On April 20, 1970 RCA Victor released "Mama Liked The Roses" / "The Wonder Of You". While the supposed a-side didn't chart at all, "The Wonder Of You" was listed on Billboard's "Hot 100". It entered the chart on Mai 16th, stayed for 12 weeks and peaked at number 9. On May 23rd it also entered the "Easy Listening Chart" were it had a run of nine weeks and became a number one hit. Finally, on June 6th, "The Wonder Of You" also was listed on the "Hot Country Singles Chart". Here it stayed for ten weeks and made it to number 37. In August 1970 the RIAA honored the US sales with a Gold Award, after Elvis' death it was updated to Platinum. In Great Britain "The Wonder Of You" became a number one hit and when BMG re-released the track on a cd-single in 2005 it reached number 4. In total the single sold 3.75 million units which translates to 562.5 million paid streams. With "Mama Liked The Roses" / "The Wonder Of You" Elvis made the relative commercial failture of "Kentucky Rain" / "My Little Friend" forgotten and scored a hit. Just like in the past, "The Wonder Of You" remains the more popular song and accumulates around 96 million streams on Spotify. The original version was streamed 70 million times, the remake (featuring the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra) clocks in with another 26 million requests. On the other hand "Mama Liked The Roses" barely took the mark of 2 million streams.

To match the theme of "Mama Liked The Roses" the art department of RCA Victor photoshopped (I know that there was no "Photoshop" in 1970, but everybody knows what is meant) a promo pic for the film "Speedway" in front of a buquet of roses, a crucifix and other kitsch. On the back cover a banner advertised the forhcoming album "On Stage - February 1970".

The single is not available on the streaming platforms, but "Mama Liked The Roses" is included in the digital version of the album "From Elvis In Memphis" and "The Wonder Of You" is a part of the album "On Stage - February 1970" anyway.

The rhythm track was recorded on January 15, 1969 at American Sound Studio in Memphis/Tennessee, on January 21st Elvis added his vocals. On the same day he also recorded the harmony vocal, which in the end wasn't used on the master. In the post production Chips Moman and Felton Jarvis added bells (March 18th), strings (March 19th) and harmony voices (March 31st). The song by John L. Christopher is nothing but sentimental kitsch, but somehow Elvis managed to present it with believable emotion and to add depth, if not a kind of solemnity. Originally the track had been considered for the album "From Elvis In Memphis", finally it ended up as a bonus song on the budget edition of "Elvis' Christmas Album".

This one was included on the album "On Stage - February 1970" (1970) and on the boxed set "The Other Sides - Worldwide Gold Award Hits Volume 2" (1971). "The Wonder Of You" was written by Baker Knight, the first artist to sing the power ballad was Ray Peterson. Elvis' version was taped during the midnight show on February 18, 1970 at the International Hotel in Las Vegas. It was the second time the king performed the song live, because originally it had not been on the set list. When Felton Jarvis realized that the show didn't include enough new songs for the planned album, additional rehearsal sessions were held and further material was added. On March 31st and April 3rd "The Wonder Of You" was touched up with additional harmony vocals and the re-recording of some instruments. I like the song very much, because Elvis performs it at the peak of his powers.