In February 1967 RCA Victor released "How Great Thou Art", Elvis' first album in half a decade that had no connection to a movie and wasn't a greatest hits album or a compilation of leftovers. It entered the "Top LPs Chart" on March 25th, had a run of 18 weeks, peaked at number 18 and sold 200,000 copies in the initial sales period. At first the result seemed disappointing, because the previously released soundtrack album "Spinout" had had a longer chart run and had sold 100,000 units more. But it soon turned out, that the demand for "How Great Thou Art" was much more sustainable. After a year the RIAA honored the domestic sales with a Gold Award, later the organization updated the status to Platinum (1992) and Tripple Platinum (2010). In total "How Great Thou Art" sold five million units, which means it was the most successful Presley album since "Blue Hawaii" in 1961. The amount of physical sales equals 750 million paid streams of the complete album or 7.5 billion paid streams of individual tracks. The Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences nominated "How Great Thou Art" for a Grammy in the categories "Best Sacred Performance" and "Best Engineered Recording". James Malloy was beaten by Geoff E. Emerick (who was nominated for the engineering of The Beatles' "St. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band"), but Elvis won the first Grammy Award of his career. Nowadays "How Great Thou Art" accumulates a bit over 85 million streams on Spotify.

The cover showed a promo photo for the movie "Girls! Girls! Girls!" (1962), which was photoshopped (there was no Photoshop back then, but everyone knows what I mean) in front of a picture of the First Church Of Christ in Sandwich/Massachusetts. The backside presented another picture of the king, this time a recent one which had been made to promote the forthcoming movie "Double Trouble". Of course RCA Victor didn't forget to mention, that this album featured "Crying In The Chapel", which had been a hit two years earlier.

On the streaming platforms "How Great Thou Art" is presented the way it was issued in 2016 as part of the set "The Album Collection", which means it includes the bonus songs "We Call On Him" and "You'll Never Walk Alone". 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 album was recorded at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee between May 25th and 28th, 1966. It was produced by Felton Jarvis and engineered by James Malloy and Al Pachucki. Elvis' band consisted of Scotty Moore (guitar), D.J. Fontana (drums), Chip Young (guitar), Bob Moore (bass, May 25th to 27th), Henry Strzelecki (bass, May 28th), Charlie McCoy (bass, harmonica and guitar), Murrey Harman (drums), Floyd Cramer (piano), Henry Slaughter (piano and organ, May 25th to 27th), David Briggs (piano and organ, May 26th), Pete Drake (steel guitar), Rufus Long (saxophone), Homer Randolf (saxophone) and Ray Stevens (trumpet, May 28th). The harmony vocals were provided by The Jordanaires (Gordon Stoker, Neal Matthews, Hoyt Hawkins and Ray Walker), The Imperials (Jake Hess, Sherrill Nielsen, Gary McSpadden, Armond Morales and Henry Slaughter) as well as Millie Kirkham, June Page and Dolores Edgin. The original album has a running time of 31:33 minutes.

In 2010 Follow That Dream Records released a collector's edition of "How Great Thou Art", which also included many outtakes. For a review just tap HERE.

The origin of this hymn is the Swedish song "O Store Gud", which was written in 1886 by Carl Boberg. In 1907 it was translated by Manfred von Glen to "Wie Gross Bist Du", in 1925 there was an English version called "O Mighty God, When I Behold The Wonder". Eight years later the missionaries Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Hine turned it into "How Great Thou Art", which was based on the German translation by von Glen. This final version was recorded by many singers and gospel groups, in 1962 Tennessee Ernie Ford even scored a hit on the pop charts with the hymn. Elvis recorded "How Great Thou Art" on May 25, 1966 within four takes. In 1969 RCA Victor re-released the track on a single, seven years later it was also featured on the compilation "A Legendary Performer - Volume 2". Live versions can be found on the albums "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" (1974) and "Elvis In Concert" (1977). The performance from 1974 won the king another Grammy.

In 1912 Adam Geibel asked Charles Austin Miles to write "pleasant" lyrics for one of his melodies. The result was named "In The Garden" and recorded for the first time in 1914 by Ada Jones and George Ballard. Elvis taped it on May 26th and needed three takes to get it right.

The ballad was recorded in 1951 by The Ink Spots, the writers are Johnny Lange, Walter Heath and Sonny Burke. On May 27th Elvis recorded 16 takes of "Somebody Bigger Than You And I" as well as six workpart-takes of the song's finale. The master is a splice of the takes 16 and 6 (workpart take). Even though I am not religious at all, this is one of my favorites. It's just so damn beautiful.

The origins of this song are estimated to be in the 19th century, a first copyright was registered in 1937 by W.B. Stevens. Amongst others The Stamps Quartet, The Blackwood Brothers and The Harmonizing Four recorded "Farther Along". It is said that the version of the last mentioned group was one of the favorites of Gladys Presley. Elvis intoned the song in December 1956 at SUN Records during the "million dollar quartet sessions", but he recorded it professionally not earlier than May 26, 1966. The king taped three takes of "Farther Along", the master was a splice of take 3 and a line of take 2.

This is not the hit from Ben E. King, but a song written by Charles Albert Tindley in 1905. Elvis recorded it on May 25th, the 11th attempt became the master. I like this quiet, solemn song very much.

The first side of the album ends with this beautiful hymn by Mylon Lefefre. Elvis liked the gospel group The Lefefres very much and also attended one of their concerts in Memphis in 1960. On May 27, 1966 je recorded their "Without Him" and needed 12 attempts to deliver a perfect performance. For me, this track is another highlight of this album.

While the first side was dedicated to the quiet songs, the b-side was made up with the rhythmical stuff. "So High" is a traditional, which was recorded for the first time in 1947 by The Sons Of The Pinoneers. On May 26th the king recorded the up tempo song within four takes.

The song was written in 1940 by James B. Coats and recorded in the same year by The All American Quartet. However, Elvis based his version on the arrangement of The Harmonizing Four's recording. Take 2 became the master, which is quite an archivement, because the first attempt is nothing but a false start of 30 seconds. In 1968 Elvis re-recorded "Where Could I Go But To The Lord" for his tv special "SINGER presents Elvis". I like this song very much because of its cool, relaxed groove. It's a real highlight.

Here we have a tranditional from the 19th century, that was adapted in 1905 by Charles Albert Tindley. It also belongs to my favorites, because Elvis really gets into the song and it's obvious, that he loved this kind of music. By the way: The recording was made on May 26, 1966 within ten takes.

On May 27th Elvis taped six takes of "If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side", the fifth attempt was finally selected for release. The up tempo song was written by Henry Slaughter, who also attended this session as a member of The Imperials.

This one is also a highlight for me. "Run On" is a traditional and an ancestor of today's rap music. Elvis is really good at rhythmic talking, a talent he didn't display too often. The song was recorded for the first time in 1946 by The Golden Gate Quartet, albeit under the name of "God's Gonna Cut You Down". The king recorded the track on May 25th within seven takes. It's somewhat of a pity that "Run On" wasn't released on a single.

The up tempo songs are followed by another hymn, this time written by Mosie Lister. It was recorded in 1955 by The Statesmen Quartet, of which Mosie was a member. Elvis taped it on May 25, 1966. The master is a splice of take 4 and workpart-take 7. The king uses his baritone voice to its full extend, without sounding pressed like he sometimes would in later years. On February 16, 1977 he also sang "Where No One Stands Alone" live on stage, but he didn't even come close to his masterful studio recording.

As an incentive to buy RCA Victor included "Crying In The Chapel", Elvis' top 3 hit from 1965. Originally the king had recorded the song on October 30, 1960 for his gospel album "His Hand In Mine". Due to copyright issues the tape was filed away until it finally was released half a decade later on a single, coupled with I Believe In The Man In The Sky". The decision soon turned out to be a good one, because "Crying In The Chapel" became Elvis' best selling single in three years. "Crying In The Chapel" was written by Artie Glenn and recorded in 1953 by his son Darrell.