(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame

This article is about the hit song by Elvis Presley. For the 1980's Scottish girl group, see His Latest Flame (band).

"(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" is a song recorded in a hit version by Elvis Presley and published by Elvis Presley Music in 1961. It was written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman and first recorded by Del Shannon on the album Runaway with Del Shannon, which was released in June 1961.^[3][4]

"(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame"
Single by Elvis Presley
B-side	"Little Sister"
Released	August 8, 1961
Recorded	June 25, 1961[1]
Studio	RCA Studio B, Nashville
Genre	Rock[2]
Length	2:07
Label	RCA Victor
Songwriter(s)	Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman[1]
Elvis Presley singles chronology
"Wild in the Country" / "I Feel So Bad" (1961) "(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" / "Little Sister" (1961) "Rock-A-Hula Baby" / "Can't Help Falling in Love" (1961)
Music video
"(Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame" (audio) on YouTube

Elvis Presley recording

The more successful and well-known recording is by Elvis Presley and was released in August 1961. The relatively intense tune, featuring a Bo Diddley beat, performed well on both pop and easy listening stations, reaching No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100, and No. 2 on the Easy Listening chart, based (at the time) on the Top 100. However, the single's Hot 100 chart run was atypical of a Top Ten hit. In the fall of 1961, it shot from 22 to 4, then dropped to 10, then 26, all within the space of four weeks. The single (a double A-side with "Little Sister", as in the States) spent four weeks at No. 1 on the UK Singles Chart^[5] — one of Presley's nine UK chart-toppers between 1960 and 1962.

Other versions

The Smiths released a medley of the song with Rusholme Ruffians (from the album Meat Is Murder) as a live track on the 1988 album Rank, often seen as one of the highlights of the album.^[6]

Personnel

Recorded in RCA Studio B, Nashville, Tennessee, June 26, 1961^[7]

• Scotty Moore, Neal Matthews Jr. – guitars
• Bob Moore – double bass
• Hank Garland – bass guitar
• D. J. Fontana, Buddy Harman – drums, percussion
• Floyd Cramer, Gordon Stoker – piano
• Boots Randolph – claves

Certifications

Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[8]	Silver	200,000‡
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

References

1. Rice, Jo (1982). The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits (1st ed.). Enfield, Middlesex: Guinness Superlatives Ltd. p. 62. ISBN 0-85112-250-7.
2. "Elvis Presley Songs, Albums, Reviews, Bio & More". AllMusic.
3. "Runaway With Del Shannon/Hats off to Del Shannon | Del Shannon | Album". MTV. Archived from the original on February 25, 2012. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
4. "Album Discography". Delshannon.Com. Retrieved 2012-01-06.
5. "Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman". www.history-of-rock.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-03-26.
6. "The Smiths: The Smiths Complete". Pitchfork. 2011-11-18. Retrieved 2023-08-30.
7. Jorgensen, Ernst, Elvis Presley: A Life in Music, The Complete Recording sessions, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1998 pp 157–159
8. "British single certifications – Elvis Presley – (Marie's the Name) His Latest Flame". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 28 August 2024.

External links

• Songs by Doc Pomus.