Black Velvet is a hit by Canadian singer Alannah Myles, a tribute to the king of rock and roll, the unforgettable Elvis Presley.
The song is part of the artist’s debut album, entitled Alannah Myles.
The authors of Black Velvet are Canadian songwriters David Tyson and Christopher Ward.
Ward got the inspiration in 1987, while riding on a bus full of Elvis fans headed to Memphis to attend a vigil marking the 10th anniversary of the artist’s death.
The result was a power ballad with blues and rock sounds, mixed perfectly to create a perfect “Presleyian” atmosphere. And since the voice of Elvis was considered to be like “black velvet”, that definition was chosen as the title.
When he composed the piece, Christopher Ward was the boyfriend of Alannah Myles and proposed that she record a demo for the label Atlantic Records.
The record company liked the result and offered Myles a contract.
The debut album, Alannah Myles, was released in March 1989, initially only in Canada, like the first single, Love Is.
Black Velvet was chosen in July as the second single, again in Myles’ home country.
In December, the record company decided to release it outside Canadian borders: a good choice, which resulted in a 1990 full of sales and recognition worldwide.
Charts and Awards
Here are some results in the world charts.
United States, Norway, Switzerland and Sweden: number 1.
United Kingdom, Austria, New Zealand, Luxembourg, Germany and Belgium: number 2.
Netherlands, Denmark and Australia: number 3.
Finland and Ireland: number 4.
Canada: number 10
France: number 24.
As for awards, Black Velvet won its performer the Juno Award for Single of the Year in 1990 and the Grammy Award for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance in 1991. Furthermore, in 2005, Myles received the Millionaire Award from ASCAP for exceeding four million radio plays for the song.
Videos and Covers
Doug Freel was entrusted with directing the official video, shot in Ontario. Filming took place partly in Buckhorn, with Myles singing on the porch of a cabin on the family ranch, and partly in a Kingston club, with the artist performing on stage.
Atlantic Records released Black Velvet in two versions. Myles’ 1989 version was followed by a country version (February 1990) performed by singer Robin Lee, which was quite successful among lovers of the genre both in the United States and Canada.
In 2007, on the occasion of the thirtieth anniversary of Elvis’ death, Alannah Myles released a tribute EP to the artist, which contained a new version of the song. The song was later included in the album Black Velvet, released in 2008.
Canadian heavy metal band Kobra and the Lotus included their cover of the song on their EP Words of the Prophets, released in 2015.
English singer Sam Bailey recorded her cover in 2021 and released it as a single, which to date has not been included in any album.
