BURNING LOVE • 1972

One of the hardest-rocking songs Elvis ever recorded came during a rocky period in his personal life. He was going through a divorce with his wife, Priscilla, and was initially reluctant to record such an upbeat piece. “It’s hard to do a rock ’n’ roll song when you’re heartbroken,” says Schilling, who with producer Felton Jarvis pushed Presley to record it. The song became his last major hit, reaching No. 2. The single that kept it from No. 1 was Chuck Berry’s playfully naughty “My Ding-a-Ling.” Far more memorable and enduring was the refrain in Elvis’ hit—“a hunka, hunka burnin’ love”—a phrase that became associated with him ever after.