Suspicious Minds (1969)

"Suspicious Minds" is a 1968 song written and first recorded by the American songwriter Mark James. After this recording failed commercially, it was recorded by Elvis Presley in 1969 with the producer Chips Moman. Presley's version topped the Billboard Hot 100, his 18th and final number-one single on the chart. In 1999, Presley's RCA Victor Records version was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame. The recording was also one of two Presley songs to be included in CBS News's list of the "250 essential American songs of the past 250 years".

Song

The song is about a mistrusting and dysfunctional relationship, and the need of the characters to overcome their issues in order to maintain it. Written in 1968 by Mark James, who was also the co-writer of "Always on My Mind" (which Elvis Presley would later record), the song was first recorded and released by James on Scepter Records in 1968. Chips Moman had asked James to come to Memphis to write songs for American Sound Studio. At the time, James was residing in Houston. He had written three songs that became No.1 hits in the Southern United States. American Sound Studio was gaining a reputation in the industry, as the Box Tops had just recorded "The Letter" there, so James relocated to Memphis.

James said that late one night, he was fooling around on his Fender guitar and using his Hammond organ pedals for a bass line and came up with what he thought was a catchy melody. At the time, he was married to his first wife Shirley Yates but still had feelings for his childhood sweetheart, who was married back in Houston. James's wife had suspicions about his feelings. He felt it was a confusing time for him and that all three were "caught in this trap that they could not walk out of". At the recording session, James sang the lead vocals and the studio band backed him; Moman produced. The horns, strings, and vocals of the Holladay Sisters were later overdubbed. After the tape was mixed, James and Moman flew to New York, where James's manager had contacts with Scepter Records. The label loved the song and put it out, but Scepter did not have the money to promote new artists and the song did not make the charts.

Later that year, Don Crews, Moman's partner, told James that Presley had booked their studio to record what would become the From Elvis in Memphis album. Crews kept asking James if he had any songs that would be right for Presley. James felt Presley needed a mature rock 'n' roll song to bring him back, as Tom Jones was a popular artist at the time. Crews and James thought of "Suspicious Minds" and James began urging others to get Presley to hear it. Though James's recording had not been commercially successful, upon reviewing the song, Presley decided he could turn it into a hit.

Elvis Presley version

Background

Presley had not recorded in Memphis since 1955. His 1969 recordings at American Sound Studio were a direct consequence of his '68 Comeback Special, leading Chips Moman to produce them in the singer's new style; Presley was making his comeback to the Memphis musical scene by recording rock, gospel, country, rhythm & blues, and soul. Marty Lacker, a close friend of Elvis, suggested "Suspicious Minds" at the studio. The sessions that followed produced the album From Elvis in Memphis.

American Sound Studio session

"Suspicious Minds" was a product of a session that took place between 4 and 7 a.m. on Thursday, January 23, 1969. James was in Memphis, but he was not at the recording session. A few days earlier, he had walked into the recording studio during a session and sensed that Presley was uncomfortable with his presence. James did not want to jinx the song, so he stayed away. When he heard the track the day after it was recorded, he initially thought it sounded too slow. When he later heard the embellished version, he said he was blown away. In later years, whenever Presley saw James, he would cross the room to say hello.

Production of the song was nearly scuttled over a copyright dispute. Presley's business people Hill & Range said they wanted half of Moman's publishing rights. Moman accused them of stealing and threatened to halt the recording session. Harry Jenkins of RCA agreed with Moman because he sensed that "the song would be a big hit and there would be plenty to go around".