Local Elvis Fan Shares Favorites

Among the many delightful people we met at the September meeting of the “I’ll Love You, Elvis, Forever” Fan Club in Jacksonville was Jeff Carlsen. Jeff offered to share some of the many Elvis stories he’s collected over the years so that I, in turn, could share them on this blog. However, I found the letter that accompanied Jeff’s stories so intriguing and such a charming account from a true Elvis fan that first I’d like to share some of Jeff’s letter with you.

 Here’s what Jeff has to say about his favorite Elvis recordings:

 My introduction to the King of Rock and Roll was the 45rpm “(It’s a) Long Lonely Highway,” a record I stumbled upon in our basement. I still have the record, scratches and all. It’s my most sentimental record. Some 44 years later, this obscure “tickle me” tune remains my favorite EP song.

 My first Elvis Presley album was “Elvis Gold Records, Volume 2.” It was a gift from my sister Dianne and she later signed it “To my dear brother, a big hunk of love from your sister. Corny, but sincere. Before I knew it, I was buying Elvis Presley albums, cassettes and 8-tracks like they were going out of style. (Actually, the 8-tracks were, but that’s another story.) It wasn’t long before Elvis surpassed the Beatles as my favorite artist—my apologies to John, Paul, George and Ringo.

 If stranded on a desert island and I could have one album of my twenty favorite Elvis songs, (providing, of course, that I was lucky enough to have electricity and stereo equipment) the songs would be:

1. I Want You, I need You, I Love You
2. One-Sided Love Affair
3. I Was the One
4. Big Hunk O’ Love
5. (Now and Then There’s) A Fool Such as I
6. Such a Night
7. One Broken Heart for Sale
8. Puppet on a String
9. (It’s A) Long Lonely Highway
10. Viva Las Vegas
11. The Lady Loves Me (Duet with Ann-Margret)
12. Please Don’t Stop Loving Me
13. Almost
14. Suspicious Minds
15. You’ll Think of Me
16. If I Can Dream
17. Mary in the Morning
18. Separate Ways
19. Burning Love
20. Love Coming Down.

More from Jeff’s letter in our next blog along with stories he’s collected from various people who had personal relationships with Elvis.