The only Elvis Presley number-one hit released after his death

Music · Published 18 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: How did a 1968 recording by Elvis Presley become a global electronic dance hit decades later? The journey of "A Little Less Conversation" reveals a complex history of studio takes, discarded recordings, and a landmark deal that broke the rules of the Presley estate.

Mac Davis and Billy Strange composed "A Little Less Conversation" for the motion picture Live a Little, Love a Little, which was first captured at Hollywood's Western Recorders on 7 March 1968. The session was productive, yielding several different takes. While the single and film soundtrack utilized take 16, the version eventually released on the 1970 RCA Camden budget label album Almost in Love was actually take 10, which was one second longer. Interestingly, later archival research identified another version as take 2 from that same March 1968 session.

The song's history is further complicated by a 1968 television special re-recording. Elvis intended to perform a new version for his comeback special, transposing the original key of A major into E major and adding heavy reverb and backup vocals from The Blossoms. However, the production team ultimately decided not to use it, dropping the song from the special entirely. This "lost" recording remained obscure until Joseph A. Tunzi documented it in his 1996 book, and it finally saw a commercial release in 1998 as part of a compilation.

The song's modern fame began in 2001 after its use in the film Ocean's Eleven. Dutch musician Tom Holkenborg, known as Junkie XL, created an electronic remix that emphasized the 1968 guitars and horns with a funk drum beat. This marked a milestone: the Presley estate granted Holkenborg, the initial non-Presley organisation artist, permission to remix a track by the singer. The resulting "Elvis vs. JXL" single became a massive success, topping the charts in over 20 countries.

The track's impact was so significant that it was added as the final track to the 2002 compilation ELV1S: 30 No. 1 Hits at the last minute. In the UK, it spent four consecutive weeks at number one, making it the only Presley hit to reach the top spot after his 1977 death. While it only reached number 50 on the US Billboard Hot 100, its global reach cemented its status as a unique bridge between 1960s rock and 21st-century electronic music.

General information, not professional advice. Spotted an error? Flag the card or see corrections and complaints.

Intellect Plus is a visual educational discovery platform for exploring fascinating facts and ideas. Brain Food, Not Brain Rot. What is Intellect Plus?

Related

• How a morbid, rejected demo became the song that defined rock and roll history.
• The private home movies that captured Elvis's first great love
• The accidental apology that became a global pop phenomenon
• How a ten-minute song became a permanent fixture of British pop culture history
• Sun Records turned a Tupelo twin into rock's king
• The jazz-rap fusion that made Woody Allen stop slouching
• The first Bollywood soundtrack to chart every track on Spotify Global
• A masterpiece of tension composed by a man who couldn't read music
• Can an algorithm capture the soul of country music?
• The woman who taught the guitar to speak and lead
• The architectural difference between compact and expansive musical chords
• The musical tug-of-war between the white keys and the chromatic scale

More in Film & TV music · More in Music · Latest · A–Z · All topics