Words & Music:
Ben Raleigh
Mark Barkan
How would you like to be?
A little circus clown
And you could wear a smile
Instead of a frown
How would you like to be?
A little kangaroo
A-hoppin' up and down
And I could hop with you
Come on and smile a little, smile a little
Hop a little, hop a little,
Smile a little, hop a little bit with me
Come on and smile a little, smile a little
Hop a little, hop a little,
Smile a little, hop a little bit with me
Oh ho, ha ha, a-tra la la la la la laa ha, tra la la la la la la
How would you like to be?
A little buzzing bee
And instead of a tree
You could buzz around me
How would you like to be?
A little mocking bird
And you can sing me songs
Like I never heard
Come on and buzz a little, buzz a little
Sing a little, sing a little
Buzz a little, sing a little bit with me
Buzz, buzz, buzz a little
Do re mi a little
Buzz a little, sing a little bit with me
Oh-ho ah-ha, tra la la la la la la
Oh-ho, a-ha ,a-tra la la la la la la
How would you like to be?
A little baby bear
And you can hug me tight
Any time you care
How would you like to be?
A little dancing doll
And you could dance with me
Everytime I call
Oh-ho, tra la la la la la laoh-ho...ah-ah...tra la la la..la.la..la
Recordingdate: 1962/09/22, first released on: It Happened at the World's Fair (album)
Musicians
Musicians who contributed to the first recording of How Would You Like to Be?:
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(drums)
(drums)
(piano)
(piano)
(organ)
(organ)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(sax)
Availability
Find available albums with How Would You Like to Be?.
Was this really Elvis Presley the guy who changed music forever 7 years before? That's what this 12 year old was thinking as I heard this for the first time. Soundtrack or not, was there really a need to have a song & scene like this just for the heck of it? At only 12 I thought this was fluff & basically crap!
my comment to yours using the lyrics of the late Michael Jackson: you are not alone.
Trite rubbish but more of this was fo follow. Elvis was really out of touch with the music scene around this time and I'm sad to say remained so for much of his later days.
Melodic soundtrack ditty. I enjoy it. Cute movie scene.
To be very honest I don’t remember if I ever listen this music. I just didn't remembered it, and had to see where and when it was released. After seeing it was released in the Sound track from "It happened at the world fair" everything made sense in my mind.
I’ll continue ignorant in this track!
This, of course, was not the music that Elvis wanted to make but what he was committed to because of the movie contracts. The song fits with the movie's storyline, it is okay for what it is and Elvis does what he can with it, but no one will ever say that Elvis will be remembered for this type of ditty.
Sing-a-long soundtrack ditty, I like it. Still enjoy "World's Fair" soundtrack after all these years.
Also, enjoy the film. Cute scene with the kid. Song fit well. You'll have to excuse me. I'm off to play the extended FTD version. My rule: If I buy it I play it. If I'm not going to play a release a lot I skip it.
Songs & LPs like this are why many critics dont put Elvis in the same league as the Stone, Beatles or Dylan. You will never win with these critics with songs like this. There were just way too many 'liitle dittys' like this that almost destroyed him. If Elvis didnt want to make music like this, he shouldnt have, contract or not. Many people find a way out of contrats! I will never play a song like this again, ever. Its total rubbish, & embarassing to what Elvis Presley stood for in pop culture annals.
nice song my little kids love elvis songs like this.and that makes me happy.so as elvis once sang have a happy.
A "kiddie" song recorded for the movie "It Happened At The World's Fair". This song is passable, but not a great listen without the movie. In the movie, Elvis uses it to cheer up Sue-Lin (Vicky Tiu) and it works well. In a very odd move, RCA used this as the flip-side to "If Everyday Was Like Christmas" in 1966??? A couple more things...Who cares what critics think? I will take this song over "Yellow Submarine", or any other song that Ringo Starr tries to sing, anyday. Also I never want Elvis in the same league as the pathetic Rolling Stones, he had more class, talent and charisma in his little finger than Mick Jagger could ever dream of having. Beatle comparisons and Frank Sinatra comparisons are fine, but really Bob Dylan? Let's stick to people who actually know what it is like to be at the top!
There is Elvis Presley music as recorded by the artist in the studio and live on stage. There is motion picture soundtrack music as performed by Elvis Presley. They are for the most part easy to tell apart, since the albums are marked with:
"An original sondtrack recording". Long time fans can easily separate them, but some still seem to have difficulty telling them apart. Why people still linger on with these historical events and moan about what should have been done, need to get a life. Elvis Presley did what his contract told him to do. Even tired of it as we can hear, he still managed to make some of this stuff listenable. Even better, he actually made some great soundtrack recordings which tell their own story.
No one forces anybody to listen! Personally, I grew up with many of those soundtracks, and they still bring back joyfull memories, just to pick out the albums from the shelves and look at them! "..we can make a medley of the costumes....."
This song is very special to me because it comforted me as a child...I thought our main man was singing just to me, when I was down this one made me smile...
One of the reasons we're still talking about Elvis today is because he was a walking contradiction. He made some of the greatest music in history and some of the worst. He also made some middle of the road material like this song. It was almost like he was several different people at times.
This song, next to "Cotton Candy Land" from the soundtrack recording "It Happened At The World's Fair" is pure, unadulterated fluff, designed to fit a certain scene in the actual movie. The actual soundtrack is a great disappointment based on the overall time of the album, with some decent songs, baring these 2 selections. Crap in, crap out, but why even put these on a recording? They had to stretch the actual soundtrack out and it still doesn't come up to par. Yes, I do, in fact, have the FTD soundtrack of these fiasco.
Not one of the better songs in the soundtrack. Most fans would agree that it doesn't have much (if any) merrit outside the movie. One of the many mediocre songs Elvis recorded for his soundtracks. Anyone questioning his decision to keep on recording soundtracks rather than mainstream studio albums in the mid sixies should take a look at the sale figures. GI Blues sold more than Elvis is Back, Blue Hawaii sold more than Something for Everybody and so on. Artistic achievement or profit? For the Colonel, RCA and even Elvis money was what mattered most. It's a pity but it is true, whether we like it or not...
I remember when I bought - 68 I liked it , but would never say it for my friends back when,still like it but not Elvis best
Another embarressing song for him to make a few $ for parker.
The song works great in the movie. Its a wonderful scene.
There was a time when I was about 12 years old, that this was my favourite Elvis song. Now I think it's one of his worst.
There have always been novelty songs in pop music and this joins that list. Passable where it exists in the film but not a track that has ever found its way on to my playlists. As usual Elvis sings it well with a modicum of charm but that's as far as it goes
This song should've never been used for 45-rpm single release... (1966)
Just like "Cotton Candy Land" from this here movie and soundtrack LP (It Happened at the World's Fair), makes sense with the film visuals, not so on record, however. I'll give it 2.5 out of 5 stars.