Elvis Presley – "A Little Less Conversation" (JXL Radio Edit Remix) (2002)

Don’t procrastinate

Don’t articulate

Girl, it’s getting late

ELV1S: 30 #1 Hits is an Elvis Presley greatest hits collection released by RCA Records in 2002.  

It included the 18 singles that reached #1 on the Billboard “Hot 100,” plus 13 singles that made it to #1 in the UK but not in the U.S.  

You don’t need a calculator to figure out that 18 plus 13 doesn’t equal 30.  Elvis actually had 31 singles that reached #1 in either the U.S. or the UK.  

So why was the album titled 30 #1 Hits?

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In 2002, Dutch musician Tom Holkenborg (a/k/a JXL) remixed Elvis’s 1968 recording of “A Little Less Conversation.”  That remix hit #1 in the UK just before the 30 #1 Hits was scheduled to be released, so RCA decided to add it to that compilation.

God only knows why RCA didn’t change the title of the album from 30 #1 Hits to 31 #1 Hits.  (I’m guessing it had something to do with saving money.)

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I mentioned before that Elvis had 18 #1 singles in the U.S., and that 13 additional Elvis singles made it to #1 in the UK.

But six singles made it to #1 in both countries.

So Elvis actually had more #1 hits in the UK than in the U.S. – 19 compared to 18.

I find that very surprising.  I had no idea that Elvis was even more overrated in the UK than he was in the U.S.

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I’m featuring Elvis in the 29th and final of this year’s “29 Posts in 29 Days” because I think he is unquestionably the most overrated recording artist of my lifetime.

Take a look at Elvis’s #1 hits sometime.  Most of them were released between 1956 and 1962 – a period of time when popular music was truly horrible.

The top selling records of those years included “Love Letters in the Sand” and “April Love” by Pat Boone, “Singing the Blues” by Guy Mitchell, “It’s All in the Game” by Tommy Edwards, “At the Hop” by Danny & the Juniors, and “Rock and Roll Waltz” by Kay Starr.

Given the level of competition, it’s hardly a surprise that crap like “Don’t Be Cruel,” “All Shook Up,” “Teddy Bear,” “Love Me Tender,” and “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” were so successful.

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The original version of today’s featured song – which was written by Mac Davis and “Wrecking Crew” member Billy Strange – may be my favorite Elvis song ever.

“Viva Las Vegas” is pretty good, too.

But after that, you fall right off the cliff.

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Click here to listen to Elvis Presley’s 31st #1 hit single.

Click on the link below to buy the song from Amazon: