Australian singles charts:
In the Ghetto entered the Kent charts on 5 July 1969 and was a #1 hit. The song was #11 on the Top 100 of 1969.
Album:
The song is on From Elvis in Memphis which entered the Kent album charts on 2 August 1969 and peaked at #5.
Songwriter:
Mac Davis
Producer:
Chips Moman
Record label of Australian release:
RCA
Wikipedia:
A boy is born to a mother who already has more children than she can feed in a Chicago ghetto. The boy grows up hungry, learns how to steal and fight, purchases a gun and steals a car, tries to run, but is killed. The song ends with another child being born in the ghetto, and implies that the newborn could meet the same fate, continuing the cycle of poverty and violence.
Read more: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In_the_Ghetto
Songfacts:
In the Ghetto was the first song Elvis recorded with a socially conscious message. He was reluctant to do it for that reason, but knew it would be a hit.
The song was written by Mac Davis who titled it In The Ghetto (The Vicious Circle). RCA Records got Davis’ permission to drop the subtitle before presenting it to Elvis.
Read more: www.songfacts.com/facts/elvis-presley/in-the-ghetto
This song is also on our Spotify playlist Bang a Gong – the 60s
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