Devil in Disguise

I owe this one to the Colonel Snow, who commented on the Rip it Up post and directed me to Elvis the kings site http://www.elvisthekingscourt.com/- worth a look for information and links if you haven't visited it.

I found some interesting links which Colonel Snow posted on the Elvis forum which I think is part of the same site. http://www.theelvisforum.com/post65037.html Thank you Colonel Snow.

This is one of them - the demo version of Devil in Disguise. Unlike most of the posts on here, Devil in Disguise wasn't a song Elvis picked up on but one which was specially written for him by the prolific team Giant Baum and Kaye who wrote many of his film songs. This was one of the better songs that was not featured in any of Presley's movies.



"(You're the) Devil in Disguise" is a UK number one single by Elvis Presley which was written by the songwriting team Giant, Baum and Kaye and published by Elvis Presley Music in 1963. It peaked at number three in the US on the Billboard singles chart and number nine on the Billboard Rhythm and Blues singles chart, becoming his last top ten single on the Rhythm and Blues charts. The single was certified "Gold" by the RIAA for sales in excess of 1 000,000 units in the US. The song also topped Japan's Utamatic record chart in the fall of 1963.


In 1963, when the song was debuted to a British audience on the BBC television show Juke Box Jury, the celebrity guest John Lennon voted the song “a miss” stating on the new song that Elvis Presley was "like Bing Crosby now."
Presley originally recorded the song May 26, 1963 at RCA Studios in Nashville. "(You're the) Devil in Disguise" and its flipside, "Please Don't Drag That String Around", was recorded for a full-length album that was scheduled for release in 1963, but RCA chose instead to release the album piecemeal on singles and as soundtrack album bonus tracks.
The song is noted for Presley's singing in a low register to represent the Devil with the repeated phrase "Oh, Yes, You Are", before the song's fade." Source  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(You're_the)_Devil_in_Disguise

In 1963 Elvis's chart positions slipped from a string of No 1's and 2's in the UK NME charts to No 9 for One Broken Heart for Sale and then hitting various points outside the top ten, perhaps 11, 12 14. Devil in Disguise hit the No 2 spot in the UK NME charts, kept from the top, not by the Beatles, but Frank Ifield's Confessing (that I Love you) in July 1963.

Chart positions faltered again after that until in 1965, to great surprise, Crying in the Chapel topped the charts in the UK.

THE WRITERS
The song was written by Giant, Baum and Kaye. http://rarerockinrecords.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/giant-baum-kaye-poof-up-in-smoke.html

Bill Giant (who sang on the demo) "(March 2, 1930 – November 26, 1987) was a songwriter whose work included over 40 songs for Elvis Presley. Giant grew up in New York City and was known as Bill (Harvey) Zimmerman. He was part of the popular songwriting team Giant, Baum and Kaye, writing songs with Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye. The majority of their work was used in Presley movies, although their most popular recording was "(You're The) Devil in Disguise" which reached #3 on the Billboard charts. They were also credited with writing the American version of Osamu Tezuka's anime "Kimba the White Lion" (1965). Bill also wrote the Pat Boone hit "Speedy Gonzales". Source http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Giant

"Bernie Baum  (October 13, 1929 – August 28, 1993) would be the first to have any sort of success, he wrote with Stephen Weiss "Music, Music, Music" which went to number 1 in 1950 and was recorded by numerous people including Petula Clark, Bill Haley & The Comets, The Happenings and many other versions. This made Bernie very popular and he was only 19 years old and he became the "Golden Boy of The Brill Building". It was during this period in 1950 where Florence meets Bernie in front of the Brill Building and they decided to be a songwriting team.

The first two important compositions were "Heaven Knows Why" & "Believing In You" were recorded by The Four Sensations and released on Rainbow Records in 1952. It was reviewed by Billboard on January 26, 1952 giving "Heaven Knows Why" an Excellent rating. "Heaven Knows Why" was covered by Bob Connolly, Wini Brown & Her Boyfriends & Bill Farrell all in 1952. In 1953 Lee Fields recorded the Baum-Kaye written with Mark Woods song "Apron Strings, Apron Strings" backed with her own version of "Believing In You" it was released in 1953 by Barry Records and Billboard released an Ad for the record on March 7, 1953. Other versions of "Believing In You" are by Sandy Solo also on the Barry label. "Apron String, Apron String" became "Mama's Boy" in 1959 and recorded again by Lee Fields under the name of Linda Fields on Brunswick Records. Another notable song is "Can You" recorded by Micki Marlo in 1954 for Capitol Records." Source http://rarerockinrecords.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/giant-baum-kaye-poof-up-in-smoke.html

Florence Kaye "(January 19, 1919 - May 12, 2006) was a member of a song-writing trio that also included Harvey Zimmerman (better known as Bill Giant) and Bernie Baum. She was born in New York City. She performed a radio show in Georgia and entertained troops for United Service Organizations." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Florence_Kaye

Read more about their careers here http://rarerockinrecords.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/giant-baum-kaye-poof-up-in-smoke.html