On March 23, 1956 RCA Victor released the first long player of the Hillbilly Cat. Selling 300,000 copies the album entered the "Pop Album Charts" the following week, stayed almost a year (49 weeks) and peaked at number one. By the end of 1956 "Elvis Presley" had sold over 1.25 million units in the US alone and became the first record to earn a label more than a million USD. In 1966 the RIAA presented a Gold Award to Elvis, 45 years later his estate would be granted with a Platinum Award. Worldwide "Elvis Presley" sold 3 million copies, which translates to 450 million paid streams of the complete album respectively 4.5 billion individual tracks. Nowadays the album accumulates around 250 million streams on Spotify.

For the cover RCA Victor used a concert photo from the summer of 1955 and promo pictures made in November of the same year. The packaging also featured liner notes about the new recording artist. The running time of the long player is 28:03 minutes.

On the streaming platforms "Elvis Presley" is presented the way it was issued in 2016 as part of the set "The Album Collection". For this project all tracks were scanned with high-resolution equipment and remastered. Therefore the album can be presented with the golden Hi-Res emblem. The better sound of these versions is owed exclusively to the new mastering (the elimination of interfering noise). Because first one cannot turn an analogue recording into a high resolution recording just by scanning the tape with hd equipment and second even an old cd with 16 bit/44.1 kHz exceeds the auditory sense of a human being.

The first sessions for the new label were held on January 10th and 11th, 1956 at the RCA Studio in Nashville/Tennessee. Steve Sholes produced the sessions, Bob Ferris handled the technical equipment. The quartet of Elvis (guitar), Scotty Moore (guitar), Bill Black (bass) and D.J. Fontana (drums) was supplemented by Chet Atkins (guitar) and Floyd Cramer (piano). For the first time harmony vocals were added to a Presley recording, in this case provided by Gordon Stoker and Ben & Brock Speer.

Unfortunately the sessions neither had been productive enough to fill an album, nor did "Heartbreak Hotel" evoke a positive feedback from RCA. Nevertheless Steve Sholes released this very song and "I Was The One" on the first RCA single of the Hillbilly Cat. But he also compiled an extended player of unreleased SUN recordings to earn the costs of the sessions back if his new talent would fail again.

From January 30th to February 3rd there were additional sessions, this time at RCA's studio in New York City. Once again they were produced by Steve Sholes himself, but this time Ernie Ulrich acted as sound engineer. To save money only a pianinst (Shorty Long) was hired to beef up the sound of Elvis, Scotty, Bill and D.J.

Encouraged by the success of "Heartbreak Hotel" / "I Was The One" Sholes now compiled an album, but still mixed the new material with older recordings the label had bought from SUN. Therefore the sound of the long player was a little uneven.

Fifty years after the release of "Elvis Presley" Follow That Dream Records issued a collector's edition with additional bonus songs and outtakes. For the review of this special edition tap HERE.

The song is based on an occurrence Johnny Cash had witnessed while on military service in Landsberg Am Lech/Germany. His supervisor always used to say "don't step on my blue suede shoes" when he wanted to point out one should not challenge him. Cash told the story to Carl Perkins and when he saw a dancing couple with the man keeping the lady at distance to avoid she was stepping on his shoes, he mixed the incidents and turned them into a song. He called the result "Blue Suede Shoes" and released it on January 1, 1956 on a single. Because Elvis liked the song and had performed it on television Steve Sholes pressed him to record it in the studio. The young singer gave in and put the song on tape on January 30, 1956 within ten takes. Sholes planned to release the song on a single and use the market power of RCA Victor to entice the hit away from Carl. It is said that Elvis opposed and the track was used on the album only. However, in August 1956 "Blue Suede Shoes" was issued on a single with "Tutti Frutti", another cover version of a recent hit. Elvis re-recorded "Blue Suede Shoes" in 1960 for the movie "G.I. Blues", but this time in a much tamer arrangement. Live versions can be found on "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" (1969) and "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" (1973). Another recording, this time made in 1968 for the tv special "SINGER presents Elvis", was featured on "A Legendary Performer - Volume 2" (1976). It's safe to say that Elvis never even came close to his great original recording.

The ballad was penned by Don Robertson and recorded by Elvis on January 11, 1956 at the RCA Studio in Nashville/Tennessee. The slow song costed him some effort, he needed 17 takes before he archived a satisfactory result. In August 1956 RCA released "I'm Counting On You" and "I Got A Woman" on a single. In general I like this song, but I am sure that Elvis would have performed it better an later years.

In early 1955 Ray Charles had stormed the R&B-Charts with a song called "I've Got A Woman" and a very young Elvis had included it in his live show almost immediately. The song was based on the gospel "It Must Be Jesus" and was written by Renald Richard and Ray Charles. The Hillbilly Cat recorded it on January 10, 1956 at the RCA Studio in Nashville/Tennessee and needed eight takes to do so. RCA Victor also releaded "I Got A Woman" on the extended player "Elvis Presley" (1956), the double-ep "Elvis Presley" (1956), on a single with "I'm Counting On You" (1956) and on the album "Pure Gold" (1975). Elvis himself obviously loved the song because he kept it in his live show until the very end. It's also featured on "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" (1974) and "Elvis In Concert" (1977).

On January 30, 1956 Elvis recorded "One-Sided Love Affair" within eight takes. The song was written by Bill Campbell and released by RCA Victor on the double-ep "Elvis Presley" (1956) and a single with "Money Honey" (1956). Today "One-Sided Love Affair" is overlooked by fans and critics, but I like the song very much.

In 1949 composer and singer Leon Payne scored a top5-hit on the "Country & Western Charts" with his song and Elvis also couldn't resist to record it on July 5, 1954 at SUN Records in Memphis/Tennessee. Because Sam Phillips, producer of the session and owner of the label, preferred up tempo songs the tapes were left in the vaults. Steve Sholes used the 3rd and 5th take to create a master, which was released on this album, on an ep also named "Elvis Presley" and on a single with "Trying To Get To You". Later RCA also presented outtakes on "A Legendary Performer" (1974) and "The Sun Sessions" (1976). Even though Elvis doesnt sing technically as perfect as in later years, he still delivers an emotional performance.

In the song his girlfriend regards herself something better, so the singer decides to leave her. In the 1970s Elvis would have presented such a story in form of a mourning country ballad, but here he doesn't even appear to be sad. Elvis' version, recorded on September 10, 1954 at SUN Records, also appeared on the ep "Elvis Presley" (1956), a single with "Blue Moon" (1956) and the compilation "The Sun Sessions" (1976).  "Just Because" was written by Sydney Robin and first released in 1929 by Nelstone's Hawaiians. This song ends the a-side of the album.

The b-side also starts with a cover version of a well known hit. In early January of 1956 Little Richard had scored a number 2 hit with "Tutti Frutti" on the "Rhythm & Blues Chart", on the 31st of the same month Elvis recorded his variation of the tune. While the original artist had nailed the song within three takes Elvis needed ten attempts to get it right. Little Richard had written the funny song about the qualities of his female acquaintances himself, but his producer Robert Blackwell regarded the lyrics too raunchy and had Dorothy LaBostirie adjusting them.  The Presley version was issued on the ep and double-ep called "Elvis Presley" and in combination with "Blue Suede Shoes" on a single.

"Trying To Get To You" was written by Rose Marie McCoy and Charles Singleton and released in 1954 by The Eagles. In January or February 1955 Elvis tryed to record his own version at SUN Records, but Sam Phillips wasn't convinced by the results. On July 21st the Hillbilly Cat tried again and the master was selected for the a-side of a single. When RCA Victor bought the contract the plan was burried. However, when the label released all the tracks of this album in the single-format, "Trying To Get To You" was coupled with "I Love You Because". Elvis himself must have liked this song very much, because live versions can be found on "A Legendary Performer" (1974), "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" (1974) and "Elvis In Concert" (1977). Even though I like the studio recording very much, my favorite is the one released on "A Legendary Performer", which was recorded in 1968 for the tv special "SINGER presents Elvis".

Anno 1956 Roy Hamilton released "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You)", Elvis recorded the song on January 31, 1956 at the RCA studio in New York. The young singer worked hard on the tune and needed 18 attempts to archive a master. In the song, written by Joe Thomas and Howard Biggs, the singer announces to descend into misery if his big love ever leaves him, but he does it in form of a happy uptempo popsong. RCA Victor also released "I'm Gonna Sit Right Down And Cry (Over You) on the double-ep "Elvis Presley" and the flipside of the single "I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin'). In later years the song was also covered by Del Shannon, Shakin' Stevens and The Beatles.

As written before RCA Victor also released this song on a single, later it was used again on the album "The Sun Sessions". The ballad was penned by Jimmy Wakely, Elvis recorded it in September 1954 at SUN Records in Memphis/Tennessee. He sings very emotional and the echo effect creates a great atmosphere, but somehow the song doesn't work for me. Maybe it's Elvis voice, maybe the lack of technique. I don't know.

In 1933 Richard Rogers and Lorenz Heart wrote a song called "Prayer (Oh Lord, Make Me A Moviestar)" for a movie named "Hollywood Party". When it was decided not to use it, the duo turned it into "It's Just That Kind Of Play" and tried to get it into the film "Manhattan Melodrama". It was rejected, but another re-write (this time named "The Bad In Every Man") finally made it into the movie. Now it was released, but unfortunately not successful by any means. And so Lorenz Heart wrote a fourth version by the name of "Blue Moon". It was recorded by Glen Gray & The Casa Loma Orchestra and later covered by many other artists. One of them was Elvis Presley, who taped his version on August 15 and 19, 1954 at SUN Records. Take 9 was selected as the master. In general I'm not a fan of the king's early ballads, because he lacked the voice, the depth and the technique to perform them in a believable way. However, "Blue Moon" is one of the big exceptions, because he manages to convince me of his sadness and loneliness and the sparse arrangement is nothing but great. RCA Victor released the song on the ep "Elvis Presley" (1956), on a single with "Just Because" (1956) and on the album "The Sun Sessions" (1976).

Even though "Money Honey" was often performed on stage Elvis didn't manage to produce a satisfactory take in the studio (January 10, 1956). So Steve Sholes created a master by splicing the takes 5 and 6. In the song the illiquid narrator asks his girlfriend for money, but is left by her for a more solvent man. His conclusion is to better check the girl's finances before starting a releationship with her. The funny uptempo song was written by Jesse Stone and released in 1953 by The Drifters. Elvis liked their lead singer, Clyde McPhatter, and would later cover some more songs of the group. In August 1956 RCA coupled "Money Honey" with "One-Sided Love Affair" on a single.