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Elvis Presley’s Golden Years

As we’ve seen, Sun Records may have introduced Elvis’ music to the public with those first five astonishing records, but for the world at large the star’s golden period came with his RCA Victor era. The end of Sun’s involvement came when Sam Phillips, regretfully but realistically and after lengthy negotiations, concluded the transfer of Presley’s recording contract at a signing ceremony held in the Sun studio on November 21st 1955. The influence of Tom Parker on this deal had begun around four months earlier, on Sunday July 24th, when the crafty counterfeit Colonel advertised that he ‘exclusively represented’ Elvis through his business, trading at that time under the name of ‘Hank Snow Attractions’.



Bob Neal remained as Elvis’ manager in name, but in Memphis on Monday August 15th the undermining of his managerial status began when a new contract was signed naming Parker as ‘special advisor’. Over the coming months Bob Neal was continually bullied by the wise old bird, and by Thursday October 20th the cuckoo had taken over the nest when a ‘sole and exclusive’ representation contract was signed in Tom Parker’s favour. Without this chapter of events, the change in pop music culture, created by Elvis, might never have happened and the 60 years of hit records that followed may only have been a dream. It is worth remembering that all these early Elvis singles were released in both the 45rpm and 78rpm formats.






HEARTBREAK HOTEL / I WAS THE ONE

(USA release Jan 27th 1956, #1; UK release May 1956- #2)

Elvis, Scotty and Bill had played together on all the Sun recordings, toured across the southern states together and now they assembled on Tuesday January 10th 1956 at RCA’s studio at 1525 McGavock Street in New York City for the first session on their new record label. They were joined, for the first time on record, by drummer D. J. Fontana with Chet Atkins adding his guitar sound and the piano of Floyd Cramer completing the line-up. Vocally, Elvis was backed by Ben and Brock Speer and longtime member of The Jordanaires, Cordon Stoker. Heartbreak Hotel was the second song recorded (after I Got A Woman) with the American release proudly showing the company trademark, Nipper the dog. It was an unusual situation as the dog logo had originated in England in 1899 when the Cramophone Company (later becoming HMV) commissioned the painting as a trademark for use on all their British products. That same trademark was legally registered in America and Canada by the Victor Talking Machine Company, leading to both companies having this graphic connection in their brands. It seemed natural for RCA Victor to approach HMV to distribute their Elvis Presley products, particularly as HMV also owned the dog image in Ireland, New Zealand, Australia, Pakistan and other countries who were at that time part of the British Commonwealth. The big label divide had begun and the main beneficiaries during the coming years would be the British Elvis Presley fans. Let the floodgates open . . .






BLUE SUEDE SHOES / TUTTIFRUTTI

(Exclusive UK release by HMV, May 1956 – #9)

Whilst Heartbreak Hotel entered the UK charts on May 11th, just two weeks later, on May 25th, this ‘UK only’ Elvis Presley record was released as an insurance policy in case of the failure of the maiden release. The debut record was a very slow starter and Walter Ridley, the Elvis A&R man at HMV, wisely decided to quickly cover the bases with this one as well. Showing some initiative, he combined a recent white rockabilly song by Carl Perkins with a black R&B smash by Little Richard to create a twin-headed Elvis cover version special that would surely do the trick. In America there had been the re-release of all five of Elvis’ Sun singles on the RCA Victor label on December 20th 1955, but their next Elvis single release—because of the success of the chart-topping Heartbreak Hotel—was not until the end of May 1956. Elvis had promised Carl Perkins that he would not release Blue Suede Shoes as an US single in competition to Carl’s own recording, but that news did not reach London until long after the Elvis version was issued and had charted.






I WANT YOU, I NEED YOU, I LOVE YOU / MY BABY LEFT ME

(USA charted June 2nd 1956 at #1; UK charted July 13th-#14)

A summer love song coupled with an old Arthur ‘Big Boy’ Crudup blues song created a similar US release to the Walter Ridley combination on the second UK single. The same team of musicianswith the exception of an abset Floyd Cramer, who was replaced on piano by Marvin Hughesassembled in Nashville ready for this new recording session on April 14th. Elvis and his road band themselves made the date with some difficulty. The chartered flight to Nashville from Amarillo, Texas first got lost after takeoff, then came back and landed. On the second try the pilot detected fuel tank trouble, and the plane landed once again. Eventually everyone arrived in Nashville, but Elvis and his boys were in a state of panic. In the studio they only recorded one song, which formed the A-side of this latest single to be combined with the Arthur Crudup song from the RCA New York session on January 30th. Despite it being ‘cobbled together’ the record topped the American charts but failed to make the UK Top 10.








HOUND DOG / DON’T BE CRUEL

(USA release charted August 4th, 1956 and got to #1; UK single charted September 21st 1956, #2)

In America, both sides of this great rock ’n’ roll record were chart-toppers as Elvis gave the songs exposure on his television shows during the summer of ’56. He was publicly castigated by the press for his ‘shocking’ performance of Hound Dog on The Milton Berle Show and was labelled as ‘obscene’ by some reporters. There is no such thing as bad publicity, however, and these reports all helped to create column inches to promote the single. Fans on both sides of the Atlantic appreciated the quality of both sides of the release but in the UK it was denied top spot by the Frankie Laine smash, A Woman In Love. HMV were bordering on panic and wondering when the first chart-topper by Elvis would come . . . and, in business terms, also wondering if RCA Victor would sever the ties of their franchise agreement.






BLUE MOON / I DON’T CARE IF THE SUN DON’T SHINE

(Exclusive UK release by HMV; charted November 16th 1956 and reached #9)

Combining two recordings from Elvis’ Sun period was a great idea by the ever-inventive Walter Ridley as he attempted to shake off the pressure from across the Atlantic and get Elvis to that elusive #1 spot. Both these tracks had been released on Sun and also by RCA Victor, but not in this combination.

Blue Moon had been coupled with Just Because, and the other galactic body had featured on a single with Good Rockin’ Tonight. Whilst both sides of the new single charted independently, it was possibly a case of being too good a value as buyers ordered their favourite side with the Moon (#9) being hotter than the Sun (#23) on this second Elvis double-sided hit.






LOVE ME TENDER / ANY WAY YOU WANT ME (THAT’S HOW I WILL BE)

(USA single charted October 20th 1956 and reached #1; UK release charted December 7th 1956, #11)

With HMV still without a UK #1 to their name, it became apparent from the record numbers that POP 272 (Blue Moon) had been rush-released ahead of POP 253 (Love Me Tender), with the reason being given that Love Me Tender had been held back to coincide with the London premiere of the film. HMV were now desperate for success, and the classic ploy to release the single in time for the all-important Christmas market had every chance of working.

Love Me Tender—with the traditional melody of the old Civil War song Aura Lea converted into a pop song by the film’s musical director, Ken Darbyinstantly struck the hearts of the listening public in America. In the UK, #11 proved to be a disappointing top placing for this beautiful ballad; meanwhile in the USA it scored Elvis his fifth #1 behind Heartbreak Hotel, I Want You, I Need You, I Love You, Hound Dog and Don’t Be Cruel. How would HMV try and replicate this runaway American success in the UK? Walter Ridley was scratching his head in disbelief.






MYSTERY TRAIN / LOVE ME

(Exclusive UK release by HMV; charted February 15th 1957 and reached #25)

Because of the prolonged success of Love Me Tender in the American charts, where it remained for 19 weeks, RCA Victor were able to create some chart statistics in getting Elvis’ Extended Play releases onto the singles chart. They did it with Elvis (EPA-992) which contained Love Me (not released as a US single) as well as the Love Me Tender soundtrack EP. This latest HMV release picked up on Love Me and coupled it with Elvis’ last release in 1955 on Sun Records, Mystery Train. There it had been coupled with I Forgot To Remember To Forget (which topped the Billboard Country Charts) and with additional inventiveness, HMV issued that same coupling as an ‘export only’ 45rpm to the rest of Europe. Despite Mystery Train being on two singles and sales figures being combined, it represented another chart failure . . . and in just under four weeks, another HMV Elvis Presley platter was on the market.






IP IT UP / BABY LET’S PLAY HOUSE

(Exclusive UK release by HMVcharted March 8th 1957 and reached #27)

Oh, no! Two great rock ’n’ roll Elvis tracks on the same single, and another chert failure. Peaking at two places below the last UK exclusive, this was another release that was written down by RCA Victor and later used in evidence against the UK distribution rights of HMV. In terms of sales it was another shocker for the eighth Elvis release in Great Britain, which was only on the charts for one week despite coupling a Sun track with the well-known rocker Rip It Up. Bill Haley and Little Richard had popularised 4 and 30 respectively, and leaving Elvis as an also-ran despite the quality of his recording and the Dun B-side as an added bonus.






TOO MUCH / PLAYING FOR KEEPS

(USA charted January 26th 1957 – #1 / UK charted May 10th 1957 – #6)

Almost four months after it was issued in America and spending three weeks at the top of the Billboard listing, Too Much was released in an identical combination by HMV. There was high optimism in London that this could be the record to take away the big business pressure, after it entered the chart at #13 on the first week of release as Lonnie Donegan was enjoying his fifth week at #1 with Cumberland Gap. Subsequent #1s, Rock-A-Billy (Guy Mitchell), Butterfly (Andy Williams) and Yes Tonight Josephine (Johnnie Ray) combined to take the wind out of the Top Much sales as it faltered at #6 and, whilst it had been a UK Top 10 record, it was not the success demanded or expected by RCA Victor, who made Too Much a #1 in America.






At precisely 10am on Tuesday May 7th 1957 at Londons’ Connaught Rooms, it was announced to 900 Decca Group record dealers that the company would be launching the new ‘dog-less’ RCA record label in the UK. On May 18th the front cover of music paper Record Mirror formally announced the news to the general public. HMV was totally flattened as the RCA publicity machine steamrolled into action to market the Memphis, Flash, now billed as the new ‘American Singing Sensation’. The firm foundation for Elvis, built by Walter Ridley and his HMV team, served the Decca Group well and, in full recognition of the role played by HMV, part of the ‘buy out’ contract allowed them to continue to release Elvis Presley records until September 30th 1958. At that time the full HMV catalogue of Elvis records was deleted but from May 1957 they were not to be allocated any further new recordings to add to their quite comprehensive back catalogue.






ALL SHOOK UP / THAT’S WHEN YOUR HEARTACHES BEGIN

(USA single charted on April 6th 1957 and got to #1; the UK release charted June 14th 1957 and reached #1)

Elvis’ first UK #1 hit was created by HMV with their eleventh release (counting the ‘export-only’ release of Mystery Train). It was a recording that had been sent to them in advance of the Decca takeover, as the US release had been made a full two months before it was released in the UK. If ever it was a case of ‘too little, too late’, then this was it.

A chart-topper ay last to match the RCA Victor release in America. HMV even got the name of Elvis’ backing group, The Jordanaires, right on this release, having credited them as ‘The Jordonaires’ on the Too Much label; they had also failed to acknowledge the singers’ contribution on any previous releases. In fact, none of the earlier HMV releases had mentioned the musicians playing on the records, even those from Sun featuring team at RCA had remained constant, but different musicians had played in Hollywood on Love Me Tender. This latest release was taped at Radio Recorders in Hollywood; Gordon Stoker from The Jordanaires played piano but otherwise it was the same regular backing crew who featured on all the previous RCA recordings.






(LET ME BE YOUR) TEDDY BEAR / LOVING YOU

(USA single charted June 24th 1957, reaching #1; the UK one charted July 12th 1957 and got to #2)

Now it begins to get interesting, This was the first Elvis Presley single on the British RCA label, and the interesting aspect concerned the shorter time gap of only three weeks between the US and the UK issues. All Shook Up had been a full two months between release dates, and it was clear that the Decca Group were demanding the product quicker and putting their resources into pressing the records and issuing them to capitalise on the American success. Add to this the fact that both tracks were taken from Elvis’ second movie. Loving You, where fans could watch Elvis perform them before going out to buy the record; the movie thus became almost a forerunner of the pop video, with the obvious difference being that you had to visit the cinema and pay to see the film of the performance. The biggest irony in the history of Elvis records to this point was that All Shook Up kept this first RCA release from the top spot after it first charted at #13 when the HMV record was #1! Elvis’ HMV release remained at the top until August 31st when it was replaced by Paul Anka’s Diana. On August 10th Elvis held positions one and two on the UK chartsthe first time this had happened, and the records were on different labels!






PARALYZED / WHEN MY BLUE MOON TURNS TO GOLD AGAIN

(Exclusive UK release by HMV charted August 30th 1957, #8)

Just six weeks after the first RCA release, HMV fought back with arguably the best double sided hit since Hound Dog / Don’t Be Cruel. Like All Shook Up, the songwriter of Paralyzed was Otis Blackwell who was one of the hottest writers on the scene, having penned the hit Great Balls Of Fire for Jerry Lee Lewis. A rocker and an old country and western standard, given a new treatment by Elvis, created another double-sided winning formula for HMV. This was totally missed by RCA Victor, as someone there (or possibly Tom Parker) was concerned that it was in breach of ‘political correctness’, since Paralyzed could be seen as being disrespectful to disabled citizens. In America, Elvis had just recorded the ‘March Of Dimes’ promotion and there were fears that this song could undo the undoubted good his work had done.






PARTY / GOT A LOT O’ LIVIN’ TO DO

(Exclusive release by RCA UK; charted October 4th 1957, #2)

This second RCA release was another unique British issue and the day that Party entered the charts at #15, it joined three more Elvis records in the Top 20, All Shook Up (#8), Paralyzed (#11) and Teddy Bear (#12). The situation prompted DJ Pete Murray to remark that Elvis Presley was so popular, it needed two different record labels to release his records. Paul Anka with Diana kept Party from top spot on October 26th but the week prior to that, Got A Lot O’ Livin’ To Do had entered the chart which split the sales and denied Party becoming Elvis’ next chart-topper. It was on the charts for 15 weeks and, together with Elvis’ second movie chart song Teddy Bear, it created a precedence for RCA to release movie songs on singles. That was a practice that continued until 1968 with some of the later ones not deserving to be recorded, never mind released on singles.






TRYING TO GET TO YOU / LAWDY, MISS CLAWDY

(Exclusive release by HMVcharted November 1st 1957, #16)

With both sides of the release charting and Lawdy, Miss Clawdy making #15, which was actually one place better that the A-side, HMV issued this third Elvis Sun release as a UK single. This was another money-spinner for HMV as they scoured their catalogue to release potential hits to compete with RCA. It was Elvis fifteenth single release in the UK and his penultimate single on HMV. They must have been rubbing their hands with glee, having seen the Elvis releases on RCA not getting to the top of the charts. With the Christmas period fast approaching, the Decca Group were planning an RCA release that they hoped would become Elvis’ first Christmas number one record. Would it be third time lucky for RCA?



SANTA BRING MY BABY BACK (TO ME) / SANTA CLAUS IS BACK IN TOWN

(This exclusive release by RCA UK charted on November 15th 1957 and attained #7)

It just wasn’t to be, as this third RCA UK release failed to create a Christmas #1 for Elvis. Harry Belafonte with Mary’s Boy Child stole the honours, and it would be 1960 before Elvis held the coveted Christmas chart-topper with It’s Now Or Never. During two consecutive weeks in November 1957, in the weeks before the Santa song charted, Elvis Presley had seven singles in the UK Top 30, and for the record here they are: Party (#2), Teddy Bear (#15), Got A Lot O’ Livin’ To Do (#17), Lawdy, Miss Clawdy (#20), Trying To Get To You (#23), All Shook Up (#25) and Loving You (#30). In terms of value for money for fans, this pair of Christmas singles were issued on an EP and Elvis’ Christmas Album, meaning that fans who wanted ’the complete Elvis’ (and there were many of us), had to buy the tracks three times. The era of the Elvis record rip-off was about to begin!



I’M LEFT, YOU’RE RIGHT, SHE’S GONE / HOW DO YOU THINK I FEEL

(Exclusive release by HMV UK hit the charts on January 17th 1958 and reached #21)

The last HMV Elvis single was assigned the catalogue number POP 428 and signalled the end of the line for HMV, as the record hit the buffers after barely denting the UK chart. While it represented the fourth Sun recording to be issued as an A-side by HMV, it was never issued in America in this combination. The sad aspect was that it was recorded in 1955 and by the time it charted, three years later, it could hardly be described as a ’cutting edge’ release. The single was issued from amongst the few remaining tracks in Walter Ridley’s HMV vault but he played an ace in his final hand, later in the year, when he issued the album The Best Of Elvis. All the HMV releases are regarded as highly desirable amongst vinyl collectors, and this final release is one of the more difficult ones to find because of the low sales figures.



JAILHOUSE ROCK / TREAT ME NICE

(USA single charted October 14th, 1957, and got to #1; the UK version charted January 24th 1958, #1)

In the history of the British charts, there had never been a release to equal this couplingit went from nowhere to #1 in the first week of release. After topping the American charts for seven weeks and remaining on the Billboard listing for an amazing 19 weeks, the UK pre-release orders for this new single enforced a delay of one week in the issue of the record. Originally scheduled for a January 10th issue, advance orders of over a quarter of a million copies worked the Decca pressing plants into overdrive. The movie was premiered in London on January 16th which had fans clamouring to buy the record after seeing Elvis perform the song on the silver screen. In terms of songwriting, this was another first as Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller wrote the songs on both sides of this release. As a movie song, it was another example of RCA UK selling singles with the help of Elvis’ on-screen ability. The Colonel’s plans to recreate Elvis as an all-round entertainer and sell his records on the back of his movie performances were created from the success of the songs from Love Me Tender, Loving You and Jailhouse Rock. He followed it with King Creole before the ’60s movie years, following the success of G.J. Blues and Blue Hawaii, created a formula of predictable plots (that Elvis hated), as the quality of many of the songs also deterioratedand that’s a story we’ll be looking at too . . .

THE END

 

It is a quote. VINTAGE ROCK PRESENTS – ELVIS COLLECTORS EDITION 2015