Born in St Mary's Hospital, Paddington in London, Costello is the son of trumpeter, vocalist and band-leader Ronald (“Ross”) MacManus and record store manager Lillian Costello. His family had roots in Merseyside and he moved to Birkenhead at age 16, with his mother, when his parents separated. While he is better known as 'Elvis Costello', a stage name referring to the legendary Elvis Presley suggested by Stiff Records manager Jake Riviera, he has used many other aliases, including 'The Imposter' and 'Napoleon Dynamite'.
In the early 1970s Costello was a participant in London's pub rock scene with the group Flip City. Then in 1977 along with fellow Pub-Rockers Nick Lowe and Ian Dury he made his first releases on the independent label Stiff, tailoring his work towards the burgeoning punk, power pop, and new wave scenes. From 1980's Armed Forces onwards, however, other influences including soul, country, 1960s pop, and classical music began to re-emerge, and he soon became established as a unique and original voice. His output has been wildly diverse: one critic has written that "Costello, the pop encyclopedia, can reinvent the past in his own image".
His prolific and varied 30-year career has been marked by two constants: sharp songwriting and musical restlessness. The latter has seen him dabble in almost every musical form, from country to jazz to orchestral. This stems from the fact that, at heart, Costello is a fan. His desire to work with his musical heroes has attracted collaborators as diverse as Burt Bacharach and Paul McCartney, Anne Sofie von Otter, Allen Toussaint, Aimee Mann, Bill Frisell, and Brian Eno.
But his most successful partners were his long-term band The Attractions. They comprised Steve Nieve (keyboards), Pete Thomas (drums) and Bruce Thomas (bass). Between 1978 and 1983, this outfit produced a peerless series of albums: This Year's Model; Armed Forces; Get Happy!!; Almost Blue; Trust; Imperial Bedroom and Punch the Clock.
These recordings drew on styles spanning soul, country and western and commercial pop. It was only with 1984's Goodbye Cruel World that Costello started to stumble. An album he concedes was one of his worst, it ushered in a period which produced interesting music but lacked the consistent quality of his halcyon days. Interestingly, although he enlisted the other Elvis's band for King of America in 1986, it was a reunion with The Attractions and former producer Nick Lowe that produced his best album of the late 1980s in the form of the scabrous Blood and Chocolate.
The following albums, Spike and Mighty Like a Rose were uncompromising and difficult solo works, as was the string quartet collaboration The Juliet Letters in 1993. It was only reconvening the Attractions for Brutal Youth the following year that gave his fans another glimpse of what first attracted them to him: punchy, angry pop songs, tightly played by an impeccably taut ensemble.
Since then, Costello has become a career dilettante, true to his inner musical quest, but never again returning to heights he scaled in the early 1980s. Maybe the best work of this latter period was 1998's Painted from Memory. This joint effort with Burt Bacharach matched restrained writing from Costello with stately Bacharach arrangements.
Subsequent career nadirs such as the tune-free North (2003), and instrumental orchestral works such as Il Sogno (2004) led many long-term admirers to conclude that Costello had retained his integrity at the expense of his real musical strengths. However, he has given occasional evidence of his former fire. The ballsy bar-room atmosphere of the collaborative The Delivery Man (2004), suggests that he is still capable of giving his fans what they want, in between his more esoteric experiments.
Elvis is married to jazz vocalist Diana Krall and they have twin sons.
*Upon the film's release, it was noted that the name "Napoleon Dynamite" had originally been used by musician Elvis Costello, most visibly on his 1986 album Blood and Chocolate, although he had used the pseudonym on a single B-side as early as 1982. Filmmaker Jared Hess claims that he was not aware of Costello's use of the name until two days before the end of shooting, when he was informed by a teenage extra. He later said, "Had I known that name was used by anybody else prior to shooting the whole film, it definitely would have been changed ... I listen to hip-hop, dude. It's a pretty embarrassing coincidence." Hess claims that "Napoleon Dynamite" was the name of a man he met around the year 2000 on the streets of Cicero, Illinois while doing missionary work for the Mormon Church.
Costello believes that Hess stole the name: "The guy just denies completely that I made the name up... but I invented it. Maybe somebody told him the name and he truly feels that he came about it by chance. But it's two words that you're never going to hear together." To date, Costello has taken no legal action against the film.
Elvis Costello and Elton John to Make a Television 'Spectacle'
Two of the most respected musicians in the world will collaborate on an extraordinary new television series.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is hosted by its namesake and produced in conjunction with Sir Elton John's Rocket Pictures. Elton John will be one of the program's Executive Producers.
The series begain airing in 2008 on CTV in Canada, Channel 4 in the UK and Sundance Channel in the US. FremantleMedia Enterprises, will handle sales of the show to the rest of the world.
Conceived to provide a forum for in-depth discussion and performance with the most interesting and influential artists and personalities of our time, the show fuses the best of talk and music television.
"Spectacle: Elvis Costello with..." is an unpredictable and unprecedented television experience. The series of 13 one-hour programs features everything from intimate one-on-ones with legendary performers and notable newcomers to thematic panel discussions, with a variety of performance elements including unique collaborations, acoustic and impromptu "illustrative" demonstrations of the creative process, and some original interpretations of others' songs by Costello.
It Had to Be You
Elvis Costello Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Why must I just give you your way?
Why do I sigh?
Why don't I try to forget
It must have been that something lovers call fate
Kept me saying I had to wait
I saw them all
It had to be you, it had to be you
I've wandered around, finally found somebody who
Could make me be true
Could make me be blue
And, even be glad just to be sad thinkin' of you
Some others I've seen
Might never be mean
Might never be cross
Or, try to be boss
But, they wouldn't do
For nobody else gave me a thrill
With all your faults, I love you still
It had to be you, wonderful you
It had to be you
Seems like, dreams like I've always had
Could be, should be makin' me glad
Why am I blue?
It's up to you to explain
I'm thinkin' maybe, baby, I'll go away
Someday, somewhere you'll come and say
"It's you I need"
But you'll be breathing in vain
It had to be you, it had to be you
I've wandered around, finally found somebody who
Could make me be true
Could make me be blue
Or even be glad just to be sad thinkin' of you
Some others I've seen
Might never be mean
Might never be cross
Or, try to be boss
But, they wouldn't do
'Cause nobody else gave me a thrill
With all your faults, I love you still
It had to be you, wonderful you
It had to be you
Some others I've seen
Might never be mean
Might never be cross
Or, try to be boss
But, they wouldn't do
For nobody else gave me a thrill
With all your faults, I love you still
It had to be you, wonderful you
It had to be you
The lyrics to Elvis Costello's "It Had To Be You" present a portrait of a man who is head-over-heels in love, yet frustrated by the fact that he has little control over the situation. He begins the song by questioning his subservience to his partner, asking, "Why do I do just as you say? Why must I just give you your way?" He then turns his attention to the question of why he feels so strongly about this person, even though she clearly has faults. He concludes that it must be a kind of romantic destiny that brought them together: "It must have been that something lovers call fate/Kept me saying I had to wait/I saw them all/Just couldn't fall till we met."
The song is essentially a love letter to the singer's partner, an ode to the unique qualities that set her apart from anyone else he has ever known. He praises her faults and quirks, acknowledging that while she may not be perfect, she is perfect for him. He is enamored by her ability to make him "be true" and to "be blue," and even to feel glad in his sadness as long as he is thinking of her. He concludes that "nobody else gave me a thrill/With all your faults, I love you still/It had to be you, wonderful you/It had to be you."
While it's unclear exactly who Costello may have been singing about in this song, it's clear that he was drawing on his own experiences of love and romance. The song has been covered by many artists over the years, including Frank Sinatra, Harry Connick Jr., and Rod Stewart. Its simple yet heartfelt lyrics have resonated with listeners for decades, and it remains a favorite for anyone who has been struck by the power of love.
Line by Line Meaning
Why do I do just as you say?
I am questioning why I always follow your directives.
Why must I just give you your way?
I am questioning why I acquiesce to your demands.
Why do I sigh?
I don't understand why I resign myself to a sorrowful mood.
Why don't I try to forget?
I question why I can't seem to let go of my attachment to you.
It must have been that something lovers call fate
I attribute our meeting to a romantic notion of destiny.
Kept me saying I had to wait
I believed that I had to keep waiting until the right person came along.
I saw them all
I met many people before meeting you.
Just couldn't fall till we met
I couldn't feel a romantic connection with anyone until I met you.
It had to be you, it had to be you
I am convinced that you were the only one for me.
I've wandered around, finally found somebody who
I have searched for someone who could make me feel what you make me feel.
Could make me be true
You bring out the best version of myself when I'm around you.
Could make me be blue
Even when feeling sad, thinking of you makes me happy.
And, even be glad just to be sad thinking of you
Thoughts of you can make me feel bittersweet, but I am still happy to have you in my life.
Some others I've seen
I have met other potential partners before.
Might never be mean
These other people were not bad, but they were not you.
Might never be cross
They didn't have the same impact on me as you do.
Or, try to be boss
These other people didn't try to control me in the same way that you do.
But, they wouldn't do
None of these other people could compare to you.
For nobody else gave me a thrill
No one else made me feel the same excitement that you do.
With all your faults, I love you still
Despite your flaws, I still love you.
Seems like, dreams like I've always had
It feels like you are the realization of the dreams I've always had for a partner.
Could be, should be making me glad
Having you in my life should make me happy, but sometimes it doesn't.
Why am I blue?
I wonder why I feel sad despite having you in my life.
It's up to you to explain
I think you hold the answer to why I feel this way and I need you to explain it to me.
I'm thinking maybe, baby, I'll go away
I am considering leaving you, even though it would be difficult.
Someday, somewhere you'll come and say
I hope that one day you'll realize how much you need me.
"It's you I need"
I hope you'll express that you realize that you need me in your life.
But you'll be breathing in vain
Your realization would be too late, as I will have already moved on without you.
It had to be you, it had to be you
I am certain that you were meant to be the one for me.
No other person could compare to you
I am convinced that no other person could make me feel the way you do.
Nobody else gave me a thrill
You are the only person who can make me feel truly excited and fulfilled in a romantic relationship.
With all your faults, I love you still
Despite your imperfections, I still love you unconditionally.
It had to be you, wonderful you
I believe that you are wonderful and that we were meant to be together.
Contributed by Evan J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.