Words & Music:
Sam Burns
Joe Louis
I am the king of the jungle
They call me the tiger man
I am the king of the jungle
They call me tiger man
If you cross my path
You take your own life in your hands
Yeah, I get up on a mountain
And I call my black cat back
Yeah, I get up on a mountain
And I call my black cat back
My black cat comes a runnin'
And the hound dogs get way back
Yeah, I get up on a mountain
And I call my black cat back
Yeah, I get up on a mountain
And I call my black cat back
My black cat comes a runnin'
And the hound dogs get way back
Yeah, I get up on a mountain
And I call my black cat back
Yeah, I get up on a mountain
And I call my black cat back
My black cat comes a runnin'
And the hound dogs get way back
Recordingdate: 1968/06/27 8 P.M., first released on: Flaming Star (album)
Musicians
Musicians who contributed to the first recording of Tiger Man:
(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(vocals)
(percussion)
(tambourine)
Availability
Find available albums with Tiger Man.
Almost a signature song, proving why he was still The King. I wish the legendary (or mythic?) Sun version showed up...
This fabulous song was presented to the wide world during the historical NBC TV Special. Dubbed later on as the Black Leather Show this legendary performance found a special high light in this performance. It showed beyond any doubt or reason that the King never lost touch with his roots. After the years of the mediocre land of movies he came back with a bang and what a bang that was! Great song, showing that lyrics are secondary when the power of voice, music and the combined performance is as fabulous as this.
Never liked the song, along with, "Baby want do you want me to do".
Always like this one along with Baby what you want me to do.
I personally liked the TTWII version a lot with Mytery train as a medley. But I was never too fond of the 68 special version nor the late 70ties ones either...I guess I'm picky ! :p
I also love the TTWII one but i like the other too, i wonder if he did record it at sun.
Now this is fantistic, this is the real king. The same guy who does this also does Who Needs Money. It just dosen't add up. I guess there's 2 sides to Elvis there's the king & then there's the ham & egger. Tiger Man is Elvis at his best no other singer can touch him.
I like this song a lot if I'm watching and listening to it. But it doesn't do much for me without the visuals.
Totally awsome , visuals or not. Anyone who doesnt dig this from the 68 Special doesnt dig good rock and roll and the 'real' Elvis being unleashed after too many years of mediocore film songs.
When I first heard it on the Singer Album "Flaming Star" I knew: I want everything that is available from these '68 sessions. I was hunting them tapes some 25 years ago down the bootleg boulevard. Today I have Memories, there is a copy on CD-R in my car and I have the 68 deluxe 3 DVD box...
When I first heard Tiger Man on the Flaming Star LP it became an instant classic in my book.
Maybe because it was a "new" Elvis song by then. I also liked the jam of Baby, What You Want Me To Do from the '68 special. It's even better along with the visuals. A classic indeed!
Although I am one of those "fanatical" Elvis fans, I really don't care of this song at all. It just never grew on me. I realize most fans will think I just don't get it, but that's my opinion nonetheless.
I love this song. I just wish Elvis had done a studio cut of this in 1968 with the same fire & raw energy. Another of my "what if" questions, what if songs like this had been the standard in movies songs instead of the songs like "Who Needs Money"? Fortunately, Elvis did cut this even if it was live on the 68 Special. It would've been cool that Elvis did songs like "Tiger Man", "Baby What You Want Me To Do", "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" or even "Big Boss Man" in the movies instead of the throwaways. Even capturing this raw power on "Shin Dig" or the Sullivan show would have been an awesome treat for viewers at the time.
He once said that he'd recorded this at Sun. I wish that cut would surface. In the meantime we've got so many great versions. I don't think he ever did a bad one. The 1975 studio jam is high on my list. It's slower than most but rocks all the same. The Spring Tours rendition, like 'Big Boss Man' on that same record, hark back to his R&B roots. If you like what you hear, dig out Rufus Thomas' original.
Here we have Elvis in 1967 recording a song of his choice, doing it his way, plaving the way for the biggest comeback in pop history. Not the greatest recording he ever made, but neither were the few songs before That's Alright Mama. Tiger Man is part of the Elvis recording saga, so its worth a spin.
This song was very inspirational to me, as you might have noticed.
Worth a spin? What are you kidding me?? This is one of the classic r&r songs Elvis recorded, ranked among the 10 best rock-songs he ever recorded. The energy on this song is crazy, and it's Elvis at his absolute best. If you don't like this song you don't like rockn' roll. Period.
Great performance. The King of Rock indeed, full of energy while doing this song in the '68 Special. And after more than 30 years that he left us he is and will be the King.
Bit of a hidden gem this one from back in the day, you had to buy a budget LP to hear the song. How on earth was this rock and roll gold so over-looked?
Yes, we all would've loved to have seen Elvis on the popular t.v. shows off the 1960s. Yes, we would've loved to have seen him doing concerts during the 1960s. The fact that he's still the best-selling artist of all-time proves that the body of work that he left behind still outshines that of any other artist in the history of the entertainment business.
All of Elvis' versions of this brilliant Rhythm & Blues song are stellar, but the best Elvis rendition of it is definitely from the "1968 Comeback NBC TV Special".
Yes indeed, all versions are good, but the 1968 versions just blow me away. It's no wonder that in 1998 a CD was named after this song. Rock 'n' roll without a bass, White Stripes and Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, eat you heart out.
I am in the minority but the 68 version just falls short for some reason while the 1969 MysteryTrain/Tiger Man medley always blows me away. The visuals greatly improve the enjoyment on the 68 version but listening solely to the audio just misses the full impact for me.
Not Elvis' greatest recording but one hell better than some of his mid 60's efforts