"Paralyzed" is a 1956 song recorded 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 ...

for his album ''

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...

''. The song was recorded on September 1, 1956, and has been well received by music critics. The song was written by

Otis Blackwell Otis Blackwell (February 16, 1931 – May 6, 2002) was an American songwriter whose work influenced rock and roll. His compositions include " Fever" (recorded by Little Willie John), " Great Balls of Fire" and " Breathless" (recorded by Jerr ...

, with Elvis receiving partial song-writing credit.

Chart history

"Paralyzed" reached #59 on the ''Billboard'' pop singles chart in 1956. The song was off of the ''Elvis'' album. The song was released as an EP by RCA Victor in the U.S.: ''Elvis Volume 1'', RCA EPA-992, which was released on October 19, 1956. The EP peaked on the ''Billboard'' EP Chart at #4. In the UK, "Paralyzed" reached no. 8 after its release in August, 1957 in a 10-week chart run as an HMV single, 45-POP 378, backed with " When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again".

Album appearances

Elvis Presley performed the song on the 1956

Million Dollar Quartet "Million Dollar Quartet" is a recording of an impromptu jam session involving Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Carl Perkins, and Johnny Cash made on December 4, 1956, at the Sun Record Studios in Memphis, Tennessee. An article about the session ...

sessions and live in concert in 1956. A live version is featured on the 5-CD box set ''The Young Man with the Big Beat'' (2011). The song also appears on the 1990 BMG collection ''The Million Dollar Quartet'' and ''The Complete Million Dollar Quartet''. The song is also on the box set ''The King of Rock and Roll: The Complete 1950s Masters'' by RCA/BMG. The song was also performed on the December 16, 1956

Louisiana Hayride ''Louisiana Hayride'' was a radio and later television country music show broadcast from the Shreveport Municipal Memorial Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, that during its heyday from 1948 to 1960 helped to launch the careers of some of the ...

Personnel

The song was recorded at Radio Recorders, Hollywood, California, produced by Steve Sholes and engineered by Thorne Nogar. Musicians: *Guitar: Elvis Presley *Guitar: Scotty Moore *Bass: Bill Black *Drums: D.J. Fontana *Piano: Elvis Presley *Backup Vocals: The Jordanaires: Gordon Stoker; Neal Matthews; Hoyt Hawkins; Hugh Jarrett

Other recordings by notable artists

Dave Edmunds recorded the song in 1986 as part of his live album I Hear You Rockin'.

Ronnie McDowell Ronald Dean McDowell Sr. (born March 25, 1950) is an American country music artist, songwriter, and actor. He is best known for his 1977 song "The King Is Gone", a tribute to Elvis Presley, who had recently died. From that single onward, McDowell ...

Graham Parker Graham Thomas Parker (born 18 November 1950) is an English singer-songwriter, who is best known as the lead singer of the British band Graham Parker & the Rumour. Life and career Early career (1960s–1976) Parker was born in Hackney, East L ...

, Johnny Earl and

The Jordanaires The Jordanaires were an American vocal quartet that formed as a gospel group in 1948. Over the years, they recorded both sacred and secular music for recording companies such as Capitol Records, RCA Victor, Columbia Records, Decca Records, Vocal ...

Alan Merrill Alan Merrill (born Allan Preston Sachs; February 19, 1951 – March 29, 2020) was an American vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. In the early 1970s, he was one of the few resident foreigners to achieve pop star status in Japan. He was the write ...

and

Billy Fury Ronald Wycherley (17 April 1940 – 28 January 1983), better known as Billy Fury, was an English singer, musician, songwriter, and actor. An early star of rock and roll, he equalled the Beatles' record of 24 hits in the 1960s and spent 332 we ...

have also recorded the song.

References

Sources

*Victor, Adam. The Elvis Encyclopedia. Overlook Duckworth; 2008. . *Wadey, Paul. "Jake Hess". The Independent. January 8, 2004 ited December 28, 2009 *Warwick, Neil; Kutner, Jon; Brown, Tony. The Complete Book of the British Charts: Singles & Albums. 3rd ed. Omnibus Press; 2004. . *Waters, Lindsay. "Come Softly, Darling, Hear What I Say: Listening in a State of Distraction—A Tribute to the Work of Walter Benjamin, Elvis Presley, and Robert Christgau". Boundary 2. Spring 2003. *Whitburn, Joel. Billboard Top 1000 Singles 1955–1992. Billboard Books; 1993. . *Whitburn, Joel. The Billboard Book of Top 40 Hits. 8th ed. Billboard Books; 2004. {{Elvis Presley singles 1956 songs Elvis Presley songs Songs written by Otis Blackwell Songs written by Elvis Presley