Songs You May Not Know Were Covers Vol. 6: Suspicious Minds (#8)

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The long holiday weekend is winding down here in the States. I hope everyone had a good one and a safe one. I'll try to ease you back into the working week, not with that great Elvis Costello song but rather another big hit that was a cover. Here's the next song on the list. #8: Suspicious Minds Ah, those Fine Young Cannibals. They were so fine, and so young, and so...well, with a band name like that I have to wonder if anyone was a vegetarian! In 1986 the FYC released their version of the classic Elvis song. While not a runaway smash, it did respectable on a number of charts world-wide, setting the stage of the Cannibals' successful run. Of course, you know that was a cover of Elvis. No, I'm talking about the Elvis song. Back in 1959 a songwriter by the name of Francis Zambon wrote the song because his wife at the time...guess what! Had suspicions of his "feelings" for his one-time high school sweetheart! Now, you know that "Francis Zambon" won't make a great chart-topping name, so he recorded the song under the pseudonym "Mark James." It didn't help. His version flopped. Then Elvis recorded it a decade later and James didn't really care about his failed recording anymore. BTW, James has also written or co-written a couple of other songs associated with Elvis: "Always on My Mind" and "Moody Blue." When you listen to the Mark James original you won't hear much that sounds different...except when his version fades out, it stays faded! Suspicious Minds Written by Mark James Originally recorded by Mark James, 1959 Famously covered by Elvis Presley, 1969 Also famously covered by the Fine Young Cannibals, 1986 If an old friend I know: