Patty Loveless had a big hit in 1994 with "I Try to Think About Elvis." The song, written by Gary Burr, was from his seventh studio album, When Fallen Angels Fly. According to Burr, the song started off with an entirely different meaning.
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"I always joke when I sing it live," Burr tells The Tennessean "I tell the audience I need to explain the song. It's like when a mommy and a daddy love each other very much and the daddy wants to show that love for a longer period of time, he has to think of things in his head to preoccupy himself. That's what this song is about. It's a list of things the guy is thinking to himself. We'll leave it at that."
By his own admission, Burr never thought the song would ever be recorded. But once Loveless expressed interest in it, the hit songwriter rewrote some of the words.
"I went back in and put in the lines about high heels, good deals and talk shows to take out some of the more testosterony stuff," he admits. "It was tremendous pressure because you know if you don't do the rewrite properly, you lose the cut. I sweated it out and the next thing I know they brought it for me to listen to. I did and it was tremendous."
The Inspiration for "I Try to Think About Elvis"
Burr was first inspired to write "I Try to Think About Elvis," while in his car. A DJ shared a contest the United States Post Office was having to determine which image of Elvis should be on a new stamp. One DJ said, "When I think about Elvis, I try to think about Elvis in the reunion special with the black leather, black hair."
As soon as Burr heard, "I try to think about Elvis," the idea for the song was born.
"I love songs with titles that make you want to listen to the song and go 'What is that about?'" he says. "So I heard him say,' I try to think about Elvis.' Something just stuck in my head and I went upstairs and wrote the song."
Loveless was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2023. She included this song on several of her compilation albums later in her career, including Classics and 16 Biggest Hits.
