When Three Dog Night scored a massive Top 5 hit with “Never Been to Spain,” it was a quintessential early 1970s radio smash. But the song truly soared into rock history when Elvis Presley added it to his setlist.
Yet underneath its success was a deep-rooted musical heritage. Unbeknownst to millions of fans, the writer behind the hit had family ties to the legendary recording sessions that launched the King into superstardom nearly two decades earlier.
Radio listeners in late 1971 knew “Never Been to Spain” as a driving, soulful hit powered by Cory Wells‘ lead vocals. Country-folk singer and songwriter Hoyt Axton wrote the tune for the band’s LP Joy to the World, and it reached No. 5 on Billboard‘s Hot 100 Chart.
Within months, the track gained even more momentum when Presley adopted it as an anthem for his explosive 1972 live tour. The song landed on the LP Elvis as Recorded at Madison Square Garden, recorded on June 10, 1972.
Parade Daily🎬 SIGN UP for Parade’s Daily newsletter to get the latest pop culture news & celebrity interviews delivered right to your inbox 🎬
However, Axton’s connection to Presley ran far deeper than a reimagining of his hit. His mother, Mae Boren Axton, penned the King’s first No. 1 hit, “Heartbreak Hotel.”
In an interview reprinted by Elvis.com.au, Mae spoke to Presley in 1955 for her radio show in Jacksonville, Florida, where she also worked as a songwriter and schoolteacher. She promoted a local show headlined by country star Hank Snow, whose opening act was Presley and welcomed him to the station.
The turning point came when songwriter Tommy Durden showed Mae a local news article detailing a man who had taken his own life. Touched by the tragic phrase “I walk a lonely street“ left in his note, Mae built a story around a place where lost souls gather. When she pitched “Heartbreak Hotel” to Presley, he was eager to record it and rode its wave of success all the way to No. 1 in May 1956.
There have been no reports of Presley making the familial connection between Mae and Axton. Nor did he discuss the tune publicly, but he liked it enough to have performed it over 50 times in his live shows.
The song was recorded for, but not featured in, the Baz Luhrmann feature film Elvis, starring Austin Butler. The actor discussed that “Never Been to Spain fires me up” in an interview with NME.
“It just fires me up. I love to turn it on super-loud in the car and drive,” he began.
“Singing ‘Never Been to Spain’ once on set, my voice went out. I lost the mid-range of my voice for a couple of days. Thankfully, it was on a Friday so we could take the weekend off, so I went on vocal rest and didn’t speak for two days to let the vocal cords rest. It’s a tough sing!” Butler said of recording the song.
Three Dog Night made “Never Been to Spain” a 1971 smash hit. But when Elvis Presley covered it in 1972, he brought a family story full circle, one that started with a local radio interview back in 1955.
Related: 1969 Neil Diamond Song, Reimagined By Elvis Presley, Was ‘Pure Stream of Consciousness’