Black Velvet

Album

Alannah Myles

Label

Atlantic Records

Genre

Country rock

Duration

2:00

Composer(s)

David Tyson;Christopher Ward

Entered Chart

Jan 6, 1990

Peak Date

Mar 24, 1990

Released

July 26, 1989

Recorded

Unknown

Catalog #

Atlantic 88742

B-Side

If You Want To

This song is about Elvis Presley. Some lyric analysis: "Jimmie Rodgers on the Victrola up high" - Jimmie Rodgers, a country music pioneer from Elvis' home state of Mississippi, influencing Elvis (the baby) at an early age. The Victrola is the record player, played loudly. "Mama's dancin' with baby on her shoulder" - Gladys Presley dancing with the infant Elvis. "Black velvet and that little boy's smile" - You can buy a black velvet Elvis painting at any respectable yard sale. Early female fans were drawn to his "Little boy smile." "Black velvet with that slow southern style" - Elvis delivered some of his songs with slow, undulating hips. Check out "Steamroller Blues" live. "Up in Memphis the music's like a heatwave" - Sun Studios. The epicenter of early rock music and where Elvis recorded. "White lightning, bound to drive you wild" - rock music and booze. "Mama's baby's in the heart of every school girl" - A reference to the baby in the early part of the song, being loved by all the young girls. "Love Me Tender leaves 'em cryin' in the aisle" - Love Me Tender was a huge hit for Elvis in 1956. "The way he moved, it was a sin, so sweet and true" - Elvis' legendary hips swivel, the Pelvis. "Every word of every song that he sang was for you. In a flash he was gone, it happened so soon, what could you do?" - Elvis died suddenly in 1977. This was a Canadian production: The song was written by the Canadian musicians David Tyson and Christopher Ward, and Myles is from Toronto. Ward and Myles were a couple and also worked together - she sang on his 1981 solo album Time Stands Still. Teaming up with Tyson, Ward put together a demo tape for Myles which got her a deal with Atlantic Records. Produced by Tyson and Ward, Alannah Myles was her first album, and it was a huge hit in Canada, becoming the top-selling debut album in Canadian history. "Black Velvet" was the first US single, and it was a massive hit, rising to #1 in March 1990, where it stayed for two weeks. The US follow-up single was another song written by Tyson and Ward, "Love Is." That song went to #36 and was her last chart entry in America. She did have several more hits in Canada. Christopher Ward got the idea for this song when he was a VJ for the Canadian music channel MuchMusic. He was sent to Memphis to cover the 10th anniversary of Elvis' death (August 16, 1987), which exposed him to many fervent Elvis fans. Inspired by their passion for the rocker, he took notes while he was working on the special (which was called Mecca in Memphis), writing lyrics based on what Elvis meant to his fans and what it must have been like for him growing up in the South. Myles won a Grammy award for Best Female Rock Performance for this song, along with several Juno Awards. Additionally, this won a Diamond award for sales in excess of 1,000,000 in Canada, the only time an artist has won this for her debut record. ASCAP awarded the song a 'Millionaire Award' in 2005 for over 4 million radio plays in the USA. According to the song's writer Christopher Ward, a key line in this song is "A new religion that will bring you to your knees." He says he got the idea for that line after realizing that Elvis' affect on fans was similar to what churchgoers would feel after being exhorted by fundamentalist preachers. The country singer Robin Lee, also signed to Atlantic Records, recorded a popular cover of this song on her 1990 album, which was also called Black Velvet. Another popular cover of the song was by Crystal Bowersox, who performed the song when she was a contestant on season 9 of American Idol, where she finished second. Released as a single, her version bubbled under at #124 on the Hot 100. In a CBC Newsworld interview, Myles revealed that she was cheated by her record company, which kept her from cashing in on this song. Myles said she received her first-ever royalty check for the song on April 1, 2008. She signed that record deal when she was young and naive; the singer ended up paying $7 million on expenditures for her first three albums, all deducted out of her take. Myles said that when she should have been dining out on the success of this song and her other recordings, instead she had been living in poverty, at times struggling to pay her rent.

Mississippi in the middle of a dry spell
Jimmie Rodgers on the Victrola up high
Mama's dancin' with baby on her shoulder
The sun is settin' like molasses in the sky
The boy could sing, knew how to move ev'rything
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for
Black velvet and that little boy smile
Black velvet with that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring you to your knees
Black velvet if you please

Up in Memphis the music's like a heat wave
White Lightnin' bound to drive you wild
Mama's baby's in the heart of ev'ry school girl
"Love Me Tender" leaves 'em cryin' in the aisle
The way he moved, it was a sin, so sweet and true
Always wanting more, he'd leave you longing for

Black velvet and that little boy smile
Black velvet and that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring you to your knees
Black velvet if you please

Ev'ry word of ev'ry song that he sang was for you
In a flash he was gone, it happened so soon
What could you do?

Black velvet and that little boy smile
Black velvet in that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring you to your knees
Black velvet if you please

Black velvet and that little boy smile
Black velvet in that slow southern style
A new religion that'll bring you to your knees
Black velvet if you please

If you please
If you please
If you please