'' True Love Travels on a Gravel Road'' is a song written by the

Frazier Frazier is a Scottish surname. Notable people with the surname include: __NOTOC__ A * Adam Frazier (born 1991), American baseball player B *Brenda Frazier (1921-1982), American “celebutante” socialite during the Depression era C *Calvin ...

Owens Owens may refer to: Places in the United States *Owens Station, Delaware * Owens Township, St. Louis County, Minnesota *Owens, Missouri *Owens, Ohio *Owens, Virginia People * Owens (surname), including a list of people with the name * Owens Br ...

songwriting team and popularized by

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. It was originally recorded by

Duane Dee Duane Dee is an American country singer known for his many guest appearances at the Grand Ole Opry and also for a series of minor hits on the country charts, sometimes with songs that went on to be major hits for other artists. Born in Milwaukee, ...

in 1968, and was a very minor hit, reaching #58 on the country charts. Elvis recorded the song on 17 February 1969 at American Sound Studios in Memphis. He also performed the song at the International Hotel in the

Las Vegas Valley The Las Vegas Valley is a major metropolitan area in the Southern Nevada, southern part of the U.S. state of Nevada, and the second largest in the Southwestern United States. The state's largest urban agglomeration, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Stat ...

on January 26, 1970. It appears on ''

From Elvis in Memphis ''From Elvis in Memphis'' is the tenth studio album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released by RCA Records on June 17, 1969. It was recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis in January and February 1969 under the direc ...

'', as well as a number of compilations; ''The Memphis Record'', ''The Memphis 1969 Anthology: Suspicious Minds'', and '' From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential '60s Masters.''

Cover versions

*A 1969 recording of the song by

Percy Sledge Percy Tyrone Sledge (November 25, 1940 – April 14, 2015) was an American R&B, soul and gospel singer. He is best known for the song " When a Man Loves a Woman", a No. 1 hit on both the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 and R&B singles charts in 196 ...

enjoyed success as well. The version was released in November 1969. ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'' would later refer to it as "that rarely reprised Percy Sledge beauty "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road"

hich Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...

is no small blessing." The song is in key of

C major C major (or the key of C) is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and ...

with a progression from C to E minor, to F to G to C and is a mixture of country and gospel. Sledge, however, recorded the song on the Atlantic Records label in the key of

E major E major (or the key of E) is a major scale based on E, consisting of the pitches E, F, G, A, B, C, and D. Its key signature has four sharps. Its relative minor is C-sharp minor and its parallel minor is E minor. Its enharmonic equivalent, ...

with a funkier, more upbeat version. *In 1994 it was also released as a single by

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and new wave,The Impossible Bird ''The Impossible Bird'' is an album by British singer-songwriter Nick Lowe. Produced by Lowe and Neil Brockbank, it was released in the United Kingdom in 1994 on Demon Records and elsewhere by Upstart Records. Reception In a contemporary review ...

. Lowe said of the song, "I first heard "True Love Travels on a Gravel Road" on a compilation record that accompanied

Peter Guralnick Peter Guralnick (born December 15, 1943, in Boston, Massachusetts) is an American music critic, author, and screenwriter. He specializes in the history of early rock and roll and has written on Elvis Presley, Sam Phillips, and Sam Cooke. Caree ...

's book ''Sweet Soul Music''. I love the title, I love those sort of gospely words, and it has a lovely tune. Percy Sledge's version is kind of jaunty, where mine is a little more downbeat. .. I love that thing where R & B meets country..." * The Highwaymen recorded the song and the Afghan Whigs recorded a version for their EP ''Uptown Avondale''. *Australian blues and root band

The Revelators The Revelators (also known as "The Delta Revelators") is an Australian blues rock band formed in 1989 by Joe Camilleri, James Black, Joe Creighton and Peter Luscome. Jeff Burstin joined in 1990. In Camilleri's own words, their desire was to " ...

covered the song on their 2000 album, ''

The Adventures of The Amazing Revelators ''The Adventures of The Amazing Revelators'' is the second studio album by Australian blues-rock band The Revelators. The album was recorded in four days and released in March 2000. At the ARIA Music Awards of 2001, the album was nominated for A ...

''. *German Rock ‘n‘ Roll band Big Bad Shakin‘ published a version together with the Babelsberger Filmorchester using strings and classical music elements on their 2012 album Hollywood Flamingo.

References

External links

* * * * 1968 songs 1968 singles 1994 singles Songs written by A.L. "Doodle" Owens Songs written by Dallas Frazier Elvis Presley songs Percy Sledge songs Nick Lowe songs The Highwaymen (country supergroup) songs Capitol Records singles {{1960s-song-stub