Back in 1974 RCA had exploited the king's chartbreakers with four editions of "Elvis' Golden Records" albums as well as two boxed sets of four longplayers each called "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits". Archive material and tracks, that had only been available on extended players or b-sides of singles were compiled on various budget albums, released through RCA's own cheapy-label CAMDEN. So the management of the company saw no current commercial potential in the catalogue and licensed 40 Presley hits to a label named ARCADE.

This company neither owned recording studios, nor did it have contracts with any artists. It solely worked with licensed material, which was re-packaged and sold for comparatively little money. In the case of Mr. Presley it happened in October 1974. Accompanied by a massive advertising campaign "Elvis' 40 Greatest" peaked at the number one spot of the UK Chart, stayed there for ten weeks and sold two million compies in Great Britain alone. By doing so it became number six on the list of the best sold British albums of the decade.

When the management of RCA realized their myopia, they tried to install a follow-up called "Hit's Of The 70s". But the audience was interested in the old stuff and so the commercial success didn't even come close to "Elvis' 40 Greatest".

In 1978, a year after the king's death, the licence ran out and RCA released their own version of "Elvis' 40 Greatest". To create an interesting product, they put the two longplayers in an elaborately designed gatefold-cover and pressed the records on pink vinyl. Nevertheless this new edition had a chart run of only 14 weeks and never made it past number 40. In 1981 and 1982 RCA tried again and released two separate albums called "20 Greatest Hits - Volume 1" and "20 Greatest Hits - Volume 2", but once again the business was comparatively low.

This track was the b-side of "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You", Elvis' second RCA single. The label also released "My Baby Left Me" on the ep "The Real Elvis" (1956), the album "For LP Fans Only" (1959) and the boxed set "The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 2" (1971). A live version can be found on "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" (1974). The song was written by Arthur Crudup and is basically a copy of his own "That's All Right". To me "My Baby Left Me" is better, because D.J. Fontana's drums provide a lot of drive and Elvis sings with more energy. The studio version was recorded on January 30, 1956 at the RCA Studio in New York.

Up next is "Heartbreak Hotel", the singer's first single for RCA and his first national number one hit. I guess ARCARDE selected "My Baby Left Me" instead of "That's All Right" to open the album, because the remake has more drive. But back to Presley's debut on the major label. RCA Victor also released the track on the ep "Heartbreak Hotel" (1956), the albums "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 1" (1958) and "A Legendary Performer - Volume 1" (1974) as well as on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970). Live performances can be found on the albums "Elvis" (1968) and "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972). The song was written by Mae Boren Axton and Tommy Durden. Because Axton wanted to do the young singer a favor, she credited him as a writer and therefore gave him a third of the royalties. In the song the narrator was left by his girl and lives at Heartbreak Hotel, just down the end of Lonely Street. Elvis' vocals mirror the somewhat morbid mood of the tune, the echo also adds a special note. Elvis recorded "Heartbreak Hotel" on January 10, 1956 and chose take number 7 as the master. Producer Steve Sholes wasn't too happy about the track, because up to that point the young singer had been most successful with hyped-up versions of well known country songs. Besides that nobody at RCA Victor seemed to like "Heartbreak Hotel". It's not known weather Sholes trusted the instinct of the Hillbilly Cat or if he thought the first 45 would bomb anyway and he had better control of his artist if he could be made responsible for the flop. Whatever his thoughts might have been, after "Heartbreak Hotel" turned out to be a massive hit discussions of that kind were a thing of the past.

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.

"Hound Dog" was recorded on July 2nd, but this time the rock'n'roll king needed 31 attempts to get it right. At first the song was credited to Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Johnny Otis, but after a legal dispute it became just Leiber/Stoller. Originally "Hound Dog" was recorded and released in 1952 by Willie Mea "Big Mama" Thornton, later Jack Turner and Eddie Hazelwood also recorded the song. Elvis performed it much faster and harder than his predecessors and turned it into an iconic rock'n'roll song. I first appeared on the single "Don't Be Cruel" / "Hound Dog", which became the best selling 45 of the whole decade! RCA Victor also released it on the ep "The Real Elvis" (1956), on the album "Elvis' Golden Records" (1958) and the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970). Live versions can be found on "Elvis" (1968),  "From Vegas To Memphis / From Memphis To Vegas" (1969), "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972), "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" (1973). "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" (1974) and "Elvis In Concert" (1977). In general "Hound Dog" feared the same fate as "Blue Suede Shoes". The king was never able to match his original recording.

The ballad was written by Ken Darby, who based it on the classic "Aura Lee" from 1861. Because Darby didn't want to be associated with the movie project he credited the song to Vera Matson, his wife. Elvis was also credited as writer, because his manager had dealt out a share in the royalties of 50%. The rock'n'roll king didn't spent much time on "Love Me Tender". He recorded it on August 24, 1956 at the soundstage of 20th Century Fox within two takes. RCA Victor released the track on the soundtrack ep "Love Me Tender" (1956), the albums "Elvis' Golden Records" (1958), A Legenary Performer (1974) and "Pure Gold" (1975) as well as on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970). Live versions can be found on "Elvis" (1968) and "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972). The many lackluster performances prove, that Elvis himself didn't like the song too much. I cannot help to agree.

This one first appeared on the soundtrack of "Loving You", Presley's second feature film. In the future Ben Weisman would be responsible for a lot of meager movie tunes, but this one, written with the help of Aron Schroeder, is a masterpiece. On January 12, 1957 Elvis also put his best foot forward and delivered a perfect performance. In total he needed nine takes to get it right. RCA also released the track on the ep "Loving You - Volume 2" (1957) and the boxed set "The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 2" (1971).

The singer begs his loved one to be her Teddy Bear. Tigers are too rough and lions are not kind enough. For a performer, who was sold as a rebel and even the king of the wicked rock'n'roll music, lyrics like that were embarrassing. But the girls loved it and "Teddy Bear" became an evergreen. In the 1970s Elvis mostly performed it in a medley with "Don't Be Cruel". Live recordings can be found on "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972) and "Elvis In Concert" (1977). RCA Victor also released the studio recording on the album "Loving You" (1957), the extended player "Loving You - Volume 1" (1957) and on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

On January 21, 1957 Elvis needed 11 takes to deliver a perfect version of Jesse Mae Robinson's "(Let's Have A) Party". A few days after the release on the album, RCA also issued the song on the extended player "Loving You - Volume 1". Even though Elvis was the first to cut this song, the public connects it to Wanda Jackson, who covered "(Let's Have A) Party" three years later and released it on a single. In the 1970s "(Let's Have A) Party" still was a popular song, I guess that's the reason it was selected for this compilation.

Some fans might have known the track as "I'm All Shook Up", released in early 1957 by David Hill (a pseudonym of the actor David Hess). He had taped the song in November 1956 while Elvis recorded his version on January 12, 1957 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood/California within ten takes. The second voice belongs to Hoyt Hawkins, a member of The Jordanaires. When the rock'n'roll king released his version, not only the name had changed, but also the writing credits. Suddenly the tune was not just originated by Otis Blackwell, but also by Elvis Presley. The reason was simple: If Mr. Blackwell hadn't credited Presley and therefore given him half of the writer's royalties, he wouldn't have recorded the song. And at the time Elvis' sales were so high, that it was better to get 50% of a Presley release than 100% of a release by anyone else. I fell in love with "All Shook Up" when I was eight years old. Now four decades have passed and the song still is one of my favorites. It's just a piano, a rhythm tapped on the back of a guitar and two voices. Very simple, but the essence of a popsong! RCA Victor re-released the track on the albums "Elvis' Golden Records" (1958) and "Pure Gold" (1975), the extended player "A Touch Of Gold - Volume 3" (1960) and the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970). Live recordings can be found on "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" (1969) and "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972). "All Shook Up" is also part of a medley released on "Elvis" (1968).

RCA released the song on "Elvis", the second longplayer of the singer. At the time "Old Shep" must have been a real surprise, because nobody expected a sad ballad about a boy and his dog from somebody, who was said to be the king of rock'n'roll. In fact Elvis loved "Old Shep" and sang this song since his childhood days. I like the track very much, because it's one of the very few ballads, that Elvis sang well at the time. In the 1950s he was really good at uptempo songs, but he simply lacked the technique to perform the slow tunes well. On September 2, 1956 the king recorded five takes of "Old Shep", but finally approved his first attempt for release. Because of a mistake some pressings of "Elvis" include take 5 of the song. Today these versions of the album are quite expensive. RCA Victor also released "Old Shep" on the ep "Elvis - Volume 2" (1956), CAMDEN included the sad ballad on the budget lp "Separate Ways" (1972). The song was written by Red Foley, who was also the first to release it.

The ballad was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. Elvis recorded it on September 7, 1957 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood/California, take 7 was selected as master. From today's point of view the lyrics are somewhat creepy, but back then "Don't" was supposed to be a serious love song. In early 1958 the track became the a-side of a single, sold three million units and peaked at number one. RCA Victor released it on the extended player "A Touch Of Gold" (1959), the long player "50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong - Elvis' Gold Records Volume 2" (1959) and the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

The singer tries to prove his theory, that hard headed women are the root of all evil with several episodes from the Bible. The lyrics are funny, the melody and rhythm are straight rock'n'roll. The brass-element adds something unique to the song. Elvis performs it with a lot of power, almost aggression. It's a very good track and certainly one of the king's best movie tunes. It was written by Claude DeMetrius and recorded by Elvis on January 15, 1958. The king needed ten takes to archive a satisfactory master. RCA Victor released "Hard Headed Woman" on a single (1958), on the extended player "A Touch Of Gold - Volume 1" (1959) and on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

The title song of Elvis' fourth feature film was written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller. To fit the location of the movie it was enhanced with brass, which sets it apart from other tunes of this kind. On January 15, 1958 Elvis recorded 18 takes of "King Creole", but because he didn't like the results he recorded 13 more on January 23rd. The final one became the master. It was first released on "King Creole - Volume 1" (1958) and later once again on the boxed set "The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 2" (1971).

The legendary rock'n'roll song was taped on April 30, 1957 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood/California. Elvis recorded eight takes, of which only the numbers 4 and 5 are complete performances. Afterwards two pick up-takes were recorded, which started in the middle of the song. The final version was a splice of take 6 (a long false start) and pick up-take 2. When the song was released in September 1957, it reached the number one of the "Top 100", the "Country Best Seller Chart" and the "R&B Best Seller Chart". For me "Jailhouse Rock" is a masterpiece. A great melody, a driving rhythm and subversive lyrics (it's actually about a party of homosexuals, which was considered to be abnormal in the 50s of the last century). Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller had surpassed themselves with this song. Elvis' performance is unbeatable. Nobody ever came even close to his original recording, including Mr. Presley himself.

Elvis' final single release of the 1950s became a number one hit and sold three million copies worldwide. The rock'n'roll song was written by Aaron Schroeder and Sid Wyche and was recorded on June 10, 1958 in Nashville/Tennessee. Because no satisfactory take could be archived, the master was a splice of the attempts number four and three. RCA Victor re-released the track on the album "50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong - Elvis' Gold Records Volume 2" (1959) and the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970). A live performance can be found on the double-album "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" (1973). I like "A Big Hunk O' Love" very much.

Now the compilation jumps back to late 1958, when RCA released "I Got Stung" on the b-side of "One Night". This one is a straight rock'n'roll song, written by Aaron Schroeder and David Hill. The singer is in love and declares to have been stung by a sweet honey bee. Elvis recorded "I Got Stung" on June 11, 1958 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee within 24 takes. A year after the release on this single the track was included on the album "50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong - Elvis' Gold Records Volume 2" (1959), a decade later it was re-issued on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

Up next is the main track of the aforementioned single. It peaked at number four of the Billboard Charts and sold four million copies. On January 18, 1957 Elvis recorded "One Night Of Sin" at the Paramount Soundstage in Hollywood/California. The decision makers at RCA thought, the song by Dave Bartholomew and Pearl King was way too raunchy and so the lyrics were changed. The rock'n'roll king taped the new version on February 23, 1957 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood/California. Even though he already knew the song, he needed ten takes to get it right. While the narrator was blaming himself for a night of excesses in the original version, he now simply wants to spend a night with his loved one. Back in the 50s of the previous century even this was a risky statement, but at least more acceptable than a report of sexual escapades. It took RCA until the early 1980s to finally release "One Night Of Sin" on the album "A Legendary Performer - Volume 4". "One Night" can be found on the album "50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong - Elvis' Gold Records Volume 2" (1959), on the ep "A Touch Of Gold - Volume 2" (1959) and on the boxed set "The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 2" (1971). A live recording can be heared on the longplayer "Elvis" (1968).

The singer asseverates his love to a lady, who unforortunately just left him. The composition by Bill Trader was originally recorded by Hank Snow in 1952, Elvis followed him on June 10, 1958 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. Take 9 was finally approved for release. "A Fool Such As I" is much more conservative than "I Need Your Love Tonight" and so it was also played by radio stations, that igored rock'n'roll music. Elvis himself also seemed to like the song, because he used it live on stage in 1961 and also rehearsed it for his "Summer Festival" in 1970. But as far as I know he never performed it live at the time. The studio recording first appeared on the b-side of "I Need Your Love Tonight" and later was re-released by RCA on the albums "50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong - Elvis' Gold Records Volume 2" (1959) and "A Legendary Performer - Volume 1" (1974) as well as on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

Here we have the a-side of the single, which was retailed 4.5 million times. The rocker was written by Sid Wayne and Bix Reichner and recorded by Elvis on June 10, 1958 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. The king needed 18 attempts to produce a releasable performance. The song itself is a typical piece of teenage music with simple lyrics, but lots of drive. The kids were supposed to dance, not to think. A year after the release on this single the track was included on the album "50,000,000 Elvis Fans Can't Be Wrong - Elvis' Gold Records Volume 2" (1959), a decade later it was re-issued on the boxed set "The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 2" (1971).

Now the compilation enters the 1960s. "Stuck On You" was Elvis' comeback single after his army stint in Germany, became a number one hit and sold 3.5 million copies. The song was written by Aaron Schroeder and Leslie McFarland and was recorded by Elvis on March 20, 1960 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee within just three takes. RCA Victor later re-released the track on the longplayer "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3" (1963) and the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970). Compared to his previous recordings the king sounded much different. His voice was softer, had matured and his technique obviously had improved. The brand new Stereo sound only added to these qualities. Elvis himself is said to have disliked "Stuck On You" and calling it "Stuck IN You". I don't know if this is true or not, his performance is nothing but great.

This one is an album track, but a very popular one. It was written by Otis Blackwell, but because he was tied to another publisher, he used the alias "John Davenport". Eddie Cooley was credited, because the basic concept of "Fever" was his. The song was first recorded by Little Willie John, who scored a number one with it on Billboard's "R&B Best Seller Chart" in 1956. Two years later Peggy Lee released a differently arranged version, the song was also covered by Ella Fitzgerald, Ray Charles, Madonna and Beyonce' Knowles. Elvis taped "Fever" on April 3, 1960 within four takes. He basically copied the version of Peggy Lee, but he performs the song so sexy and cool, that his recording is the definite one. The track was re-released on the album "Pure Gold" (1975), a live version can be found on the double album "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" (1973).

In 1898 the Neapolitan singer and musician Eduardo Di Capua wrote "O Sole Mio" ("My Sun") and used the lyrics of the poet Giovanni Capurro. Even though the song became very popular, both parties died without any assets. At the time there were no royalties for writers and so the men sold the song for 25 lira to the publishing company of Ferdinando Bideri. Many years later the heirs of Emanuele Alfredo Mazzucci sued the publisher for royalties, because he had written down the notes of "O Sole Mio". Since they won the lawsuit they receive a whopping 250,000 USD per year. The first known recording of "O Sole Mio" was made in 1901 by Francisco Daddi. Eleven years later Elisabeth Spencer released an English version named "Your Own Dear Kiss". Elvis got to know the song in form of another English edition called "There's No Tomorrow". He wanted to record it, but because the melody by now was in public domain, Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold wrote new lyrics and legally created a new song, that could be published on its own. Elvis recorded it on April 3, 1960 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. The master is a splice of the takes 4 and 2, on April 5th piano and percussion was added. The single "It's Now Or Never" / "A Mess Of Blues" not only became a number one hit, but also Elvis' best selling 45 as well as the best selling single release of the 1960s! RCA re-released "It's Now Or Never" on the extended player "Elvis By Request" (1961), on the albums "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3" (1963) and "A Legendary Performer - Volume 2" (1976) and the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Records - Volume 1" (1970). A live version can be found on "Elvis In Concert" (1977).

The ballad also was very successful, became a number one hit and sold more than six million units. The song was written by Roy Turk and Lou Handman, the first recording was by Ned Jakobs in 1927. Elvis recorded his version on April 3, 1960 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee, the master is a splice of the takes 5 and 2. I like this ballad very much, the king performs it very well and his voice sounds nothing but marvellous. RCA later also released the track on the extended player "Elvis By Request" (1961), the long player "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3" (1963) and the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970). Live performances can be heared on "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" (1969), "A Legendary Performer" (1974) and "Elvis In Concert" (1977).

In 1827 Friedrich Silcher adapted the German folk song "Muss I Denn, Muss I Denn Zum Staedtele Hinaus", 133 years later Fred Wise, Ben Weisman, Kay Twomey and Bert Kaempfert turned it into "Wooden Heart". Elvis recorded it on April 28, 1960 within four takes. Strangely though the writers didn't use the original German lyrics, but created new ones. They give the impression to have been translated with a mediocre software (just like my homepage). In Europe, Asia and South Africa RCA Victor released "Wooden Heart" on a single and sold more than 2 million copies in Germany alone! This obviously was the reason to include it here.

After "It's Now Or Never" turned out to be a sales monster, Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman used the same principle and turned "Torna A Surriento" into "Surrender". Elvis recorded it on October 30, 1960 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. First he taped nine takes of the song, then he produced eight workpart-takes. The master was spliced of take 4 and workpart-take 8. With mediterranean music and dramatic vocals the singer tries to convince a lady to succumb to him. The single became another number one hit and sold six million copies. RCA Victor later re-released "Surrender" on the longplayer "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3" (1963) and the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

On June 25, 1961 Elvis recorded 12 takes at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. Finally he selected the 8th attempt for release. A friend tells the narrator of his latest flame, a girl named Marie. Suddenly he realizes, that the lady is his own girlfriend and obviously isn't as faithful as expected. Even though the story is quite sad, the melody is happy and also Elvis' performance doesn't display even the slightest bit of anger or hurt. But that's the charme of "His Latest Flame". The single was a successful one and RCA retailed 3.25 million units. In 1963 the track was also released on "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3", in 1971 it was part of the boxed set "The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 2". By the way: The song was written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman.

The ballad was the title song of Elvis' latest movie and was written by Hogo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and Geoge Weiss. Elvis recorded it on November 7, 1960 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood/California within 19 takes. I like this slow ballad very much, for me it's one of the king's best movie tunes. To promote the accordant movie the track was released on the b-side of "I Feel So Bad". Nevertheless it was "Wild In The Country", which made it to the top of the UK Charts. So it was a logical step to include it here. In 1971 RCA Victor re-released the track on the boxed set "The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 2".

This one is an album track, issued in 1961 on the longplayer "Something For Everybody". However, in 1967 RCA also released it on a single, which sold no more than half a million units. Nevertheless it was good business, because the recording already had earned its costs back through the album. "There's Always Me" was written by Don Robertson. The narrator promises his loved one to be always there, even though she has a different partner isn't in love with him at all. Elvis selected the 10th take for release, and it's really a great one. His voice sounds marvellous and one really believes his love, his pain and his hope, that his feelings will be answered someday.

In late 1961 RCA released "Rock-A-Hula-Baby" and "Can't Help Falling In Love" on a single to promote the "Blue Hawaii" album. The record sold four million units, but it was the supposed b-side, which was responsible for the success. The tune is penned by Fred Wise, Ben Weisman and Dolores Fuller. The latter one said in an interview, that she was inspired by "The Twist". In my view "Rock-A-Hula Baby" is a solid movie tune. On March 23, 1961 Elvis recorded the song within five takes. RCA re-released the tune in 1970 on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1".

"Can't Help Falling In Love" is based on the French "Plaisir d'amour", which was written in 1785 by Jean-Pierre Claris de Florian and Johann Paul Aegidius Martini Schwarzendorf. It was adapted by Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore and George David Weiss. On March 23, 1961 Elvis needed 29 takes to come up with a satisfactory performance. It surely wasn't an easy task, but the result is one of the greatest love songs ever. It's just achingly beautiful! Later the song was also used on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970) and on the album "A Legendary Performer - Volume 1" (1974). Live versions can be found on the albums "Elvis" (1968), "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" (1969), "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972), "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" (1973), "Elvis Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis" (1974) and "Elvis In Concert" (1977). But the king never even came close to the perfection and beauty of his studio recording.

Elvis begs his loved one to be his talisman and I am pretty sure no ardent aficionado would have refused his plea. Aaron Schroeder and Wally Gold created this great piece of radio pop, which stays with you from the first second. I especially like the harmonies of Elvis and The Jordanaires. It's quite astonishing that they just needed four takes to record the song. They did so on October 15, 1961 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. With "Good Luck Charm" Elvis scored another number one hit, the single sold 4.5 million copies. RCA Victor re-released the track on "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3" (1963) and "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

The follow up, issued in the summer of 1962, was a little less successfull. It "just" became a top5 hit and sold 3.5 million units. Elvis recorded "She's Not You" on March 19, 1962 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee. The master is a splice of the takes number 3 and 5 (workpart). Even though his new girlfriend formally equals the woman of his dreams, he always has to think about his ex. That's why the king performs the song with a tad of melancholy, which thwarts the happy melody. "She's Not You" was written by Jerry Leiber, Mike Stoller and Doc Pomus. RCA Victor re-released the track on the album "Elvis' Golden Records - Volume 3" (1963) and the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

Without doubt this is one of the best movie tunes (from a flick called "Girls! Girls! Girls!"). After an argument with his girlfriend the narrator apologizes twice, but the letter is returned every time. So he plannes to give it to her himself. If she returns it to him, he knows that it's over. While the Elvis of the 1970s would have presented a story like this in form of a sad ballad, his younger self comes up with an uptempo popsong. On March 27th the king needed just two takes to record the song by Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott. In late 1962 "Return To Sender" peaked at number two of the Billboard Charts, worldwide the single sold five million units.

Bill Giant, Bernie Baum and Florence Kaye wrote a lot of mediocre movie songs for Elvis, but this one is neither a movie tune nor mediocre. In fact, it's a very good popsong. The loved one of the singer looks like an angel, but he knows that she's not faithful at all. Florance Kaye came up with the title as Giant and Baum called her daughter an angel. The trio thought it was great and created a song around the expression "devil in disguise". Elvis recorded it on May 26, 1963 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee and needed six takes to do so. The single climbed up to number three of the Hot100 and sold 2.7 million copies. RCA Records also released the track on the album "Elvis' Gold Records - Volume 4" (1968) and on the 4 lp set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).

The ballad was written by Artie Glenn, the first recording was made in 1953 by his his son Darrell. Elvis had recorded three takes of "Crying In The Chapel" on October 30, 1960 for his gospel album "His Hand In Mine", but wasn't pleased with the results. Besides that there were some insecurities regarding the copyright and so it was decided to put the recordings in the vaults. By 1965 the legal problems were solved and a payment of 10,000 USD convinced the king to approve the release of take 3. "Crying In The Chapel" isn't a gospel song, it's more a kind of pop ballad that uses the scenery of a small chapel. Without doubt the song is well written and well performed. RCA Victor released it as a bonus track on the album "How Great Thou Art" (1967) and also used it on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970). The company was able to retail 3.75 million units of the original single, which became a number 3 hit.

"Guitar Man" was recorded on September 10, 1967. Elvis taped 12 takes of the song by Jerry Reed, who added his concise guitar play on the same day. The narrator chronicles his career as a musician and the king's enthusiasm for this song is obvious. The track first appeared on the soundtrack album "Clambake" and was issued separately on a single in early 1968. It wasn't a hit, since it stalled at number 43 on the charts and didn't move more than a million copies worldwide. However, the track was used again in 1972 on CAMDEN's budget album "Elvis Sings Hits From His Movies - Volume 1". For his tv special "SINGER presents Elvis" the king recorded a separate version of this song, which was featured on the long player "Elvis" in 1968.

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. The recording premiered on a single in the spring of 1969. It peaked at number 3 and sold 3.7 million copies. It was also included on the album "From Elvis In Memphis". Just a few months after the release of the lp 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).

In late 1969 Elvis finally was able to come up with another mega seller. "Suspicious Minds" not only became a number one hit, but also sold seven million units. The song was recorded on January 22, 1969 at American Sound Studio in Memphis/Tennessee. The 8th take was selected for post-production and was enhanced with Elvis' harmony vocals (January 22nd), background singing (January 24th) and strings (May 7th). To match the arrangement of the live performances Bill Porter adjusted the song on August 7th at United Recording Studio. He added horns and faded the ending in and out several times. Because all eight tracks had been used by Chips Moman and Felton Jarvis, the mixing was done with the musicians playing live. The procedure was gone through for the mono version as well as the stereo version. RCA re-released the studio cut on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970). Live versions can be heared on the albums "From Memphis To Vegas / From Vegas To Memphis" (1969), "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972) and "Aloha From Hawaii Via Satellite" (1973). "Suspicious Minds" was written and released for the first time by Mark James. But Elvis made the song his own so much, that the original version is almost forgotten.

"There Goes My Everything" was written by Dallas Frazier and was first recorded in 1965 by Ferlin Husky. The following year Jack Green scorded a number one hit with the song, in 1967 Engelbert Humperdinck's version peaked at number 2 of the UK Charts. Elvis taped "There Goes My Everything" on June 8, 1970 and needed three takes to archive a satisfactory performance. The king recorded his harmony vocals on June 23rd, horns and strings followed seven days later. The background singers were recorded on September 21st and October 1st. The singer has to watch his wife leaving him. The melody is saccharine, the lyrics are on the kitschy side. Nevertheless Elvis performs the song in a believable way. In 1970/71 "There Goes My Everything" appeared in some of the king's stage shows, for his gospel album "He Touched Me" he recorded a religious version called "He Is My Everything". The single, released in December 1970, wasn't a blockbuster. On the charts it stalled at number 21 and moved just 1.6 million copies.

For the last song the compilation jumps back to late 1969. "Don't Cry Daddy" was supposed to be the b-side of "Rubberneckin'", but it immediately was considered to be the main track. On the charts it peaked at number six and propelled the sales to three million units. This track was recorded at American Sound Studio in Memphis/Tennessee. On January 15, 1969 the band put a rhythm track on tape, Elvis added his vocals on January 21st. On March 19th producer Chips Moman added brass, on March 21st strings were overdubbed. "Don't Cry Daddy" was written by Mac Davis, who also provided "In The Ghetto". In the song an unnamed child asks the singer not to grief anymore for the loss of his wife and even promises to find a new mommy for him and his brother. Even though the lyrics are very sentimental, "Don't Cry Daddy" never crosses the boarder to the kitschy side. Later RCA Victor also released the song on the boxed set "Worldwide 50 Gold Award Hits - Volume 1" (1970).