Elvis Presley Unravelled #15
…..Pledging My Love – Elvis Cover
Johnny Ace recorded the original version and scored an R&B #1 in 1955, shortly after he lost a game of Russian roulette. Elvis Presley released his version of Pledging My Love as the B-side of Way Down, the last single released in his lifetime.
Derek Shelmerdine presents the feature segment Elvis Presley Unravelled (alternating with The Beatles Unravelled)
…fortnightly on Steve Chelmsford’s Mop Tops and the King show.
……It’s a one-minute snapshot of a slice of Elvis (and The Beatles) history.
8-14 October: Guest feature on the Mop Tops and the King show
The MTK Network broadcasts the show, now comprising over 80 radio stations around the world.
See the Show Schedule for broadcast details of times and radio stations.
(The times on the Show Schedule are Eastern Time, the UK is five hours ahead.)
Listen Again
PODCAST – Pledging My Love – Elvis Cover
Pledging My Love – Elvis’s Cover Version
In the summer of 1977, scored the last hit in his lifetime, Way Down. It gave his a #18 on the Billboard pop chart, a #1 on the Country chart and in the UK charts it was #1 for 5 weeks.
The B-side, Pledging My Love, was a posthumous crossover hit for R&B singer Johnny Ace in 1955. His career was also tragically cut short.
A rising R&B star, Johnny Ace died on Christmas Day 1954, at the age of 25. He was playing a gig at the City Auditorium in Houston, Texas when a game of Russian roulette backstage went tragically wrong. Johnny Ace’s original version of Pledging My Love gave him a Billboard R&B #1 for 10 weeks.
Big Mama Thornton was also on bill that night. She recorded the original version of one of Elvis’s early classics, Hound Dog.
Extract from Rock’n’Roll Unravelled
All of The Beatles/Elvis Presley Unravelled podcasts are based on extracts from Derek Shelmerdine‘s book Rock’n’Roll Unravelled.
THE EXTRACT FOR THIS STORY
6 June 1977: Elvis released Way Down c/w Pledging My Love
With its unique three-part structure, Rock’n’Roll Unravelled tells the story of rock’n’roll from its roots to mid-1970s punk.
TO BUY – a signed copy of Rock’n’Roll Unravelled
Mop Tops and The King Radio Show
Derek Shelmerdine presents the feature segments Elvis Presley Unravelled and The Beatles Unravelled on Steve Chelmsford’s weekly the Mop Tops and The King radio show.
Derek is a fortnightly guest on Steve’s show.
The MTK NETWORK of over 80 radio stations around the world carries the Mop Tops and The King show. This means that every day, someone, somewhere in the world is broadcasting the Mop Tops and the King show.
For the broadcast time for each station – check out the WEEKLY SCHEDULE. (The times in the weekly schedule are Eastern Time – the UK is five hours ahead.)
The Mop Tops and the King show is all about the music, lives and times of The Beatles and Elvis Presley.
For all the previous editions of…
The Beatles Unravelled and Elvis Presley Unravelled
First Broadcast: Pledging My Love – Elvis Cover
This show was first broadcast 8-14 October 2021, on the MTK network of radio stations around the world.
