"Guitar Man" is a 1967 song written and originally recorded by Jerry Reed, who took his version of it to number 53 on the Billboard country music charts in 1967. Soon after Reed's single appeared, Elvis Presley recorded the song with Reed playing the guitar part, and it became a minor country and pop hit.

Elvis Presley versions

According to Peter Guralnick's two-volume biography of Presley, the singer had been trying to record the tune, but missed the sound Jerry Reed had brought to the original release. So RCA managed to locate Reed and brought him to the session at RCA's Studio B in Nashville. The twelfth take eventually became the 1968 single master, after Reed overdubbed some additional guitar and the length was edited to omit Elvis ad-libbing "What'd I Say" during the close. Presley opened his 1968 comeback special a medley of Leiber and Stoller's "Trouble" and this number. With dark, moody lighting highlighting his presence, the sequence alluded to Presley's original "dangerous" image, and served to prove that the singer was still "sexy, surly and downright provocative." The track was later remade in 1980 with a new backing track that again included Jerry Reed playing some of his unique guitar licks, and spent one week at number one on the country chart the following year. Personnel (Elvis Presley versions) Credits sourced from British fan Keith Flynn's research. 1967 recording 1980 re-recording Credits from Keith Flynn's research of RCA and AFM paperwork.

Chart performance

Jerry Reed

Elvis Presley