With "From Elvis In Memphis" the king released his first studio album in two years. The record was sent out to the stores in early June 1969 and was listed on Billboard's "Top LPs Chart" for the first time on the 14th of the month. It had a run of 34 weeks and peaked at number 12. On June 21st "From Elvis In Memphis" also entered the "Hot Country LPs Chart", where it was also listed for 34 weeks, but reached number 2. In its initial sales period 500,000 units were retailed, in January 1970 the RIAA honored the domestic sales with a Gold Award. Worldwide "From Elvis In Memphis" sold 3.5 million units, which equals  525 million paid streams of the complete album or 5.25 billion individual tracks. Therefore it was the second album in a row that could compete with the king's heyday. After the post-army comeback Elvis was now obviously enjoying a third commercial spring. Over the decades "From Elvis In Memphis" kept its popularity and clocks in at nearly 800 million streams on Spotify.

The front cover was made up with a great shot from the tv special "SINGER presents Elvis", but on the backside RCA Victor unfortunately used a six years old promo photo for "Viva Las Vegas", which now looked like from another age. Of course the label didn't forget to promote the album "Elvis", which containes the soundtrack of the tv show. To boost the sales the first edition of "From Elvis In Memphis" included a photocard with another promo shot for "SINGER presents Elvis".

On the streaming platforms "From Elvis In Memphis" is presented the way it was issued in 2016 as part of the set "The Album Collection". As bonus tracks the digital version also includes "Suspicious Minds", "Don't Cry Daddy", "Kentucky Rain" and "Mama Liked The Roses". 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 produced in two sessions at the American Sound Studio in Memphis/Tennessee. The first period of recording lasted from January 13th to 22nd, the second one from February 17th to 22nd. The sessions were produced by Chips Moman (American) and Felton Jarvis (RCA) and engineered by Roy Shockley (American) and Al Pachucki (RCA). The band consisted of Reggie Young (guitar & sitar), Tommy Cogbill (bass), Mike Leech (bass), Gene Chrisman (drums), Bobby Wood (piano), Bobby Emmons (organ), John Hughey (steel guitar) and Ed Kollis (harmonica). Between January 22nd and May 7th further instruments and harmony voices were added. The masters were released on the albums "From Elvis In Memphis" (1969) and "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" (1969) as well as on several singles (1969/70). The leftovers appeared on "Let's Be Friends" (CAMDEN, 1970), "Almost In Love" (CAMDEN, 1970) and "Elvis Now" (RCA, 1972). Without the additional tracks of the digital release "From Elvis In Memphis" has a running time of 36:42 minutes.

In contrast to Elvis' old fashioned ways Chips Moman didn't produce his recordings as live tracks, but worked with layers. The groundwork was a basic track, which was later altered and enhanced in various ways. Additional instruments and voices were recorded, some parts were left out and others were replaced. Since the king had started out in the 1950s, the technology had improved a lot and by 1969 the engineers had much more tracks available. Even though he stayed silent at the time, Elvis didn't like this way of recording. He would never work with Moman again and immediately returned to his tried and tested formula.

In 2013 Follow That Dream Records released a collector's edition of "From Elvis In Memphis". Besides the remastered tracks of the original album this double cd also included a lot of previously unreleased outtakes. To read a review of this release tap HERE.

The album starts with the line "I had to leave town for a little while". And it was true, indeed. For the first time since 1955 Elvis recorded in Memphis again. The song, of course, wasn't about putting songs on tape, but about the singer returning home and having to realize that his loved one had been partying all the time and living at his expense."Wearin' That Loved On Look" was written by Dallas Frazier and Al Owens, the king recorded it on January 13, 1969 and selected the 15th attempt as the master take. On January 21st Elvis re-recorded the vocals, the following day a guitar overdub was made. The post-production ended on January 24th with the recording of harmony vocals.

The song was written by Kenny Gamble, Leon Huff and Jerry Butler. The latter one also recorded it and scored a top 5 hit with "Only The Strong Survive" in 1968. Elvis taped his version on February 19, 1969 and needed 29 takes to get it right. On February 22nd the king recorded several vocal repairs, Chips Moman later added horns (March 18th), strings (March 21st) and harmony vocals (March 25th). In the song the singer tells us about his first, unlucky love and the resulting advice from his mother: Keep your tail up!

Elvis turns this classic in a mourning blues. It was written in 1947 by Thomas Dilbeck, Vaughan Horton and Eddy Arnold, whose performace stayed at the top of the charts for an astonishing 21 weeks. Elvis recorded "I'll Hold You In My Heart (Till I Can Hold You In My Arms)" on January 22, 1969 within a single take. 

This one was recorded on January 13, 1969, the 9th take was chosen for post production. The first step was to re-record Elvis' vocals starting with the line "through tear-filled eyes...". This was done on January 22nd. Finally strings were added on March 18th. In the song the girlfriend of the narrator once promised to return in a long black limousine and now the time has finally come. But it soon turns out that the limousine isn't a luxurious car, but a hearse. Elvis performs the song in great voice and very emotional. The arrangement is top notch, too. In other words: This is a real classic and my all time favorite in the catalogue of the king! "Long Black Limousine" was written by Vern Stoval and Bobby George. Wynn Steward was the first to record the song, but the first release was by Stovall himself. The best known version at the time was by country star Glen Campbell.

The dramatical song is followed by a simple country tune, which Elvis taped on February 20, 1969 within three takes. The violins were added on March 21st, three days later harmony vocals followed. In 1962 Johnny Tillotson, the writer of "It Keeps Right On A-Hurtin'", enjoyed a number 3 hit with his song, in 1968 Margaret Whiting scored a top 20 hit. The lyrics are typical for a country song, there is a lot of pain because the loved one is gone. It's a nice tune and Elvis performs it well.

When Hank Snow released "I'm Moving On" in 1950, the song stayed at the number one of the country chart for 21 consecutive weeks. Since then many artists have covered the tune, examples are Ray Charles, Emmylou Harris and The Rolling Stones. Elvis recorded "I'm Moving On" on January 14, 1969 within a single take, five days later producer Chips Moman added additional instruments. On January 22nd Elvis re-recorded most of his vocals, on January 24th the production was finalized by overdubbing harmony voices. The king performs the song with much more drive than Snow, which I like better.

Bernie Baum, Bill Giant and Florence Kaye are known for a truckload of mediocre movie tunes, but "Power Of My Love" is a great example that the trio was able to deliver really good stuff, too. Full of power and testosterone the king promotes his qualities as a lover and obviously has fun with the song. It was recorded on February 18, 1969 with take 7 (actually it was the 8th attempt) being the master-take. On February 22nd the king recorded a harmony vocal, on March 19th and 25th horns and backup voices were added.

The song was written and performed by John Hartford, who won a Grammy with it in 1968. The version by Glen Campbell was also awarded by The Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences. "Gentle On My Mind" was a very popular song and covered by Aretha Franklin, Dean Martin, Johnny Cash, REM and many others. Elvis did so on January 14, 1969. Six days later he re-recorded major parts of his vocals and also added the harmony voice. Later brass (March 18th), strings (March 19th), other instruments (March 20th) and backup voices (March 25th) were overdubbed. In early 1977 RCA Records released a remix of "Gentle On My Mind" on the album "Welcome To My World".

Originally Elvis had planned to record "After Loving You" a few years earlier, but he never made it past a private recording for his own use. He finally taped a version in a professional environment on February 18, 1969. The song was written by Eddie Miller and Janet Lantz, the first recording was by Joe Henderson in 1962. The same year Eddie Arnold released a cover version, Jim Reeves followed a year later. The narrator claims to be unable to love any woman the way he loves his ex, because compared to her all others are second rate. Elvis gets completely caught up in his performance and wrings out every ounce of emotion.

Dallas Frazier and Al Owens wrote this song about a love surviving all storms. Duane Dee recorded "True Love Travels On A Gravel Road" in 1968, but never made it past number 58 of the country chart. Elvis taped his version on February 17, 1969 and performed it live on January 26, 1970 in Las Vegas. The studio recording was spiced up with the king recording a harmony vocal (February 22nd) and the addition of strings and backup vocals (March 25th). The result is a strong, modern (by 1969) and mature popsong.

The basic track of "Any Day Now" was recorded on February 20, 1969 within six takes. On February 22nd Elvis produced a vocal repair, horns and strings were added on March 18th, harmony voices followed on March 25th. The singer fears to be left by his loved one any time and begs her to stay. To me "Any Day Now" is one of the highlights of this album. Elvis must have thought in a similar way, because the song was released on the b-side of "In The Ghetto". Chuck Jackson was the first to record the tune in 1962 and his single peaked at number 23 of the "Hot 100". The writers of "Any Day Now" are Bob Hilliard and Burt Bacharach.

Mac Davis describes the short life of a man in a city slum, that ends violently in consequence of a robbery. Because a baby is born at the same time and its fate will be similar, the song originally was sub-titled "The Vicious Circle". On January 20, 1969 Elvis recorded 22 takes of the ballad, but finally the track with his voice was silenced and just the music was used. Two days after the initial recording the king produced a new vocal track, on January 24th Chips Moman and Felton Jarvis added harmony voices. The production was finalized on March 18th with the overdub of horns and strings. The skilled arrangement and Elvis' emotional and believable performance turn this ordinary and simple consternation-tune into something very special. No wonder, it was decided to make "In The Ghetto" the a-side of a single. Just a few months after the release of "From Elvis In Memphis" RCA Victor issued a live recording of "In The Ghetto" on the double album "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis". The studio version was re-released on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970) and the longplayer "Pure Gold" (1975).