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Elvis SongPedia: Witchcraft

Witchcraft




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Basic Stats

(Just the facts, ma'am!)

Written by: Dave Bartholomew, Earl King (sometimes credited as "Pearl King" or "E.C. King")

Recorded: May 26, 1963, RCA Studio B, Nashville.
Released master is take 3.

Single: w/ "Bossa Nova Baby", RCA 47-8243, October 1, 1963
Also re-released as Gold Standard Series, 447-0642, August 1964

Highest U.S. Charts Positions:
#32 on Billboard's Hot 100
#33 on Cash Box Top 100

1st LP release: Elvis Gold Records, Volume 4 - February 1968
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"Witchcraft"
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For other versions, see
Lyrics and Downloads section below.



My Spin

(Just my opinion. Give us yours!)
In his 1963 "Lost Album" recording sessions, Elvis did his take on "Witchcraft", a 1955 hit by the R&B vocal group The Spiders from the same song-writing team that gave us "One Night" and loads of Fats Domino hits. Although The Spiders' rendition is a fine doo-wop performance, theirs has just a slight tempo change between verses and chorus, with the instrumentation and vocals pretty consistent throughout, whereas Elvis' take makes it a complete change from soft and quiet in the verses to loud and fast during the choruses, a drastic shift much like "Devil In Disguise". This contrast really works, kicking the chorus into high gear. Elvis gets into it, too, throwing some "a-hah-hah"s in between the lines. Boots Randolph shines on this one too with a nice sax solo!



Other Spins

(What did the critics and fans say?)


'Witchcraft' is a fast blues number. The opening is a standard bass line, but when Boots Randolph joins Presley, a great jive record results.

Robert Matthew-Walker, Elvis Presley: A Study in Music, 1979





Not Sinatra's famous 1958 hit (by Carolyn Leigh - Cy Coleman) which Elvis toyed with on Sinatra's Timex TV Special, May 12, 1960, but something else: a quiet intro that breaks into a swinger with a long sax break.

Martin Torgoff, The Complete Elvis, 1982



Check out other Elvis fans' opinions on the Elvis News page for Witchcraft.



Check out other opinions at Rate Your Music




"Witchcraft" Links


"Witchcraft" Lyrics and Downloads

Don't do that, please stop it
Please stop it now
You know I can't take it
Please stop it now

My head is spinning a spell on me now
My head is spinning around and around
My head is spinning around and around
Your witchcraft has got me
Keep going down and down

Let me forget her, don't mention her name
You know it brings back that old burning flame
It hurts to know that she doesn't feel the same

I can't go on since she left me alone
My one desire now is to cry, now to cry
She might come back one day by and by and by


Download the Karaoke Version!

Witchcraft karaoke - Elvis PresleyWitchcraft
Elvis Presley


Download or just listen to different versions!




What's YOUR Spin?!
What do YOU think of "Witchcraft"? Yea or Nea?

Yea! My Head Is Spinning!

Nea! Please Stop It Now!


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Study Up Some More!

Elvis song reference books on Amazon!

Ernst Jorgensen's complete chronicle of Elvis' recording sessions, with loads of detailed information about each session and each song.
This is the definitive encyclopedia on Elvis' life details, as well as all the background and trivia you need for all the songs, movies, and TV appearances. Authors are Fred L. Worth and Steve D. Tamerius.
The subtitle of Ace Collins' book says it all: "The stories behind Elvis' #1 hits"!
"Elvis The #1 Hits: The Secret History of the Classics". Another self-explanatory book title. :)