm not a fan of. :)
DeleteI think that it is cool that his career was affected so much by the Statesmen. I often wonder what they thought of where their influence led him.
Thanks for stopping by and commenting. Have a blessed day!
Wendy, I am putting your blog link here because Blogger did something weird to it and it isn't going anywhere. Hopefully, this one will work:
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My aunt ADORED Elvis. I realise she was not alone in this regard ;) I found Elvis cringe-worthy when I was growing up but over the years I have mellowed and now completely "get" him. Thoroughly enjoyed and sang along to How Great thou art. Didn't know "Known only to him" - great harmonies. Thank you for all the background info. Really interesting.
ReplyDeleteI can't imagine finding him cringe-worthy, but we all have different tastes. I am one who kissed the lips off of an Elvis poster. :)
DeleteI am very glad that you enjoyed "How Great Thou Art". I think that it is a beautiful song. Elvis is one of my favorite singers of this song. Jim "Big Chief" Wetherington of The Statesmen Quartet is the other one. Before this post, I had never heard "Known Only to Him" either.
You're welcome for the background information. I wish that my posts were as detailed as yours! You do a great job of it.
Have a blessed day and a great weekend!