On April 1, 1972 RCA Victor released the king's third gospel album. With sales of 250,000 copies it entered the "Top LPs Chart" on the 22nd of the month, had a run of ten weeks and peaked at number 79. On May 20th Billboard also started to list "He Touched Me" on the "Hot Country LPs Chart", where it stayed for six weeks and reached number 32. The Academy Of Recording Arts And Sciences honored the king with a Grammy Award, the RIAA certified "He Touched Me" with Gold (1992) and Platinum (1999). Worldwide the long player sold two million copies, which translates to 300 million paid streams of the album or 3 billion paid streams of individual tracks. Even though "He Touched Me" was retailed twice as much as the previously released "Elvis Now" album, it reached just 40% of the sales of the gospel lp "How Great Thou Art" (1967) and the budget compilation "You'll Never Walk Alone" (1971). Today the situation got even worse. On Spotify the albums accumulate 85 and 71 million streams while "He Touched Me" was requested no more than 35 million times.

The cover photo was taken during the "Elvis Summer Festival 1971" in Las Vegas, the backside of the sleeve promoted the king' previous gospel albums "How Great Thou Art" and "His Hand In Mine".

On the streaming platforms "He Touched Me" 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 songs were recorded between March 15th and June 10th 1971 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. Elvis' band consisted of James Burton (guitar), Chip Young (guitar), Charlie Hodge (guitar), Norbert Putnam (bass), Jerry Carrigan (drums, May 15th), Kenneth Buttery (drums, May 16th), David Briggs (piano) and Glenn Spreen (organ). The harmony vocals were provided by The Imperials (Jimmie Murray, Terry Blackwood, Greg Gordon and Joe Moscheo) as well as Millie Kirkham, Temple Riser and Ginger Holladay. The album has a running time of 30:50 minutes.

In 2011 Follow That Dream Records released a collector's edition of "He Touched Me", which also included several outtakes. For a review just tap HERE.

The hymn was written by William "Bill" Gaither, who also was the first to record it. Elvis more or less copied the version by The Imperials, who were providing the harmony vocals at this recording session. I like the king's performance, which was recorded on May 18, 1971 within four takes, very much. He sings with a lot of emotion and blends wonderfully with The Imperials.

This song had also been recorded by The Imperials, but the first to release the composition by Andrae Crouch was Sherman Andrus (who later joined The Imperials). Elvis recorded "I've Got Confidence" on May 18, 1971 and needed just two takes to reach a satisfactory result. In contrast to the first song on this album, this one has some kind of garage rock feeling. If the lyrics were not about the singer's trust in God, nobody would connect "I've Got Confidence" to religion. Elvis' vocals are not perfect, but it fits the track.

It seems that every artist, who is around long enough, records "Amazing Grace" at some point of his career. Elvis did so on March 15, 1971 within five takes. The harmony vocals were added on March 18th. The lyrics about the grace of God were written by John Newton. The melody is based on the Scottish traditional "Loch Lomond" from the 17th century and the British hymn "Todlen Hame". The song was recorded for the first time in 1922 by The Original Sacred Harp Choir, the version of The Royal Scots Dragoon Guards even became a number 1 hit on the UK Charts in 1972. I like Elvis' performance very much, because he delivers the classic with a touch of blues.

This song was written by Red West and Glen Spreen, who also brought "Holly Leaves And Christmas Trees" to these sessions. Elvis recorded it on May 19, 1971 and needed 14 takes to archive a satisfactory result. The band rocks along nicely and the king performs well, even though he appears to be somewhat tired in places. The lyrics are downright stupid, because they claim that the existence of scenic attractions is a proof of the existence of God. WTF?!?

Dallas Frazier wrote religious lyrics to his own "There Goes My Everything" and turned it into "He Is My Everything". Even though Elvis had recorded the secular version the previous year and also performed it in Vegas in early 1971, he wasn't able to deliver a master take. Felton Jarvis had to splice the takes 3 and 5 to get a releasable performance. The result was overdubbed with strings on June 22nd. Aside the lyrics, the main difference to "There Goes My Everything" is the faster tempo. This doesn't do the song any favor, just like Elvis' comparably bad voice and his sloppy performance.

The first recording of this traditional was by The Heavenly Gospel Singers in 1937. On June 9, 1971 Elvis recorded seven takes and approved the 6th attempt for release. To me this is one of the highlights of the album, because the king becomes a part of The Imperials and obviously has fun. We have to remember, that his original plan wasn't to be a solo artist, but a member of a gospel group.

This musical prayer was written by Maude Battersby and Charles Hutchinson Gabriel. In 1913 Homer Rodeheaver became the first one to record "An Evening Prayer". Elvis taped the song on May 18, 1971 within ten takes. The song may be demanding and performed well, but I don't like it at all.

In contrast to the previous tune, I like "Lead Me, Guide Me" very much. Once again Elvis blends wonderfully with The Imperials, his voice sounds great and one can hear his joy of performing. The recording was made on May 17, 1971, take 6 was selected as master. "Lead Me, Guide Me" was written by Doris Mae Akers, who recorded it in 1954. To promote the by then current album "He Touched Me", the king also sang this song in the movie "Elvis On Tour". This time he was accompanied by J.D. Sumner & The Stamps.

This musical lightweight was penned by Bill Kenny, who released it in 1966. "There Is No God But God" has a single verse, that simply is repeated three times in row. The melody is neither original, nor demanding. Nevertheless the song stays with you, it's pure easy listening. Elvis recorded it on June 9, 1971 and approved the 5th attempt for release.

I would file "A Thing Called Love" in the cathegory "country & western", not in "modern christian music" or "gospel". Therefore it's somewhat strange that RCA included the song here instead on "Elvis Now". It's especially noteworthy, because the secular album includes the religious songs "Miracle Of The Rosary" and "Put Your Hand In The Hand". Elvis, RCA and the Colonel worked in mysterious ways. "A Thing Called Love" was first released by Jerry Reed, who had also written it. Of course Elvis based his version on the performance by The Imperials when he taped it on May 19, 1971. Even though he was a bariton and wasn't able to sing deep enough, the king mimes the bass singer. It had always been his dream to be one and obviously nobody dared to tell him, that he could not do it. Amond Morales, the bass singer of The Imperials, supports him the best he can. All criticism aside, I like this performance. Simply because Elvis has fun and it's jumping over to the listener.

The Arizona Dranes recorded this traditional from the 19th century in 1926, Elvis did so on June 9, 1971. He was familiar with the song and needed just two takes to get it right. In MGM's "Elvis On Tour" the king can also be seen singing "I, John" during a rehearsal session. I like the song and the king's performance of it very much.

Elvis recorded this song on June 8, 1971 within 10 takes. The message "Jesus is always there for you" is wrapped in an appealing melody. "Reach Out To Jesus" was written by Ralph Carmichael and released for the first time in 1968 by his Ralph Carmichael Orchestra.