Guitar Man (song)#Elvis Presley version
{{Short description|1967 song by Jerry Reed}}
{{For|the song by Bread|The Guitar Man}}
{{For|the song by Duane Eddy|(Dance with the) Guitar Man}}
{{Infobox song
| name = Guitar Man
| cover = Jerry Reed cropped.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Jerry Reed
| album = The Unbelievable Guitar and Voice of Jerry Reed
| B-side = It Don't Work That Way
| released = {{Start date|1967}}
| recorded = 1967
| studio =
| genre = Rock and roll; Country
| length = {{Duration|m=2|s=25}}
| label = RCA Victor
| writer = Jerry Reed
| producer = Chet Atkins
| prev_title = If I Don't Live Up to It
| prev_year = 1965
| next_title = Tupelo Mississippi Flash
| next_year = 1967
}}
"Guitar Man" is a 1967 song written and recorded by Jerry Reed, who took it to #53 on the Billboard country music charts in 1967. Elvis Presley soon covered the song,{{Gilliland |url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc19756/m1/ |title=Show 8 - The All American Boy: Enter Elvis and the rock-a-billies. [Part 2] |show=8}} singing over Reed's guitar; the collaboration reached #1 on the Billboard "Hot country singles" charts.
Elvis Presley versions
{{Infobox song
| name = Guitar Man
| cover = Elvis_Presley_Guitar_Man_1968_Picture_Sleeve.jpg
| alt =
| type = single
| artist = Elvis Presley
| album = Clambake
| B-side = High Heel Sneakers
| released = {{Start date|1968|01|03}}
| recorded = September 10, 1967
| studio = RCA Studio B, Nashville
| genre = Rock and roll
| length =
| label = RCA Victor
| writer = Jerry Reed Hubbard
| producer = Felton Jarvis
| prev_title = Big Boss Man" b/w "You Don't Know Me
| prev_year = 1967
| next_title = U.S. Male" b/w "Stay Away
| next_year = 1968
}}
According to Peter Guralnick's two-volume biography of Presley, the singer had been trying to record the tune, but missed the sound Jerry Reed had brought to the original release. RCA managed to locate Reed and brought him to the session at RCA's Studio B in Nashville. The twelfth take eventually became the 1968 single master, after Reed overdubbed some additional guitar and the length was edited to omit Elvis ad-libbing Ray Charles' "What'd I Say" (which he had previously covered in 1963 for Viva Las Vegas) towards the end of that take.
Presley opened his 1968 comeback special a medley of Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller's "Trouble" and this number. With dark, moody lighting highlighting his presence, the sequence alluded to Presley's original "dangerous" image, and served to prove that the singer was still "sexy, surly and downright provocative."Doll, Susan. [https://books.google.com/books?id=nr0ciqF0g4QC&pg=PA154 Understanding Elvis: Southern Roots vs. Star Image] 1998. p. 154.Doll, Susan. [https://books.google.com/books?id=hfGZx5KPwjAC&pg=PT200 Elvis for Dummies] 2009. p. 182.
Under the supervision of Presley's producer Felton Jarvis, the song was (partially) re-recorded in 1980 with a new backing track that again included Jerry Reed playing his unique guitar licks, and spent one week at number one on the country chart the following year.{{cite book |title= The Billboard Book Of Top 40 Country Hits: 1944-2006, Second edition |last=Whitburn |first=Joel |author-link=Joel Whitburn |year=2004 |publisher=Record Research |page=273}}
=Personnel (Elvis Presley versions)=
1967 recording
- Elvis Presley – lead vocals
- Jerry Reed – lead guitar
- Scotty Moore — rhythm guitar
- Chip Young – rhythm guitar
- Harold Bradley – rhythm guitar
- Bob Moore – bass
- Floyd Cramer – piano
- D. J. Fontana — drums
- Buddy Harman – drums{{Cite web|url=https://keithflynn.com/recording-sessions/670910.html|title=Elvis Presley Recording Sessions |author-last=Flynn |author-first=Keith}}
1980 re-recording
- Elvis Presley – lead vocals
- Jerry Reed – lead guitar
- Jerry Shook — rhythm guitar
- Larry Byrom — rhythm guitar
- Mike Leech — bass
- David Briggs — piano
- Jerry Carrigan — drums
Chart performance
=Jerry Reed=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Chart (1967) ! Peak |
| U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles
|align="center"|53 |
=Elvis Presley=
| class="wikitable sortable"
! Chart (1967) ! Peak |
| Canada{{cite web|url=http://www.collectionscanada.gc.ca/obj/028020/f2/nlc008388.100177.pdf| title=RPM Top 100 Singles - March 9, 1968}}
|align="center"|36 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 {{Cite web |title=Club Elvis - 1968 |url=http://www.clubelvis.org/clubElvis/es/elvis/discography/1968.html |access-date=2024-05-28 |website=www.clubelvis.org}}
|align="center"|43 |
| U.S. Cash Box Top 100
|align="center"|42 |
References
{{reflist}}
{{Elvis Presley singles}}
{{authority control}}
Category:Songs about musicians
Category:Songs written by Jerry Reed
{{1960s-country-song-stub}}