Burning Love – Elvis Presley

Introduction

“Burning Love” is a 1972 song by Elvis Presley, written by Dennis Linde, originally released by Arthur Alexander earlier in 1972. Presley found major success with the song, it becoming his final Top 10 hit in the American Hot 100 or pop charts, peaking at No.2 (it was kept out of the top spot by Chuck Berry’s “My Ding-a-Ling”).

Elvis Presley released his rendition of the song as a single on August 1, 1972, featuring “It’s a Matter of Time” on the B-side. This release secured the 36th position on the country charts. Recorded at RCA’s Hollywood studios on March 28, 1972, it marked one of Elvis’s final major successes. The electric guitar opening and riffs were added through overdubbing by Dennis Linde.

During the week of October 28, 1972, “Burning Love” climbed to the second spot on the Billboard Hot 100, reaching number 1 on Cashbox’s Top 40 Charts for the week of November 11. Notably, it became Elvis’s 40th and last Top Ten hit on the Billboard US charts.

Elvis showcased the song in two significant productions: the concert film “Elvis on Tour” (where he relied on a lyric sheet due to the song’s novelty) and the later “Aloha from Hawaii” concert. While performed on select occasions in 1975, the song remained a rarity in Elvis’s setlist from 1972 onwards.

Included in the album “Burning Love and Hits from His Movies, Volume 2” released on November 1, 1972, it’s worth noting that, despite the album’s subtitle, the title track was the only actual hit.

In 1980, a new backing track for “Burning Love” was recorded for the unreleased Guitar Man album, finally unveiled in 2000. Subsequently, in 2015, a fresh orchestral arrangement accompanied by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra was recorded and released on the album “If I Can Dream.”

Video

Lyrics

Lord Almighty
I feel my temperature rising
Higher higher
It’s burning through to my soul

Girl, girl, girl
You gonna set me on fire
My brain is flaming
I don’t know which way to go

Your kisses lift me higher
Like the sweet song of a choir
You light my morning sky
With burning love

Ooh, ooh, ooh
I feel my temperature rising
Help me, I’m flaming
I must be a hundred and nine
Burning, burning, burning
And nothing can cool me
I just might turn to smoke
But I feel fine

Cause your kisses lift me higher
Like a sweet song of a choir
And you light my morning sky
With burning love

It’s coming closer
The flames are now lickin’ my body
Please won’t you help me
I feel like I’m slipping away
It’s hard to breath
And my chest is a-heaving

Lord Almighty
I’m burning a hole where I lay

Cause your kisses lift me higher
Like the sweet song of a choir
You light my morning sky
With burning love

With burning love
Ah, ah, burning love
I’m just a hunk
A hunk of burning love
Just a hunk, a hunk of burning love
Just a hunk, a hunk of burning love
Just a hunk, a hunk of burning love
Just a hunk, a hunk of burning love
Just a hunk, a hunk of burning love