#i love elvis' rock and roll - blues and gospel songs but I'm a sucker for his country recordings beyond words could say

[hooked-on-elvis]

"You Asked Me To" (1973/1975)

"You Asked Me To" is a song written by the country singers Waylon Jennings and Billy Joe Shaver. Jennings first released the song in June 1973 on his album Honky Tonk Heroes, and the song spent fifteen weeks on the Billboard country singles charts. Elvis recorded the song on December 11, 1973 at Stax Records studios in Memphis, Tennessee, but it was only released during Elvis's 40th birthday (January 8, 1975) in the album Promised Land. The delay paid off. The country album peaked #1 on the Billboard's Top Country LPs chart, as well as the Cashbox Country albums chart.

THE MUSICIANS ON THIS TRACK: Guitar: James Burton, Johnny Christopher, Charlie Hodge. Bass: Norbert Putnam. Drums: Ronnie Tutt. Piano & Organ: David Briggs, Per-Erik Hallin. Vocals: Kathy Westmoreland, Mary (Jeannie) Greene, Mary Holladay, Susan Pilkington, Voice, J.D. Sumner & The Stamps. OVERDUBS — Guitar: Dennis Linde, Alan Rush. Percussion: Rob Galbraith. Piano: Bobby Ogdin. Organ: Randy Cullers. Vocals: Ginger Holladay, Mary Holladay, Mary Cain.

A LITTLE BIT ABOUT THE RECORDING MOMENT FOR THIS SONG IN 1973:

Studio Sessions for RCA, December 10–16, 1973: Stax Studios, Memphis The night began with "You Ask Me To", a Waylon Jennings song that had been one of several recent hits for the Texas singer-songwriter. As a teenager Jennings had watched the young Hillbilly Cat perform in his hometown of Lubbock, Texas, and he (like Buddy Holly, also from Lubbock) was impressed with what he saw. Now Elvis was following Jennings’s recording closely, and completed a lively take on the second try. For once, though, Elvis was satisfied before Felton [Jarvis]; the producer wanted to get something more from his singer, but when the hopped-up Elvis messed up on the next attempt, he started taking out his frustration on Felton. With the overwhelming criticism of the previous sessions, Felton felt compelled to push, encourage, and direct his artist, in an effort to make sure he gave the very best he could. Settling for take two just wasn’t good enough for what Felton was looking for, and though they had to fight through a few more mistake-ridden takes to get there, by take six he knew he’d done the right thing.

"You Ask Me To" by Waylon Jennings, released on the album Honky Tonk Heroes in June 1973:

My favorite part of Elvis' cover of this song, and what gives it a noticeable difference from Waylon Jennings' original recording as you can notice, is the backing vocals added to the tune. I simply LOVE the female voices accompanying Elvis during the chorus.

On the other hand, one thing I'm not sure why it happened is the minor difference in the title between the original release and Elvis' recording. The original title, as written on the cover of Waylon Jennings' 1973 album is "You Ask Me To", but in Elvis' 1975 album it's written "You Asked Me To", which are also words in the lyrics anyway but the slight change in the title for the past tense form may be a little confusing for the ones noticing it. Below, Elvis' Promised Land LP back cover and Waylon Jennings' Honky Tonk Heroes LP back cover.