Verdict
The a-side was weak and badly produced. The b-side was much better, but sounded somewhat old fashioned by 1965. In total "Do The Clam" / "You'll Be Gone" was not a good start of the new year.
(C) RCA Victor
To promote the forthcoming album "Girl Happy" RCA Victor released "Do The Clam" / "You'll Be Gone" on February 9, 1965. Three weeks later the record entered Billboard's "Hot 100" at number 68. It stayed on the hitparade for eight weeks and peaked at number 21. Outside the US the release was more successful. In Great Britain it became a top 20 hit, in Canada, Australia and Belgium it entered the top 10. In Malaysia "Do The Clam" even made it to the top of the charts. Worldwide the record sold 1.1 million units, which translates to 165 million paid streams according to the RIAA. Therefore the 45 established a new low point. Never before had a Presley single with new songs sold so badly. As a result both tracks are more or less forgotten. On Spotify "Do The Clam" accumulates not even 800,000 steams, "You'll Be Gone" didn't even generate half as much.
The cover was designed with two promo shots made for "Girl Happy". Of course the Colonel (who was de facto the art director of his client's record releases) didn't forget to mention the motion picture, the album and the new catalogue of all available Elvis records.
The single cannot be found on the streaming platforms, but both songs are available on the "Girl Happy" album (1965).
Do The Clam
By 1965 the era of "vogue dances" was long gone, besides that the production was that lackluster, it bordered on unprofessional. Next to the awful mix, the right stereo channel suddenly was silenced during the instrumental part. "Do The Clam" was written by Sid Wayne, Ben Weisman and Dolores Fuller. On June 12, 1965 the band taped 5 takes of the music, three days later Elvis recorded two takes of the vocals. The master was a splice of take 5 (music) and take 2 (vocals).
You'll Be GoneElvis had recorded "You'll Be Gone" on March 18, 1962 at RCA Studio B in Nashville/Tennessee and needed three takes to do so. The song was written by Red West, who was supported by Charlie Hodge and Elvis himself. The dramatic ballad was the better composition and superior produced, but didn't sound like the current music at all.