When you think about the elvis list of songs, your brain probably jumps straight to the hits. You hear the snarling lip of "Hound Dog," the iconic "uh-huh" in "All Shook Up," or the sweeping drama of "Suspicious Minds." It's the standard soundtrack of every wedding reception and 50s-themed diner in existence.
But honestly? That’s barely scratching the surface of what the man actually did.
Elvis Presley didn't just record a few catchy tunes; he was a recording machine. Between his first nervous session at Sun Studio in 1953 and his final performance in 1977, he laid down roughly 786 songs. That is a staggering amount of music. If you sat down to listen to his entire discography back-to-back, you’d be there for days. Most people think they know Elvis, but they usually only know about 5% of his actual work.
The Massive Scope of the Elvis List of Songs
It’s easy to get lost in the numbers. 786 is a lot of tracks. But what makes the elvis list of songs so weirdly complex is how he jumped between genres like he was changing shirts. He wasn't just a rock and roller. In fact, for large chunks of his career, he wasn't doing rock at all.
He was a gospel singer. He was a country crooner. He was a blues man. He even tackled operatic Italian ballads like "It's Now or Never," which was based on the melody of "O Sole Mio."
The Early Sun Records Era (1954–1955)
This is where the magic started, and it was mostly accidents. Sam Phillips at Sun Records wanted a white man who had "the Negro sound and the Negro feel." When Elvis, Scotty Moore, and Bill Black started messing around with Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup’s "That’s All Right" during a break in a session, they weren't trying to invent a genre. They were just bored.
That raw, echo-heavy sound became rockabilly. The list from this era is short but heavy on impact:
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- "Blue Moon of Kentucky"
- "Good Rockin' Tonight"
- "Mystery Train"
- "Baby Let's Play House"
The Movie Years (The 1960s Slump?)
Ask any die-hard fan about the 1960s, and they’ll probably groan. This is when the elvis list of songs gets... well, let's call it "eclectic." Because he was churned through the Hollywood machine, he had to record songs for movie soundtracks.
Some were great. "Can’t Help Falling in Love" came from Blue Hawaii. "Return to Sender" was a legitimate hit.
But then you have the weird stuff. Have you ever heard "Old MacDonald" as performed by Elvis Presley? Or "Confidence," where he sings to a group of children about a playground? It’s bizarre. For about eight years, the King of Rock and Roll was mostly a singer of novelty movie tunes. It’s the reason why so many people lost interest until the '68 Comeback Special reminded everyone that he could still growl.
Why the Catalog Is So Hard to Track
If you try to find a definitive elvis list of songs, you’ll run into a headache pretty quickly. Why? Because the way his music was released was a total mess.
His manager, Colonel Tom Parker, was a marketing genius but a nightmare for archivists. He would take leftover movie tracks, shove them onto a "new" album, add a couple of live recordings, and call it a day. There are hundreds of compilation albums, budget re-releases, and posthumous box sets.
The 1970s were particularly chaotic. You’d have an album like Raised on Rock that mixed heavy studio work with whatever they had lying around. To truly understand the elvis list of songs, you have to look at the session dates, not just the album titles.
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The Master of the Cover
One thing people often get wrong: Elvis didn't write his own songs. Not really. He has a few co-writing credits because the Colonel demanded a piece of the publishing rights, but Elvis was an interpreter.
He took songs from other people and "Elvis-ified" them.
- "Hound Dog": Originally a blues hit for Big Mama Thornton.
- "Love Me Tender": Based on a Civil War ballad called "Aura Lee."
- "Always on My Mind": Brenda Lee recorded it first, but Elvis made it a heartbreak anthem.
- "Bridge Over Troubled Water": Paul Simon famously said that when he heard Elvis sing it, he felt like the song was no longer his.
The "Hidden" Gems You Probably Missed
If you only listen to the 30 #1 hits, you are missing out on the best parts of the elvis list of songs. There is a soulful, grittier side to his voice that only comes out on the deep cuts.
Take "Stranger in My Own Home Town." It’s a bluesy, bitter track from the 1969 Memphis sessions. It sounds nothing like "Teddy Bear." His voice is gravelly and frustrated.
Then there’s "I’m Leavin’" from 1971. It’s almost folk-pop, with a haunting, high-register vocal that sounds more like something from a 70s indie record than a Vegas showman. These are the tracks where you see the artist, not the icon.
The Gospel Connection
Elvis won three Grammys in his life. Do you know what they were for?
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None of them were for Rock and Roll.
They were all for Gospel music. He was deeply religious, and his gospel recordings like "How Great Thou Art" and "He Touched Me" are widely considered some of his best vocal performances. When he was tired of the movie scripts and the screaming fans, he went back to the church music of his youth to recharge.
Navigating the List Today
If you're looking to dive into the elvis list of songs properly, don't just buy a "Best Of" CD. It’s too polished. It misses the soul.
Instead, look for the "Masters" collections. There’s a box set called The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters that actually organizes the songs chronologically. Seeing the progression from a 19-year-old kid in Memphis to a global superstar in just five years is wild.
Also, check out the From Elvis in Memphis album from 1969. It’s often cited by critics as his greatest studio work. It’s where "In the Ghetto" and "Suspicious Minds" came from, but the whole tracklist is gold. It’s funky, it’s soul-infused, and it’s arguably the peak of his vocal power.
Basically, the elvis list of songs is a roadmap of American music. It’s got all the high points and a few embarrassing detours. But even the "bad" songs usually have a moment where that voice—that singular, unmistakable voice—does something that makes you stop and listen.
Next Steps for Your Playlist:
To get a real feel for the range beyond the radio hits, try adding these three specific tracks to your rotation: "Power of My Love" (for the grit), "Tomorrow is a Long Time" (for the folk influence—Bob Dylan actually said it was his favorite cover of the song), and "Merry Christmas Baby" (the long, unedited version where he’s clearly just jamming with the band).