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Kissin' Cousins

Rating:
3.8 / 5

Words & Music: Fred Wise Randy Starr

Well I've got a gal, she's as cute as she can be
She's a distant cousin but she's not too distant with me

We'll kiss all night
I'll squeeze her tight
But we're kissin' cousins 'n that's what makes it all right
All right, all right, all right

Oh I've got a girl and she taught me how to live
She can give a lot and she's got a lot to give

We'll kiss all night
I'll squeeze her tight
But we're kissin' cousins 'n that's what makes it all right
All right, all right, all right

Yes we're all cousins, that's what I believe
Because we're children of Adam and Eve
I got a girl and she wants a lot of love
That's the kind of trouble I need plenty of

We'll kiss all night
I'll squeeze her tight
But we're kissin' cousins 'n that'll make it all right
All right, all right, all right
We'll be kissin' cousins that'll make it all right
All right, all right, all right

Yes we're all cousins, that's what I believe
Because we're children of Adam and Eve
I got a girl and she wants a lot of love
That's the kind of trouble I need plenty of

We'll kiss all night
I'll squeeze her tight
But we'll be kissin' cousins 'n that'll make it all right
All right, all right, all right
We'll be kissin' cousins that'll make it all right
All right, all right, all right
We'll be kissin' cousins that's what makes it all right
All right, all right, all right

Recordingdate: 1963/09/30, first released on: single (album)

Musicians

Musicians who contributed to the first recording of Kissin' Cousins:

(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(drums)
(piano)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(sax)
(sax)
(fiddle)

Availability

Find available albums with Kissin' Cousins.

Steve V wrote on April 03, 2009
This is a good song, way better than the rest of the soundtrack. Had a good pop sound for 1964. I was surprised it wasnt a bigger hit, but it came out in the wake of the British Invasion which may have stifled some airplay. Plus, the movie was a stinker, so it didnt promote anything worthwhile.
Deano1 wrote on February 25, 2010
A good track that could have been great if Elvis hadn't sung part of the song in that hokey country accent. In the movie, "The Beverly Hillbillies meets Green Acres"...errr I mean "Kissin' Cousins", Elvis played two characters. One was named Josh and he sounded like Elvis. The other was a hillbilly named Jodie and he had an accent (except when he sang "Tender Feeling???). On the song "Kissin' Cousins", the two Elvis characters duet and while it was fine to record it that way for the movie, couldn't they have re-recorded it for record? Especially a single release. It did quite well, peaking at #12 (the same week The Beatles held down the top five spots on the U.S. chart) and sold a million copies, perhaps a re-recording of it would have broken into that top five. The B-side 'It Hurts Me" was vastly superior and would have been gigantic hit if they had found a way to feature it in the movie. The movie did very well and made the top 30 films for the year 1964.
Bill (BW) wrote on May 04, 2010
Someday I'm sure Sony will release "Kissin' Cousins" with the entire track in Elvis' normal singing voice, like they did with the hillbilly version. In other words, my understanding is he recorded it both ways -- in normal singing voice and with the hillbilly accent - and RCA at the time spliced them together alternating the two versions. It would be nice to hear the whole song all the way through in Elvis' normal voice.
dgirl wrote on May 04, 2010
This is not a bad song. In fact, our oldies station has begun to play this once and a while, and it sounds pretty good on the radio. Didnt hear it much on the radio in 64 as the airwaves were invaded by the Brits. Timing is everything. If this came out in 1963 following Devil, would have been top 10 for sure. The double tracking is annoying however and more rocking vocal would have suited it better.
old shep wrote on May 04, 2010
I can see the logic of putting this song out as a single to promote the album and film, but oh what a waste to relegate the superb It Hurts Me to the B side.
shoesuedeblues wrote on May 04, 2010
Elvis' answer to the Mersey Sound! Total garbage which stands to reason as it was co written by Randy Starr who gave us Old Macdonald amongst the other gems. It Hurts Me could have been a monster of a hit for Elvis, what a wasted opportunity.
derekd wrote on May 04, 2010
This was a good single. I remember buying it (1964 I think in the Uk). Good upbeat tempo and very good back ground music. It only got to #10 in the Uk. Compared to the other songs on the KC Lp it was the right choice. Pity the great 'it hurts me' was left unheard on the 'b' side. I got out my Kc Cd the other day and boy was it hard to listen. Only other track i really liked was 'Anyone'.
NONE000000 wrote on May 04, 2010
The lyrics are really awful, and that's what truly kills it for me. The music is pretty good. They should go ahead and take out the half of the song where Elvis is singing in his normal voice and make it a real duet with any of the women from the Christmas Duets cd and hillbilly-voiced Elvis. On the long list of songs Elvis sang that were beneath him, this is certainly one of them. It reminds me of "Easy Come, Easy Go" in that it is a pretty good-sounding rocker, but the lyrics are so bad I have a hard time listening to it all the way through.
Gorse wrote on November 27, 2012
I like Elvis doing different things with his voice and style, and that is one of the reasons I am a long term fan. The song has a driving beat and is one of his best title songs, but suffers from the crime of relegating the superb flip side It Hurts Me to a minor role.
sugartummy wrote on March 30, 2013
The repeating of All right is Elvis doing; it wasn't on the demo. The author (I can't remember which one), thought that that was very good. I really like this song. Pure entertainment.
shawnrw wrote on January 04, 2014
I know it is popular to dismiss this song and the film it's from, but I believe it is much better than the ridicule it gets. Good tempo rocker and sung with some energy and fun. A top ten single in its day and I think it deserved it. No, not a monumental classic in the arena of "Jailhouse Rock" or "Suspicious Minds" but entertaining. I would much rather listen to this than the most acclaimed rap recordings ever made.
atomic powered poste wrote on May 05, 2018
The movie is one of my favourites from elvis, because of it's trash-charme. Very entertaining. The soundtrack is underrated. While not a masterpiece by any stretch, it's better produced then most of his soundtracks from the mid-60s, and most the songs are better than what you might expect. This song here isn't the best of the bunch, but a decent effort. 2,5 stars.
JerryNodak wrote on May 05, 2018
IIRC: "It Hurts Me" peaked at 29. That's not being left unheard. It's likely that the spins that went to "It Hurts Me" kept Kissin' Cousins from reaching the Top 10.
Cruiser621 wrote on May 05, 2018
5-stars, to include both sides. One keeps hearing the same old scenario as to what a travesity that "It Hurts Me" was overshadowed by "Kissin' Cousins"; I disagree to be blunt. They're both good tunes; unfortunately this was during the mid 1960's. Years of constant British music.
Bill (BW) wrote on March 09, 2019
I've come to enjoy the "regular vocal" version released by FTD. The alternating "regular vocal/ hillbilly vocal" has always annoyed me, OK for the film, but the "regular vocal" version should have been the single release.
Milky White Way wrote on December 24, 2022
The FTD version of Elvis singing this straight is definitely the best version. I really enjoy the whole soundtrack. It’s a shame they didn’t use a bigger budget and use some special effects and have the two characters played by Elvis on screen at the same time instead of using doubles. Anyway I wasn’t around to be bothered about the flip side and chart position (I was an embryo)!
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