A special song for its lyrics and its accompaniment, it was one of Elvis's favorite songs. "Father" was also recorded in the sessions of May 1971, on the 15th. The origin of this song was from a French song, titled "Padre Don José..." by Jacques LaRue and Alain Romans.
The version that Elvis knew and loved was sung by Toni Arden in 1958, with English lyrics by Paul Webster. https://youtu.be/M0xopeHkuq0
Curiously, the lyrics would not be religious, but rather it was narrated to the Father, the priest who married a couple... The atmosphere of the instrumentation, the air, in short, the style that accompanies the voice would give another interpretation completely different from the original.
The even danceable rhythm could confuse any original version of the result in that of Elvis. Elvis would be a bit tight at the end of the song. This song was released on the 1973 Elvis album "The Fool". Since his original album, the song has appeared on "He Walks Beside me". An alternate version is on the FTD release "I Sing All Kinds".
Charlie Hodge spoke about the complication in these sessions, Elvis not only had problems with his voice... his lyrics were not written, something absurd and unthinkable in some recordings. The poor man was clearing his throat repeatedly, he had a habit that would not be the most appropriate to take care of his voice, he was dedicated to chewing ice cubes from the glasses of water provided by his entourage.
Another absurd fact was seeing that Elvis made an effort to give his best and Felton Jarvis wanted to speed up the recording process, pushing the musicians so that they did not stop too much in the takes... He believed that with his re-recordings he would solve what It didn't come out in the opening shots. But it is clear that Elvis realized in the interpretation of this song that he liked "Father" so much. Elvis continued to challenge himself, and this time he found that he was not up to the task. But really, if someone had suggested transposing the tessitura only half or one tone, he would have made the most of the song.
This was one of those songs that had some sharpness to show off but with the wrong voice, it was an absurd risk for Elvis. Elvis apologized, which was unusual for him, and even proceeded to curse his own performance. But in any case the version of him so particular of him remains for posterity...