Suspicious Minds is a 1968 song written and first recorded by American songwriter Mark James.
After this recording failed commercially, it was cut by Elvis Presley with producer Chips Moman, becoming a No.1 song in 1969, and one of the most memorable hits of Presley's career.
Suspicious Minds was one of the singles that revived Presley's chart success in the U.S., following his '68 Comeback Special. It was his eighteenth and last No.1 single in the United States. Rolling Stone ranked it No. 91 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. Session guitarist Reggie Young played on both the James and Presley versions.
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 co-writer of Always on My Mind, which 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.
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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 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 hot artist at the time. Crews and James thought of Suspicious Minds and James began urging others to get Presley to hear it. Even though James's recording had not been commercially successful, upon reviewing the song, Presley decided he could turn it into a hit.
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I think I was appearing with Tom Jones
and he came backstage to say hello to Tom
or we went to his dressing room to say hello.
Norm Crosby
