… isn’t such a new thing. Fever started long ago!

The album you hold in your hands is the second CD, released by the band Sam’s Fever. It features 11 of Elvis’s greatest hits: “If I Can Dream”, “Way Down”, “Little Sister”, “Stuck on You”, “It’s Now or Never”, “Mystery Train”, “Are You Lonesome Tonight”, “Blue Suede Shoes”, “I Just Can’t Help Believing”, “Fever” and “Devil in Disguise”, re-interpreted by Sam’s Fever. The arrangements have a contemporary flavour, combining Latin, funk and jazz rhythms and a bit of soul.

What is particularly interesting about this album is that it was not fully recorded in the studio. It contains 2 live tracks from our concert in Križanke, Ljubljana, while the song “If I Can Dream” was recorded at our show in Germany, and features Grammy- and Oscar-winning actress Darlene Love, who collaborated with Elvis in 1968, on vocals, and James Burton, Elvis’s lead guitarist from 1969 until his death in 1977, on guitar.

CD Description

The title of this album, as well as the name of our band, was inspired by Elvis’s hit single “Fever”, originally written by Eddie Cooley and Otis Blackwell under the pseudonym John Davenport.

The song was first recorded in April 1956 by R&B singer Little Willie John, who featured it on his debut album, also entitled Fever. The song made it to No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, was well received by both music critics and the masses, and was listed on several top music charts.

Later on it was re-interpreted by a number of music artists. One of the most widely-recognized versions of the song was recorded by Peggy Lee, who somewhat altered the lyrics and the arrangement. Lee’s interpretation of “Fever” made it among the top 5 hit songs on music charts in Great Britain and Australia, and among the top 10 in the USA and the Netherlands, and was nominated for its first Grammy award in three separate categories in 1959.

Two years later Elvis released an almost identical cover of the song to Lee’s, and included it on his album Elvis is Back!, where he collaborated with the following musicians: Hank Garland (bass), Bob Moore (contrabass) in D.J Fontana and Buddy Harman (drums).

Fever

In 1968 James, overwhelmed with work, declined his appearance on Elvis’s big TV comeback, but was able to collaborate with the King at his Las Vegas show the following year. Elvis’s accompanying band, TCB Band, was formed, with Burton as band leader. The band toured with Presley until his death, and continues to perform to this day.

James Burton and Elvis Presley

James Burton is a legendary guitarist who has been playing guitar for over 65 years. He taught himself how to play when he was just a boy, and during his pre-teen years he came up with a new way of playing, called Chicken Pickin’. When he was just 13 years old, he was already working as a semi-professional musician, and was hired to play on the popular radio show Louisiana Hayride in Shreveport at age 14. As a teenager he moved from Shreveport to Los Angeles, where he became a member of the Ricky Nelson band. He wrote and recorded the guitar solo for Dale Hawkins’s 1957 hit single Susie Q, which is ranked among the 500 top songs that shaped Rock’n’Roll. During his long-lasting career, he worked with many famous musicians, such as Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Jerry Lee Lewis, Elvis Costello, Joe Osborn, Roy Orbison and Joni Mitchell. In 2001, he was accepted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame, welcomed by his long-time fan Keith Richards. He also established his own foundation, the James Burton Foundation, which enables children from poor families to learn how to play guitar.

James Burton

from left to right: Darrell Toney, Samuel Hudl & James Burton

Sam’s Fever and James Burton met in 2015, the day after Sam’s Fever had won their first Elvis music competition at the Elvis Presley Festival in the town of Bad Nauheim, near Frankfurt, where Elvis had served his military service between the years 1958 and 1960. Sam’s Fever was then given the opportunity to play as the opening band for TCB Band, and share the stage with some of the musicians that played with Elvis himself (James Burton, Glenn D. Hardin and Ronnie Tutt). The band and Burton met again in May 2016 at a show, and agreed to collaborate on the upcoming album.

Burton loved the arrangement for “Mystery Train”, as shortening the verse and lengthening the refrain allowed him more space to extend his guitar solo, and gave him room to play around. He and Sam’s Fever are discussing the possibility of similar future collaborations. In January 2018, Sam’s Fever joined the members of TCB Band at a special show in Ljubljana, Slovenia, to commemorate Elvis’s 83rd birthday.

James Burton and Sam’s Fever

Darlene Love is a singer and an actress. As the daughter of a local pastor, she was greatly influenced by gospel music, and began singing in the church choir by the age of 10. When she was in high school, she was invited to join an all-girls music group called The Blossoms, who began working with producer Phil Spector in 1962. Love gained recognition with her No. 1 US hit single He’s a Rebel, released that same year, and the single Christmas (Baby Please Come Home).

Being a strong vocalist, she became a sought-after back-up singer, and ended up accompanying many legendary music artists, such as: Dionne Warwick, Bill Medley, Beach Boys, Elvis Presley, Tom Jones and Sonny and Cher, while The Blossoms’s timeless interpretations of many legendary songs, including: Baby I Need Your Loving, Be My Baby, Shelley Fabare and Da Doo Ron Ron, were gaining widespread recognition and praise.

Darlene Love

Love was also a member of the trio Bob B. Soxx & the Blue Jeans, who recorded Spector’s version of Zip-a-Dee-Doo-Dah, the Oscar-winning single from the 1946 movie Song of the South, which was ranked among the top 10 hit singles in 1963. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Darlene Love 84th among the top 100 greatest singers of all time.

In 2011, she was accepted into the Rock’n’Roll Hall of Fame. Her welcoming speech was delivered by Bette Middler, while Love performed the song Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Da, joined by Bruce Springsteen on guitar.Love has had her share of ups and downs in the music industry, and even abandoned her music career for a while to spend more time with her children, working as a maid instead. However, in the mid 90’s, she made her comeback.

Love is also an actress, best known for the role of Danny Glover’s wife in the film series Deadly Weapons. She was featured in the documentary 20 Feet from Stardom, portraying the lives and careers of back-up singers. The movie won an Academy Award for Best Documentary and a Grammy for Best Music in the Film.

SAM’S FEVER ARE: Samuel »Sam« Hudl – lead vocals (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,9,10,11), Rok Barle – guitars (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11), Blaž Pahor – piano, keyboards (2,3,4,5,7,9,10), Tilen Sušnik – bass (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11), Klemen Markelj – drums (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11), Tadej Vasle »Vaso« - keybords (1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11), LADYBUGZ – BACKING VOCALS: Nastja Vodenik (2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11), Ana Marčun (2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11), Katja Kovačič (2,3,4,5,7,9,10), BRASS SECTION: Kristjan Stibilj – tenor saxophone (2,3,4,5,7,8,9,10,11), Damijan Valentinuzzi – trumpet (2,3,4,5,7,9,10,11), Jan Nanut – trombone (2,3,4,5,7,9,10), FORMER MEMBERS ON RECORDINGS: Jan Gerl - piano, keyboards (1,6,11), Martin Pustinek – trombone (11), Jurij Cizej – bariton saxophone (8), Žan Cesar – trumpet (8), ACCOMPANYING GROUPS ON RECORDINGS:Big Band RTV Slovenia & strings (1,6), Jazzva – backing vocals (1,6), SPECIAL GUESTS: Darlene Love – lead vocals (8), James Burton – guitars (9), Milton Vann – backing vocals (8)

Recorded at: Benjamin Kic 2017/2018 (2,3,4,5,7,9,10,11)Recorded Live at “Križanke” Ljubljana on 29th August 2017: (1,6)Recorded Live at the 16th European Elvis Festival, Bad Nauheim on the 19th August 2017: (8)Multitrack recording: Boštjan Lah (1,6) Axel Scherb (8)Mastering: Benjamin KicPhotographs: Dare Brenko, Andy Pendl and Jože Hvala Image and Verbal Logo Design: Katja Gaspari LebenCover Design: Jana Furman

Fever (John Davenport, Eddie Cooley/*8. 4. 1960) 04:03

Stuck On You (J. Leslie McFarland, Aaron Schroeder/*23. 3. 1960) 02:23

Blue Suede Shoes (Carl Perkins/*March 1956) 03:09

It’s Now Or Never (Eduardo di Capua, Wally Gold, Aaron Schroeder/*5. 6. 1960) 04:24

Are You Lonesome Tonigt (Roy Turk, Steve Sholes/*1. 11. 1960) 04:08

Just Can’t Help Believing (Cynthia Weil, Barry Mann/*11. 11.1970) 04:49

(You’re The) Devil In Disguise (Florence Kaye, Bill Giant, Bernie Baum/*June 1963) 04:16

If I Can Dream (Walter Earl Brown/*22. 11. 1968) 08:32

Mystery Train (Junior Parker, Sam Phillips/*August 1955) 03:40

Little Sister (called Billie Jean) (Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman/* 8. 8.1961) 03:39

Way Down (Layng Martine Jr./*6. 6. 1977) 02:40

*The date of the first publication by Elvis

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