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'It was so crazy to hear Elvis sing about me!' : Michele Jarrett

By: For Elvis Fans Only
Source: ElvisPresley.com.au
May 1, 2009 - 10:45:43 AM
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Michele Jarrett

'It was so crazy to hear Elvis sing about me!' Michele Jarrett

30 years after The King's death, Michele Jarrett found out that Elvis once sang about her Michele Jarrett was barely 10 years old when Elvis died, but nevertheless she's one of the very few people who can rightfully claim that The King really sang about her, a claim that even Priscilla or his daughter Lisa Marie cannot make. It's even more remarkable when you realize that Elvis never met Michele nor even knew about her existence.

So what's the story behind this?

Well, Michele is the daughter of songwriter Michael Jarrett, who wrote 'I'll Be Home On Christmas Day' for Presley. Jarrett often used his personal life as an inspiration for his writing, and he wrote this melancholic song on Christmas Eve 1969, right in the middle of a painful divorce. He was completely alone and missing his family, when the words came to him. On the original demo that Michael recorded for Elvis, there was a verse about his children: 'Been so long since I've seen little John, Michele, Christine and Kelly; And I almost forgot with all the presents, that I bought a purse for little sister to carry'.

When Elvis' version of 'I'll Be Home On Christmas Day' was released in late '71 on 'Elvis Sings The Wonderful World Of Christmas', Michael was not surprised to find out that Elvis had skipped that verse. After all, it was a very personal verse about Michael's kids, and he understood that Presley could not relate to it.

Imagine Michael's surprise 30 years after Elvis' death, when he heard an outtake of the song where Elvis did sing the 'missing' verse! The first thing he did was call his daughter Michele, who was completely flabbergasted.

'It's so crazy', she says today, 'I remember it was shortly after my mom passed away, and my dad sent me a clip of it. Talk about a wild thing! I played it for my family, and we were all just looking at each other like, is that really what I'm hearing!'. 'I have always been so proud of my dad', she says, 'and I'm so excited for this tour. [The Original Elvis Tribute Show] I know this will be an amazing trip for him, as well as everybody on the tour.

I know I'm so thankful to be a part of it!'.

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Click the player above to listen to the 'missing' verse as sung by Elvis.

You can hear Elvis sing this song with the extra verse on the FTD CD, I Sing All Kinds

Interview with Michael Jarrett, songwriter, I'm Leavin'

This article © Copyright Elvis Australia : No part of this article maybe re-printed for public display without permission.

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