Alannah Myles hit #1 with “Black Velvet”

Black Velvet Allanah Myles

Writer(s): David Tyson, Christopher Ward (see lyrics here) Released: July 1989 First Charted: December 9, 1989 Peak: 12 BB, 12 CB, 11 GR, 2 RR, 7 AC, 12 AR, 2 UK, 10 CN, 3 AU, 2 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.6 UK, 2.54 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 4.0 radio, 47.5 video, 288.35 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: Myles was born Alannah Byles in Toronto, Canada, in 1958. She started performing solo gigs in Ontario at age 18. She met songwriter and recording artist Christopher Ward and formed a band with his help. In 1987, she signed a recording contract with Atlantic Records. With help from Ward and producer David Tyson, Myles recorded her self-titled debut album, which was released in 1989. It became the first album in Canada certified for sales over a million and went on to become the top-selling album in Canadian history. RC It has reportedly sold six million copies internationally. The album produced three top-30 singles in Canada. The most successful was “Black Velvet,” which #1 hit in the U.S. and sold a million copies in Canada. SF The song won a Grammy for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance and the Juno Award (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammys) for Song of the Year. The song is an ode to Elvis Presley; the title references popular black velvet paintings of “The King.” As music historian Steve Sullivan says, they “all stand in the shadow of ‘Black Velvet.’” SS Wad was inspired to write the song by the 10th anniversary of Elvis’ death. As a VJ for Much Music, a Canadian video television channel, he was sent to cover the event in Memphis. He explained that he and a camera operator were “on a tour bus with 40 Elvis fanatics…I came to understand what the incredible passion was that these people had for this man.” FB Interestingly, the song never mentions Elvis, but a detailed breakdown of the lyrics from Songfacts.com explains references to Jimmie Rodgers, his adoring female fans, his famous hip swivel, his first recordings at Sun Studios in Memphis, the song “Love Me Tender,” and his sudden death in 1977. SF He finished it with Tyson and they presented it to Myles. She thought the song was so good that it would be given to another artist and she wouldn’t get a chance to record it. FB Of course, she did record it and hers is the definitive version. Sullivan said, “Her powerful vocal (which becomes spine-tingling by the final verses) matches the richly atmospheric mood of the song; sultrym steamy as a summer day in Memphis; settling into a slow, intoxicating blues-rock groove.” SS It was one of the three songs on the demo she pitched to Atlantic which got her signed to the label. Resources: FB Fred Bronson (2007). The Billboard Book of Number One Hits (4th edition). Billboard Books: New York, NY. Page 753. RC Rod Couch (2015). The Top 500 Songs of the Rock Era: 1955-2015. Pages 226-7. SF Songfacts SS Steve Sullivan (2013). Encyclopedia of Great Popular Song Recordings (Volumes I & II). Scarecrow Press: Lanham, Maryland. Page 720. Related Links: First posted 1/12/2025.