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Top Ten Elvis Presley Songs

Elvis Presley remains one of the best music artists from the twentieth century and certainly one of the most influential during the 50s and 60s decades when he was at his peak. It’s a shame that he wasn’t with us longer, but during a couple of decades when he was active, he put out hit after hit, resulting in so many classic songs that making a top ten list was not easy. For my list, I went personal, so it will not be your regular top ten list as some of the underrated gems that I love will be in the top ten while some of his renowned works are only in the honorable mentions. So, here we go.

10. The Wonder of You

The Wonder of You wasn’t originally an Elvis song, but it was popularized by him in a better version that he recorded in 1970. It’s a wonderful song that features beautiful lyrics and a gorgeous refrain that is wonderful in its every repetition.

9. Blue Suede Shoes

Blue Suede Shoes is one of the briskest and most entertaining Elvis songs that is enlivened by some of the best guitar riffs from the artist. It’s wildly enjoyable and irresistibly electric from start to finish. I prefer it to Hound Dog myself.

8. Love Me Tender

A classic ballad released in 1956, Love Me Tender is one of the calmest and most, well, tender songs recorded by the artist. It’s a pop number that is powered by Elvis’s impressive vocals while it’s also imbued by a folk theme that added an element of authenticity to the proceedings.

7. It’s Now or Never

This 1960 pop song is among the most beautiful Elvis singles that he ever recorded. The song starts in a very slow, but beautiful mood that evokes romance and even dreams in its tone, but it becomes brisker as it goes along, erupting in such a powerfully sung, majestic chorus.

6. (You’re the) Devil in Disguise

A very underappreciated song that is so much fun from the very first lines and beat and it continues to be wildly enjoyable throughout the song’s length. This one rarely lands on other lists, but I am a fan of pop, so this one is great to me, and it’s only further enlivened by the artist’s rock and roll theme.

5. Jailhouse Rock

Jailhouse Rock is by far one of the most instantly recognizable Elvis songs that is accompanied by an unforgettable music video that was a scene from the titular movie. It’s one of his most electric and upbeat numbers that exemplified just how much exuberance and modernity the singer brought to the fifties decade.

4. In the Ghetto

Elvis has been accused of stealing from black artists for decades now, but this 1969 song is where he paid back to the black community by honoring those living in the Chicago ghetto. The lyrics tell the tale of a mother losing one child and it ends with her newborn child who could meet a similar fate in the future. It’s by far Elvis’s most sophisticated and thematically important work that is still gorgeously sung and just heartbreaking in its words. It needs more respect as it’s clearly one of his greatest.

3. Don’t Be Cruel

Don’t Be Cruel has that instantly iconic chorus that is reminiscent to other Elvis refrains, but is very distinctly him as there are no other beats quite like those in his most iconic numbers such as this one. It’s an immensely entertaining number that signified 1956 as the singer’s finest year ever as it was full of great hits all released in this one year. Most artists could dream of having an entire career as was Elvis’s 1956.

2. Can’t Help Falling in Love

Elvis isn’t really known for ballads, but he did his fair share of love songs and pop numbers throughout his career and Can’t Help Falling in Love is easily his best entry in this canon. Not only is this song phenomenally sung, but it’s also undeniably an immensely powerful ballad in both its lyrics and in its tune. It’s one of the best and most purely romantic songs ever released and as a fan of ballads, I have been a fan for many years, and it’s a rare song that can appeal even to non-fans due to the sheer strength of his vocals.

1. Suspicious Minds

And the obvious number one place goes to Suspicious Minds, Elvis’s 1968 number that is among the most memorable songs from this period in music history. The fact that it doesn’t appear on too many lists’ top placements is questionable to me when this is by far the singer’s most eclectic and complex song that changes tones and styles throughout and is consistently powerful. It’s a song about a dysfunctional relationship and the lyrics are actually different for a love song and thus more unique, but it is his singing, especially during the impressive transitions that represents Elvis at his peak form. And it’s just so damn fun and wonderful to sing along to.

Honorable Mentions:

A Little Bit of Green – A Little Bit of Green is immensely underrated as it’s both superbly sung and very memorable and charming in its tune.

I Want You, I Need You, I Love You – Particularly memorable in its titular refrain, this is a beautifully written and composed song that is among the singer’s most underrated.

Crying in the Chapel – Crying in the Chapel is, yes, rather slow, but it’s gorgeously sung and featuring some very moving lyrics, thus it deserves this honorable mention.

Burning Love – Burning Love is immensely memorable and fun throughout its length and it’s especially recognizable in its central chorus.

Hound Dog – Yes, Hound Dog is so much fun and quite memorable, but it’s rather repetitious and overrated, which is why it’s not in my personal top ten.