Burning Love

'Burning Love' is harmonically simple by design: a three-chord, major-key rock and roll engine that leaves all the drama to the arrangement — the driving riff, the cowbell accents, and the call-and-response between Presley and J. D. Sumner & the Stamps. Its gospel-rock character comes less from exotic chords than from how the plain I-IV-V progression is delivered with revival-meeting intensity.

'Burning Love' was written by songwriter Dennis Linde. It was first recorded by soul singer Arthur Alexander — an artist known for influencing the Beatles and the Rolling Stones — during his final years at Warner Bros. Records, appearing on his 1972 self-titled album. Elvis Presley covered it just four months later, and Linde released his own version in 1973.

Written by Dennis Linde and first recorded by Arthur Alexander, 'Burning Love' was cut by Elvis Presley with the TCB Band at RCA's Hollywood studios in March 1972. Driven by a searing guitar riff and Presley's fiery vocal, it revived his chart fortunes and stands as his last major American pop hit. The song remains one of the defining rock recordings of Presley's 1970s era.