Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds - The 24 July 1970 Rehearsal Version

Suspicious Minds has probably now established itself as Elvis’ signature song and is among the most famous and recognisable and greatest songs of all time.
The song was written by Mark James and recorded by Elvis on 22 January 1969 at American Sound in Memphis. For a more thorough background to the recording of the song, including the anecdote about how the recording was almost consigned to the bin forever before it was released, follow this link to the song’s entry in the First Take to the Master series.    • Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds - From Fi...  

The song’s success saw it immediately added to Elvis’ set list for his return to live performances on 31 August 1969. It became a virtual ever present in the show for the next five years although it would evolve into what was essentially a parody of itself. For more on the live renditions, follow the link to the song’s entry in “The Live Comparison Series”.
Despite it being performed over four hundred and thirty times by Elvis, many of which have audio available in some form, rehearsal versions by Elvis are very few and far between. There are many rehearsal sessions recorded or documented between July 1969 and April 1976 but only four contain Suspicious Minds and all occur in 1969 and 1970.
Two of those versions occur, perhaps unsurprisingly, on 18 and 24 July 1969 in the lead up to Elvis’ first appearance at Las Vegas’ brand new International Hotel. Three of the remaining four took place in January 1970 as Elvis prepared for his second engagement in Las Vegas which began on 26 January.
The final documented rehearsal version, is at present the only version known to have been recorded and took place at RCA’s Hollywood studios on 24 July 1970. As four of the other five versions were also rehearsed in the same studio, it is quite feasible that some kind of recording may have taken place but may have been subsequently lost or erased.
This 24 July 1970 rehearsal version was officially released on the 50th Anniversary box set of That’s The Way It Is in August 2020 although it had been on unofficial releases for some time beforehand. Elvis’ approach to the song is almost apathetic and gives little hint to the five legendary live performances of the song that he would appear in about two and a half weeks’ time. These took place on 11, 12 and 13 August during principal filming of Elvis’ That’s The Way It Is and these can be viewed by following these links :

11 August 1970 Dinner Show –    • Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds - 11 Augu...  
11 August 1970 Midnight Show -    • Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds - 11 Augu...  
12 August 1970 Dinner Show –    • Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds- 12 Augus...  
12 August 1970 Midnight Show –    • Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds - 12 Augu...  
13 August 1970 Dinner Show -    • Elvis Presley - Suspicious Minds - 13 Augu...  

As with all of these videos, to get the most out of the re-edited audio, I highly recommend you use ear /headphones and turn the volume up as much as you dare!