Hi guys!
I've wondered how Elvis' voice could change so much during the 50's to the 70'. Any suggestions?
Exercises!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Well, it's obvious that the power of his voice in the seventies was something he had't in the fifties.
I don't know exactly the reason of this change...but I can imagine he decided to grow up with his voice, maybe improving it with specific exercises or having the help of somebody...or maybe it was a natural improvment.
I'd like to know more about this...maybe someone can answer to this question!
It is natural that a voice changes while a singer grows older (of course, a 42yo doesn't sound like a 19,- or 20yo). Elvis' voice in his later period wasn't just lower; he also practised a lot during the years in order to reach a new level of vocal brilliance. I like the depth in the voice of the older Elvis and I think it's a combination of nature and Elvis' determination adding up to the change in sound.
When he started out it was audible that he could go from the low notes to the higher ones with ease (which means he had natural ability), but it sounded just a bit 'thin' and relatively weak. The big opera voice of the later years had so much power and depth.
I guess that there are other members who can shed some more light onto this subject.
all the goons I left behind,
memories still linger..
elvis's voice changed with practice.
he sang thousands of songs to the point that he got to be very good.
you only realize what a great singer elvis was when you try to sing his
songs.
you don't realize how dificult some of those songs are until you sing them.
most people prefer the elvis of the 70's but i think his voice was at it's best
during the 60's.
it the 70's he was doing too many concerts and at times his voice was exhausted.
but elvis always sang very well even in the fifties.
do you realize how hard it is to get a song like "jailhouse rock" perfect?
elvis had a great voice from the beginning, he just perfected it through the years.
if i can dream of a better land
When Elvis sang Jailhouse Rock in 1976, he sounded like Donald Duck
Without a song, the day would never end; without a song, a man ain't got a friend; without a song, the road would never bend - without a song.'
That's why he still keep singing a song
I'm sure someone out there has the details on this, but I have read several times that someone taught Elvis how to breathe and sing from his diaphragm, which gave him the more opera-type style. I just can't remember who it was that worked with him on that.
Before Elvis, there was nothing....
i think it was a guy from the jordainers.
it was in 1960 while elvis was trying to record "it's now or never"
he was having some trouble hiting the notes and jordan stoaker took him
aside in the bathroom and showed him a lesson in breath control.
after that he nailed the song.
if i can dream of a better land
In every decade his voice was astonishing. From classic hit after hit from the fifties, to the unbelievable voice change after his army return, to the brilliance of his gospel recordings and that of the 69 sessions, to the singing clinic he put on for the Aloha show, and finally his heartfelt jungle room sessions. his genius always came through, that and his other qualities are the reason why 29 years after his death, he's still the King.
Just think about Mystery Train from the fifties and Heartbreak Hotel, or Mean Woman Blues. He had a very powerful voice since the beginning. Of course his voice matured during the years as everyone's does. He got a few lessons helping him to breathe or put his voice in the right place and he was a fast learner so he could do it. Elvis was totally natural but he also needed some guidance. Even in his famous moves. Look at him moving in the Dorsey show and then on the Ed Sullivan show. Then in Jailhouse rock he was taught and guided by the proffessional dancer Russ Tamblyn to sharpen up his dancing style. You can see the difference and the development. He did it HIS way.
It was Ray Walker, not Gordon Stoker, who Elvis sought out. Ray told him to imagine he was about to 'throw up' in order to get to the higher notes.Originally Posted by robman
Carolyn
"Walk A Block In My Socks"
It was'nt Now or never that Elvis was having trouble with either. It was Surrender
I think Elvis must've had lessons while he was in the army. I heard that Charlie Hodge helped Elvis with his voice control, because when Elvis came back, he sounded a lot more different. Still like Elvis, but more controlled. Elvis might have got vibrato from copying other singers like Mario Lanza that he listened to, i guess this because i got vibrato by copying Elvis.
And BTW, I have tried about 300 songs that Elvis done, and songs like 'American trilogy', Hurt', and 'Big Hunk 'o love' are NOT EASY to master. On Trilogy, you have the final note which is a real killer, Hurt tortures your vocal chords the whole way through, and songs like Big Hunk o love or Jailhouse Rock are very ahrd to sing clearly because they are so fast and you can't get the diction right. If you wanna hear how well Elvis sings Jailhouse rock, speed it up by half of its recorded speed, and you will still hear Elvis and his diction with the words still very clear. Elvis was a friggin great vocalist!!!!!!!
sincerely, Scott, a 15 year old Elvis fan
prayers to Jackie my auntie in law, and R.I.P Charlie Hodge, both victims of cancer
That's something I also read somewhere. I'm not 100% sure, but it was clearly audible that Elvis had learned something when he came out of the army..! There were some great records: It's Now Or Never (O Sole Mio), Surrender (Torna a Surriento), Tonight's So Right For Love (Offenbach's 'Barcarolle' - Orpheus in die Unterwelt)..
Yes, it was something new for sure and there was this unique European opera-style to it.. Elvis did it very well and prooved he could perform songs from a lot of different genres..
I sometimes feel that every Elvis-era had some specific quality to offer. Jailhouse Rock was magnificent in '57 and '68 - just like 'Hurt' was great in '76-'77..
Anyway you look at it, Elvis' gift was not just about being technically wonderful. There was something emotional to it; while Elvis wasn't the only singer capable of doing an opera, few can match that 'feeling', even if it wasn't for an opera-song : 'Love Me Tender', for instance, doesn't sound like the opera, but the way Elvis sang it in '56 was so sincere, honest and touching.
On top of that there was his versatility..
Last edited by EnigmaticSun; 06-09-2006 at 05:54 AM.
all the goons I left behind,
memories still linger..
My friend is singer in Queen revival - he?s great singer and I asked him for opinion of Elvis singing. That?s his opinion: - Elvis had a relatively "usual" range for great singers and there are some singers who kills him in that (for example Freddie Mercury or Ian Gillan who both have one more octave that EP had - 3,75 octaves for FM, 3,5 octaves for IG) - Elvis had something like 2 and half octave range (I don?t know lowest and highest notes in CONCRETE, but what I know lowest was D2, highest was B4 but I think that he was able to hit C5, including falsetto he was able to hit D5 what I heard), but what makes his voice so AMAZING was his tone and his ability to change the tone.
My other friend is musician and he studies music on college and their teacher is talking about Elvis as best example for beautiful tone. His voice had a depth, he knew his voice amazingly, so he had absolute control of him and it?s just amazing, HE was one of most universal voices if not most despite the "normal vocal range"! The hardest what is almost impossible to "cover" after Elvis is to give that EMOTION to his songs and that FEEL that he was able to give.... And that makes him one of best singers of history!
(Blackmore - Gillan - Glover - Lord - Paice)
Sweet child in time
you?ll see the line
line that?s drawn between
good and bad
see the blind man
shooting at the world
bullets flying taking toll
If you?ve been a bad
oh Lord I bet you have
and you?ve not been hit
by flying led
you?d better close your eyes
you?d better bow your head and
wait for the ricochet
- Lyrics of most beautiful song in rock music ever!!!
I'm sorry, but you're completely mistaken by your friend's opinion. Here are some quotes by experts about Elvis unusual range and voice (source wikiquote.com)
* ...Presley has been described variously as a baritone and a tenor. An extraordinary compass - the so-called register-, and a very wide range of vocal color have something to do with this divergence of opinion. The voice covers two octaves and a third, from the baritone low-G to the tenor high B, with an upward extension in falsetto to at least a D flat. Presley's best octave is in the middle, D-flat to D-flat. Call him a high baritone. In "It's'now or never", (1960), he ends it in a full voice cadence (A, G, F), that has nothing to do with the vocal devices of Rhythm and Blues and Country. That A-note is hit right on the nose, and it is rendered less astonishing only by the number of tracks where he lands easy and accurate B-flats. Moreover, he has not been confined to one type of vocal production. In ballads and country songs he belts out full-voiced high G's and A's that an opera baritone might envy. He is a naturally assimilative stylist with a multiplicity of voices - in fact, Elvis' is an extraordinary voice, or many voices.
Henry Pleasants, in his book "The Great American Popular Singers".So even people when people can sing higher, lower, or louder than Elvis, the voice is still much more usual than the one of Elvis. Like with Freddy Mercury, his voice sounds the same on all of the recordings. Compare that with Elvis' sound/colour/dynamic and you'll find that he has 'more voices'.* ...I suppose you'd had to call him a lyric baritone, although with exceptional high notes and unexpectedly rich low ones. But what is more important about Elvis Presley is not his vocal range, nor how high, or low it extends, but where its center of gravity is. By that measure, Elvis was all at once a tenor, a baritone and a bass, the most unusual voice I've ever heard.
Gregory Sandows, Music Professor at Columbia University, published in "The Village Voice".
This diversity makes Elvis such an amazing singer. Compare his voice with other famous artists like Frank Sinatra, Michael Jackson, Mercury or even Andrea Bocelli. While they have only one voice (sound), Elvis had many. This diversity is most noticable during the 60s. In the 70s his voice became lower and warmer, but less diverse.
"A year from now, you'll wish you had started today"
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Yes, that?s the source of the notes in my postBut what is quoted here is just "same" what I said. Voice range was 2 and half or three octaves including falseto, that?s very good, but not "outstanding".... But as I said - he still was most universal voice - not because of range but because of variations of his "tones" or "colours" of voice, but that?s difference that classic "range"!
(Blackmore - Gillan - Glover - Lord - Paice)
Sweet child in time
you?ll see the line
line that?s drawn between
good and bad
see the blind man
shooting at the world
bullets flying taking toll
If you?ve been a bad
oh Lord I bet you have
and you?ve not been hit
by flying led
you?d better close your eyes
you?d better bow your head and
wait for the ricochet
- Lyrics of most beautiful song in rock music ever!!!
Sorry for the late late addition to this topic but have just stumbled on it.
I disagree with some of the comments made here as for me Elvis' change of voice had nothing to do with singing practice or otherwise. I think it just changed - plain and simple and he had no control over it. This was evident during the 68 special where his voice seemed to be inbetween and he was struggling to hit the higher notes. After that it was alot deeper and by the time he was singing the older songs in the 70s concerts there was no attempt to sound anything like the original.
Basically Elvis' change in voice is a strange one - simply because whilst many singers voices change as they approach pension age I can't think of any other singer whose voice changed so dramatically in such a short period - by the turn of the 70s he was only THIRTY FIVE and yet sounded nothing like when he was 25. Most singers would still sound identical in that period.
His best period IMO was early sixties when he probably had the largest vocal range with songs such as 'mess of blues', 'fountain of love' etc and the gospel album 'his hand in mine'. It's just a shame we never saw any live performances during that period when he probably would've nailed anything he sang (would loved to have heard Jailhouse Rock !!).
Steve.
I agree there are songs from the 60's that are absolutely amazing and his range can change almost instantly within a sentence. In the book 'Careless Love' Elvis is quoted as saying if he couldn't do a song in a take he wouldn't complete it. Elvis didn't like to cheat and he would do the whole song in a take for it to be used. This shows what a great vocalist he was.
spot on Albert
"NO-ONE, BUT NO-ONE,IS HIS EQUAL, OR EVER WILL BE. HE WAS, AND IS SUPREME".Mick Jagger
I do think that Elvis wanted a strong powerful voice-but he was not one to take lessons formally-his lessons were in his jams when he tried songs that he knew were out of his range...or not suited to the voice he had at the time.....and within those jams his voice grew into the strong powerful voice he truely wanted.
He loved the power and thrill of the high tenors and the boom and awe of great low bass singers-his inner vision was to have both in his own singing.
I think he achieved that.
Out of the Army he was ready to move his vocal technique up a notch-with "Its Now Or Never" and "Surrender" he knew he could do rock, knew he could do country & blues-but he wanted to prove he could be a great forceful ballad pop singer. He said in an interview in the 50s that he could not do ballads the way Pat Boone could-so I think he wanted to improve his ballads, improve overall his vocal ability.
IMO even the movie soundtracks helped him vocally-he sang, spanish flavored songs, Broadway type tunes, tin pan alley songs, blues, ballads country etc and he molded his voice into each style.......really fascinating how his voice evolved over time.
Work in Progress!
seems to me that even songs from the same album sound entirely different. sometimes I wonder if he's not imitating someone he admired.
Just pretend, I'm holding you, and whispering things soft and low.
And think of me, how it's gonna be and just pretend I didn't go
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