21 September 2013
Noise11
Fact: Elvis Presley and Engelbert Humperdinck were great friends.
Elvis Presley’s signature sideburns were a copied from his pal Engelbert and when he went to Stax to make his recording in the late 60s he also covered songs already recorded by Engelbert.
The new ‘Elvis At Stax’ 3-disc is a compilation of all of Elvis’ Stax recordings put together in one collection. Elvis recorded the songs at Stax studios in his hometown of Memphis from July to December, 1973.
During these sessions Elvis covered ‘Spanish Eyes’, also recorded by Engelbert Humperdinck in 1969 and originally a hit for Al Martino in 1966).
“He was wonderful. Probably one of the dearest people I have ever met in my life,” Engelbert said in an interview with Noise11.com. “He was one of the most kind-hearted, benevolent people you will ever come across. He would be driving in his car and see somebody barefoot on the street and whatever he had in his pocket he would take and he would give it to them and say ‘get yourself a pair of shoes’. He was that kind of guy”.
Engelbert says the people around him are probably the reason Elvis isn’t with us anymore. “I don’t think he was misunderstood. I think he was mishandled by his friends,” Engelbert said.
