The Life And Career Of Elvis Aron Presley: 1965
To promote the forthcoming "Girl Happy" soundtrack, RCA released "Do The Clam" / "You'll Be Gone". With 350,000 copies during its initial sales period and a peak position of 21 this was the worst selling Presley single (with new songs) so far.
On February 24th Elvis recorded the soundtrack for "Harum Scarum". The shootings went from March 9th to April 19th. Having realized, that his client didn't act motivated and focused, Colonel Parker talked to several members of the Memphis Mafia and urged them, to watch their boss and get him back on track.
The soundtrack album "Girl Happy" didn't sell as well as the previously released "Roustabout", but still charts in the top10. The accordant movie is ranked at number 25 on the list of the most successful films of the year. At easter time RCA released "Crying In The Chapel" / "I Believe In The Man In The Sky". The a-side was a leftover from the sessions for "His Hand In Mine", the track on the b-side had been available on the album for half a decade. RCA had paid Elvis a bonus of 10,000 USD for his approval to release the track. Surprisingly "Crying In The Chapel" peaked at number 3 of the Billboard Charts and became the king's best selling single of the last two years.
Between May 11th and June 24th Elvis worked on "Frankie And Johnny", the first of two movies for United Artists. Usually the king got himself in shape before stepping in front of a movie camera, but this time his weight was up and his face looked a bit pudgy. It was quite a task to sell him as every women's dream. Because his client had also lost interest in recording a studio album or appearing live, Colonel Parker convinced the management of RCA to buy Elvis' golden Cadillac and send it on tour. Even though it was an act of desperation, it worked out and many fans turned up to see their idol's vehicle. Of course the manager also used the event to promote "Tickle Me", the latest movie of the king.
The film itself premiered on July 7th and finally saved Allied Artist from bankruptcy. In fact, "Tickle Me" would become one of Elvis' most successful movies. RCA capitalized on the flick and issued "(Such An) Easy Question" / "It Feels So Right" and "I'm Yours" / "(It's A) Long Lonely Highway". Even though all the songs from the film had been released previously, both singles became top20 hits and sold more than half a million copies each. However, the sales of the soundtrack ep were nothing to write home about.
In the summer of 1965 Elvis read books like "Psychedelic Experience" (Timothy Leary) and "The Doors Of Perception" (Aldous Huxley). Besides all the "medication" he was taking anyway, he also began to experiment with LSD and Marihuana.
On August 2nd the king started to work on "Paradise, Hawaiian Style". His weight was up and his motivation was low. By now Elvis just fairly resembled the guy, the fans had seen in "Blue Hawaii" and "Girls! Girls! Girls!". He even had lost the interest in recording music. For his 10th anniversary at RCA a new studio album had been planned, but instead of using the opportunity to record something else than movie tunes, Elvis preferred to release a collection of leftovers from the vaults. Out of frustration Colonel Parker publicly hinted, that at some point someone else had to take over the management of his client. Instead of turning his attention to his job, Elvis preferred to work on the concept for the Meditation Garden. He often visited the Self Realization Park in Pacific Palisades and wanted something similar on his own property. On August 21st Bill Black, Elvis' former band mate, died of a brain tumor at the age of only 39. The king sent his father Vernon and his wife Dee to the fulneral, because he feared, that his presence might take the attention away from Bill.
On the same day Colonel Parker dealt out a new contract with RCA. Even though the sales of his artist had lowered by 40% within the past five years, he was able to raise the guaranteed annual payments to 300,000 USD. The royalties remained at 5% (regular) and 2% (special). Parker's own fee for consultancy and the supply of photos was raised to 30,000 USD. On top of that, there were non-scheduled bonus payments to Elvis (150,000 USD) and Parker (25,000 USD). The new contract phased out in 1972.
In October RCA issued two more singles with already released material. "Puppet On A String" / "Wooden Heart" became a top20 hit and "Santa Claus Is Back In Town" / "Blue Christmas" became a constant seller an annually re-appeared on Billboard's Christmas Chart. The soundtrack album "Harum Scarum" was released in November, sold 300,000 copies and peaked at number 8. The accordant movie made it to number 11 of the Box Office Survey and generated domestic rental fees of 2 million USD. Finally RCA released "Tell Me Why" / "Blue River". The song had been in the vaults since 1957, but it sold 400,000 units and peaked at number 33. Being albe to sell old stuff or sell the newer material twice, was a good thing. But Elvis needed real hits and had to record strong, contemporary material.