I just heard the song 40 Cups of Coffee by Ella Mae Morse. While looking it up, I found stories of how Elvis Presley once told her that “she” had taught him how to sing, from her records that he listened to when he was young! That’s quite the compliment to be getting, if you ask me!
If you listen to some of the songs Ella was famous for recording, though, before Elvis came along, you could definitely hear the style and elements of Elvis’ famous recordings. I’ve included a few below, including Cow Cow Boogie and 40 Cups of Coffee. She also did other famous versions of songs like Hurry on Down and Fine Brown Frame (love that song!), but I wasn’t able to find them online to share. So enjoy the two I did fine below and see if you can see how she influenced Elvis!
Digital Citizen 