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Nothingville

Rating:
4.1 / 5

Words & Music: Billy Strange Mac Davis

Nothingville
Phony little two-bit town
Where nothing's real
They treat me like a country clown

Nothingville
I ain't gonna keep-a-hangin' round'
The doors keep slammin' in my face
People keep puttin' me in my place

It's a rat's race at a snail's pace
Nothingville...Nothingville

Nothingville.....

Recordingdate: 1968/06/20, first released on: Elvis NBC TV Special (album)

Musicians

Musicians who contributed to the first recording of Nothingville:

(guitar)
(guitar)
(guitar)
(bass)
(bass)
(drums)
(piano)
(keyboards)
(harmonica)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(vocals)
(bongos)
(percussion)
(percussion)

Availability

Find available albums with Nothingville.

Lex wrote on May 07, 2008
Spooky and too short. Unfortunately only part of a medley, where it was promising. I would love to have heard a complete version of it.
JLpResLey wrote on September 26, 2008
Quite decent but a little short. I really don´t understand why it was even included in that medley, the other songs in there were famous songs for Elvis. And got a little more attention from him
JimmyCool wrote on September 26, 2008
I like it... and he should have recorded a complete version... it's so different to anything he recorded, and it's kinda cool in a spooky way.
old shep wrote on September 26, 2008
Between them Mac Davis and Billy Strange wrote some memorable stuff for Elvis including Memories which was also in the TV special.I suppose being in the right place at the right time allowed the writers to get this "bridge " song the right person.
Steve V wrote on September 26, 2008
Is there a real song to this? Its just a lead in for the medley. Would have been a great complete song. Blusey & cool.
Natha wrote on September 26, 2008
Great intro which in its own right contributed quite well to the special. It would indeed have been a valuable song to the long list of so many different aspects of Elvis' genre. He could have used this from time to time on stage too. With the proper lightning it surely would have been sort of mystic smile to it all.
My boy, my boy wrote on January 08, 2009
The Strange/Davis/Presley have been a winning combo throughout 1968....It should have lasted longer...
sitdown68 wrote on March 23, 2009
This song perfectly fits within Presley's new repertoire and his attempt towards other songs as later seen on the Memphis album. He surely should have recorded a full version of this fine theme. lyricwise it comes close to what he was about to live during his last decade. He should have kept tight lazos with this fine songwriter team.
dgirl wrote on March 23, 2009
The Strange/Davis team worked very well for Elvis. It was sort of a rebirth for his recording career. I wish it would have gone on into the 70's. The 'new wave' edge was lost by 1971.
Deano1 wrote on December 25, 2009
Not really a complete song, just a short snippet used between songs in his 1968 "Comeback" TV special. Elvis makes the most of the few seconds of lyrics and sings them with a mean, arrogant tone to his voice. This song would have fit nicely into the 1964 movie "Roustabout", due to the fact that Elvis' character, Charlie Rogers hated the carnival for most of the movie.
sugartummy wrote on April 18, 2013
The harmonica is played by Tommy Morgan. A great intro to a great medley. I assume it was written for that purpose. Hollywood must be that Nothingville Elvis is singing about.
Gorse wrote on March 07, 2014
The song was fine as long as it lasted. In cuisine terms the starter was good, but what about the main meal.
ElvisSacramento wrote on March 07, 2014
I've always liked this spooky and short song, but I wish that this song would have been much longer in length. The other Elvis songs written or co-written by Mac Davis are "A Little Less Conversation", "Charro!", "Clean Up Your Own Back Yard", "Don't Cry Daddy", "In The Ghetto" and "Memories".
atomic powered poste wrote on June 04, 2018
As a snipet in the nbc-special it's ok, but as a standalone? Who should care for it - and why? No voting, for obvious reasons.
Miknik7077 wrote on October 16, 2020
This song could have been really good if it was made into a complete song. Otherwise a good intro into a great medley.
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