elvis singing-range

[michael gjukich]

in studio album "how great thou art"ends on {F}beautifully done.in concerts later he would end {g}sometimes touching {A}for a instant before.also early in the song would belt out high{A}on "he touched me would sing a "G" on end but a few secondsa before on words "i know"hits {B}flat.on same album "an evening prayer"sung almost accapalla on ending sings words-dear-er lor-ord a-a men en -en -meeen.thus hitting a strong {G} ending on a strained {A}.in dallas1977 second ending of hurts he touchs a high {C}sharp briefly!!after instrument solo in last concert belts high {C}out of nowhere.his big note mostly at end was high {B}natural seond hurt ending and on "rags to riches"1976 new years eve calls on end to band "b-drum roll"then hits {B} on word "up".his greatness to me will always be his feeling he put so naturaly in everything he did."precious lord"1957 "i believe"1957 great examples of this.all his sacred music.

[Diane]

I read somewhere that Elvis had a three octave range but one time when he sang How Great Thou Art on stage he hit the fourth octave and just about blew his background singers and musicians away. Quite a feat! Can anyone tell me at what concert this was?

[michael gjukich]

the reason this range is unique is that ELVIS IS A BARiTONE!meaning most all of his voice is a normal male voice pattern.90% of males have a baritone voice.very few are tenors{HIGH}or{BASS} low.elvis could stretch his voice into bass sometimes,but,what was so unique to me was his fearless jumps to tenor range.he carried much feeling into these notes and made songs like "what now my love" and "surrender"-"an american trilogy" "impossible dream"quite thrilling to hear!!

[michael gjukich]

the highest note my ear ever heard from elvis was the second ending to "hurt in dallas 1976-{C}sharp,by the way ,mario lanza,pavoratotti,to name a few great opera TENORS top off at this very note.for a untrained baritone as elvis to reach this is truly amazing.chalie hodge has said he heard elvis sing high {C}many times.however,he sang with him 20 years

[amzietamzie]

if you listen to elvis singing the lord's prayer in this random session where he's giggling quite a lot, he leaps up to this ridiculously high note that is amazing to hear. i listen to that song only to hear him reach that note cos it makes me shiver!! he was an amazing singer... i had thought he might be a tenor cos of the high notes he manages in sonngs like hurt and you gave me a mountain so it's interesting to learn that he was a baritone. thanks for that!

[michael gjukich]

there was a book called "the great american pop singers" by henry pleasants ,who was an opera reviewer.it was published in 1975 in the u.s.a.it had technical info and chapters on al jolson,bing crosby,frank sinatra-and females also.there was ,a,chapter on elvis.he gave elvis a two and a halve range,topping off on tenors high{B}.a 1/2 more octave than other great pop male singers in book.also said elvis had a amazing array of vocal "colors" or ways to "shade"a note.also said his artistry would take years for people to appeciate.

[elvisdownunder]

the highest note i heard is the end of 'now or never' on burning in birmingham. he goes crazy!

[KPM]

there was a book called "the great american pop singers" by henry pleasants ,who was an opera reviewer.it was published in 1975 in the u.s.a.it had technical info and chapters on al jolson,bing crosby,frank sinatra-and females also.there was ,a,chapter on elvis.he gave elvis a two and a halve range,topping off on tenors high{B}.a 1/2 more octave than other great pop male singers in book.also said elvis had a amazing array of vocal "colors" or ways to "shade"a note.also said his artistry would take years for people to appeciate.

I recall reading that book and seem to remember the author saying something about his range being greater than 2 and a half octaves when Elvis went into falsetto.

[Lonniebealestreet]

Fascinating thread. Like most fans, I guess, I really am blown away by the big high notes he hit at the climaxes of some of his ballads from the seventies.

Those moments seemed particularly amazing because his voice had deepened considerably through the years, yet it seemed like he became able to hit notes that would have been out of the question in the earlier years. So his voice really matured and his range deepened in various ways.

The following statement is great to hear, and the sort of thing you wish the public could be enlightened about: "Elvis had a amazing array of vocal 'colors' or ways to 'shade' a note." Awesome! And the statement that "his artistry would take years for people to appeciate" is so true. The people who get it now, get it. But what will it take for everyone else to hear these things the way we do? Anyway, the author of that book sure knew what he was talking about.

I don't know what notes I'm hearing when I hear them, but to me some of the most impressive notes I've heard Elvis sing are from the renditions of Hurt from 12/28 & 12/29/76 in Dallas and Birmingham and the last show, 6/26/77 in Indianapolis. Also What Now My Love and An American Trilogy from the Aloha rehearsal show. There are numerous others, nearly all being live performances. Those moments give me chills every time because the guy is digging down deep and singing from his soul...it's amazing stuff.

[EnigmaticSun]

Lonnie B. Goode, I really like your style! That was a post of wisdom; it is not so much important to associate a symbol to a sound you hear - the emotion and quality of the sound is what matters most!

The sort of thing you wish the public (not only the mainstream public - some folks are scientists and don't know about his talent) could be enlightened about..

From the 70's I really appreciate:

Madison Square Garden from '72 (The Impossible Dream, for example)
Aloha (both shows - American Trilogy and What Now My Love!)
Shows from 1975 (I especially like some concerts from July)
1976 (The December Tour was great)
1977 (I especially like performances from Binghampton in May and other venues in June)