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On July 19, 1954 SUN Records released "That's All Right" / "Blue Moon Of Kentucky", the first single of a young guy named Elvis Presley. "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" made it to the top of Memphis' local "Country & Western Chart", "That's All Right" peaked at number 4. In New Orleans (#3) and Nashville (#6) the song was also listed on the local hitparade. In total SUN Records sold 20,000 copies of the record, which is quite amazing for a completely unknown performer. In November 1955 RCA Victor took over, from 1964 onwards the single was sold with a picture sleeve. The market power of RCA pushed the 45 to more than half a million copies on the domestic market, which was honored by the RIAA with a Gold Award. Half a million physical units translate to 75 million paid streams. Today "That's All Right" accumulates close to 60 million streams on Spotify while "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" clocks in at 8.5 million.

The single is not available on the streaming platforms. "That's All Right" can be found on the album "For LP Fans Only" (1959) and "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" is part of the longplayer "A Date With Elvis" (1959). In 2016 the complete Presley catalogue was restored and remastered by Vic Anesini for a boxed set of 60 compact discs called "The Album Collection". Sony Music Entertainment provides the streaming platforms with the same versions of the individual tracks, albeit in 24 bit/90 khz flac. That means, if the platform of your choice supports high resolution audio, you can enjoy the songs in the same quality Sony used to scan and master them. On Spotify, which has a market share of approximately 30% and is the only platform that publishes streaming figures, "That's All Right" accumulates 60 million streams, "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" clocks in at 9 million.

 

That's All Right

The song was written and first recorded in 1946 by Arthur Crudup. Elvis, Scotty and Bill played "That's All Right" faster and did without the blues elements. They focused on the rhythm and the voice of the lead vocalist. The group taped the track on July 5, 1954 at SUN Records in Memphis/Tennessee. Sam Phillips, the owner of the studio, acted as producer and engineer. Elvis and Scotty played guitar, Bill Black was on bass. The first two attempts to record "That's All Right" were canceled, takes number 3 and 4 are complete performances. The 4th take was released. RCA Victor used the track on the album "For LP Fans Only" and the ep "A Touch Of Gold - Volume 2" (both released in 1959). Later the song was also part of the albums "A Legendary Performer - Volume 1" (1974) and "The Sun Sessions" (1976). Live performances can be heared on "Elvis As Recorded At Madison Square Garden" (1972) and "Elvis In Concert" (1977).

Blue Moon Of Kentucky

On July 7, 1954 the group returned to SUN Records to produce a b-side. They selected "Blue Moon Of Kentucky", a song by Bill Monroe, who recorded it in 1946. In general they used the same procedure. The song was played faster and performed in the newly developed Presley style. RCA Victor released "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" on the albums "A Date With Elvis" (1959) and "The Sun Sessions" (1976) as well as on the extended player "A Touch Of Gold - Volume 3" (1960).

 

Verdict

The single was a great debut for the new artist. Even though "That's All Right" is regarded a classic today, I follow the taste of the time and prefer "Blue Moon Of Kentucky".

 (C) SUN Records