Suspicion (Terry Stafford song)
| "Suspicion" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Terry Stafford | ||||
| from the album Suspicion | ||||
| B-side | "Judy" | |||
| Released | February 1964 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Genre | Rockabilly | |||
| Length | 2:27 | |||
| Label | Crusader C 101 | |||
| Writer(s) | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | |||
| Producer(s) | John Fisher | |||
| Terry Stafford singles chronology | ||||
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| "Suspicion" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Elvis Presley | ||||
| from the album Pot Luck | ||||
| A-side |  "Kiss Me Quick" Suspicion |
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| B-side | Suspicion "It Hurts Me" |
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| Released | April 16, 1964 May 1964 |
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| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | March 19, 1962 | |||
| Genre | rockabilly | |||
| Length | 2:35 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor 447-0639
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| Writer(s) | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | |||
| Elvis Presley singles chronology | ||||
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| "Suspicion" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Elvis Presley | ||||
| from the album Pot Luck | ||||
| A-side | "Kiss Me Quick"/ "Suspicion" | |||
| B-side | "Sentimental Me"/ "I Want You With Me" |
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| Released | May 1964 | |||
| Format |  EP Elvis Sings Kiss Me Quick |
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| Recorded | March 19, 1962 | |||
| Genre | rockabilly | |||
| Length | 2:35 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor 20277 | |||
| Writer(s) | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | |||
| Elvis Presley singles chronology | ||||
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| "Suspicion" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Single by Elvis Presley | ||||
from the album Elvis in Demand  |
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| B-side | "It's a Long Lonely Highway" | |||
| Released | November 26, 1976 | |||
| Format | 7" single | |||
| Recorded | March 9, 1962 | |||
| Genre | rockabilly | |||
| Length | 2:35 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor 2768 | |||
| Writer(s) | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | |||
| Elvis Presley singles chronology | ||||
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"Suspicion" is a song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman for Elvis Presley which became a major hit in 1964 via a recording by Presley sound-alike Terry Stafford.
Contents
Elvis Presley version
One of 25 songs written by Pomus/Shuman for Elvis Presley, "Suspicion" was recorded by Presley on March 19, 1962 in Studio B of RCA's Nashville studio and issued on Presley's album Pot Luck released June 15, 1962. In April 1964 when the Terry Stafford version of "Suspicion" was in Top Ten of the Billboard Hot 100 the Presley original was given a US single release with "Kiss Me Quick" as the flip, and it was "Kiss Me Quick" which was the favored side reaching #34 nationally.
In Australia "Kiss Me Quick" and "Suspicion" appeared on the chart as a double A-side hit with a #56 peak: the actual format for this Australian release was a four track EP entitled Elvis Sings Kiss Me Quick' which featured "Kiss Me Quick" and "Suspicion" as A-side tracks with a B-side composed of "Sentimental Me" and "I Want You With Me".
"Suspicion" was also issued as a single in several European territories to vie with the Terry Stafford version with the Presley version charting in the Netherlands and the Dutch chart for Belgium with respective peaks of #9 and #6 and also in Norway where its chart peak was #9: in its European single release "Suspicion" featured "It Hurts Me" as B-side.
"Suspicion" would belatedly afford Presley a Top Ten hit in the UK where its December 1976 single release would rise to a peak of #9 on the chart dated February 5, 1977.
Terry Stafford version
After an unsuccessful 1963 affiliation with A&M Records, Terry Stafford cut a demo of "Suspicion" at the Los Angeles studio of Bob Summers: Summers, best known as the producer of the 1959 Larry Hall hit "Sandy", played all the instruments on the demo which Stafford and Stafford's manager pitched to record companies in the Los Angeles area and also to local radio stations including KFWB where disc jockey Gene Weed was impressed enough with the demo to take it next door to the headquarters of the newly formed Crusader Records. John Fisher, the president of Crusader, spent several hours remastering the demo with the resultant track becoming the second single released on Crusader.[1]
After breaking out in San Bernardino in January 1964 "Suspicion" had its top-tier market breakout in Los Angeles in February 1964 peaking in March 1964 at respectively number 2 and number 4 on the hit parades of KRLA and KFWB.[2] Nationally "Suspicion" rose from number 7 to number 6 on the Hot 100 in the Billboard dated 4 April 1964 which chart's top five hits were all by the Beatles, with "Suspicion" subsequently breaking the Beatles' monopoly on the upmost chart by rising to a #3 peak over the next two weeks. Stafford's "Suspicion" reached #31 in the UK Singles Chart.
Cover versions
"Suspicion" first became a C&W chart hit in 1971 via a remake by Bobby G. Rice which reached #33 C&W, with the track being included on Rice's debut album Hit After Hit. In 1988 "Suspicion" charted for Ronnie McDowell whose version, taken from McDowell's I'm Still Missing You album, reached #27 C&W.[3]
In 1964, Hong Kong songstress Rebecca Pan covered '"Suspicion" on her LP album I Love You, released by Diamond Records.
A maniacal version of the song was recorded by Vivian Stanshall, produced by Keith Moon.
"Suspicion" has also been covered by Jimmy London, Millicent Martin, and Delroy Wilson.
Phil Spector composition claim
In a 2002 interview with journalist Mick Brown, record producer Phil Spector claimed he wrote and/or produced "Suspicion", but did not receive credit: "I made 'Suspicion' for Terry Stafford -- I didn't get any credit or any money. I didn't care. I just loved making records."[4] However, in the same interview, Spector also made claims of producing records by Elvis Presley without credit, and acting as a translator for the United Nations while a teenager;[4] none of these unlikely claims have been corroborated by anyone else.
References
- ↑ http://keepkey.yochanan.net/terry.htm
- ↑ http://www.las-solanas.com/arsa/charts_item.php?hsid=10230
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Tearing Down the Wall of Sound by Mick Brown, pp 375.
