I ran into a few things about Elvis on the Internet that tickled me.  One was a UPI story from Stockholm.  Recently the National Tax Board of Sweden ruled:

            Elvis is the first name of a masculine type.

Wow, that’s a revelation.  Did you ever think otherwise?  Not me.

The Tax Board has told a Swedish couple that Elvis is not an appropriate name for a girl in Sweden.

Wow, they’ve got a board in Sweden that tells people what names not to give their babies.  That’s scary.  But, even worse, what’s their problem with Elvis?  That is a terrific name for a female.  Even though I’ve always thought it was masculine, I can see the name working for a girl.

Can’t say that I’ve ever met a woman named Elvis.  I wish I knew one, because I’ll bet she would be fun to be around.  Hell, I’d like to meet her parents.  Buy them a drink and talk about Elvis for hours.

Anyway, back in Sweden, the couple said they picked the name because they liked the sound.   Well, we hear the word Elvis spoken all the time.  Elvis is everywhere.  And, I guess it does sound pleasant.  Good name – for boy or girl.

Guess what the couple said was the most important quality they wanted in a name for their daughter?  That it be gender neutral.

The mother said, “We talked about a lot of names and then Elvis popped up.  We thought that it was a name that was both pretty and gender-neutral.”

She’s right.  If you think about it, the name Elvis is pretty.  I like this Swedish couple a lot more that that stupid Tax Board. 

Or at least I did until I read, “We’re not Elvis fans at all.”  Ok, forget what I said about meeting the parents.

The next funny thing about Elvis wasn’t really in the news.  It was in an e-mail.  My friend, Jim Lane, recently went on vacation out west, and here is what he wrote:

            “At Pike’s Market in Seattle, an old guy was playing the 

            acoustic guitar hoping people would throw money in his

            guitar case.  Along came a middle-aged guy with an Elvis

            belt and cape.  He put down a tip jar and started in on ‘All 

            Shook Up.’  Before the song was over, he made more money

            than that first guy had in 20 minutes.” 

Well, it just goes to show you that a tip jar snags more money than a guitar case.

No, I think the cape was the trick.  This wasn’t an Elvis Tribute Artist in full jumpsuit splendor.  Just a guy with a big belt and a cape and an acoustic guitar – singing some Elvis and bringin’ in the dough.  What a great gig.

My thanks to Jim for the story.

Back to  European countries.  According to www.orange.co.uk, in an article about little known Swiss facts:

            “Swiss law forbids you to mow your front lawn while dressed as Elvis Presley."

No problem.  Just wear a big belt and a cape.

And finally, we have two stories from a news website called The Spoof.  That title gives you a clue about the veracity of their articles.

The so-called breaking news report was titled, “Elvis Had Sex With Aliens.”  The source for this news was an old Elvis Memphis Mafia buddy, Lama Fyke, who supposedly said:

“Did you ever wonder why Elvis’ bedroom is off limits when you tour Graceland?  It’s because he’s up there, man.  I’m only revealing this because I need the money.”

That’s funny.  I like that line, whether it has a ring of truth or not.

But, here is the best one of all from The Spoof:

            “In a related story, a tourist on Beale Street [in Memphis] was

            sighted wearing a tee shirt that read:

Elvis Is alive and living in my pants

Feel him for a quarter.’”

©  2008   Philip R Arnold   All Rights Reserved   www.ElvisBlog.net

The Follow That Dream label produces CDs in several themes.  Previously unreleased Elvis concert recordings make up much of the catalog.   Another big part of the series is original album re-releases (with much improved digital sound), enhanced by the addition of alternate takes and outtakes.  And surprisingly, there are also collections of nothing but alternate takes and outtakes from groups of recording sessions.

I have never understood why there is sufficient demand for FTD to release so many Elvis concerts from the 70s.  At last count there are twenty-two different ones.  Thirteen of these are from Las Vegas shows, and three of these are from 1975.  I don’t own any of the concert CDs, but my guess is that there can’t be that much difference between them.

The FTD Top 40 list compiled by ElvisNews.com indicates that the rare studio material is the most popular.  The top four spots are:

Elvis Is Back:  Re-release of the 1960 album, plus six singles songs from that session, ten first takes, and over fifty outtakes.  A double CD.

The Jungle Room Sessions:  Alternate versions and outtakes from the February and October 1976 recording sessions held at Graceland.

Nashville Marathon:  Outtakes and alternate takes from the June and September 1970 sessions at RCA’s famous Studio B.

Memphis Sessions: Outtakes and un-dubbed masters from Elvis’ recording sessions in January and February 1969.

The title of the CD at #5 sounds like it would be the highest-ranking FTD live show.  However, Recorded Live On Stage in Memphis was originally a concert album released in 1974.  The FTD CD of the same name simply adds all the songs from the show that were left off the original album. 

The most popular previously un-released concert CD is Elvis At The International at #6.  The show took place on August 23, 1969 in Las Vegas, and is of historical interest because of Elvis’ return to live shows after an eight-year absence.

So, it is clear that the serious collectors of FTD’s Elvis music most prefer the obscure studio stuff.  Personally, I have never been that big on Elvis’ music from the 70s, but after reading the reviews of The Jungle Room Sessions, I think I would really enjoy it.  The idea of being a fly-on-the-wall listening in on Elvis’ last recording sessions has great appeal.  And, all the reviews of this CD rave about the different sound you get without the overdubbed strings, vocal background singing and added echo.  Some of the reviewers’ comments are revealing.  “Without overdubs… the sound is incredible, almost pristine.”  “You get to hear moments of the real Elvis as you’ve never heard him before.”  The songs are interspersed with studio-chat, jokes and laughter, goofing around.”  “This is a fabulous release.”  Obviously, the voting fans agree and rank The Jungle Room Sessions #2 on the list.

Earlier this year, I wrote about three FTD CDs that appealed to me.  It came as a blow to my ego that the folks who have responded to the Top 40 poll don’t agree at all.  Too Much Monkey Business came in at #33, which shows that the voters don’t particularly care for the new instrumental backing added to these twenty Elvis songs.  This now comes as no surprise, since the voters go the other way and favor the stripped-down sound of original takes with no over-dubbing.

Burbank ’68 did a little better at #28, but I don’t understand why it isn’t higher.  You would think that the unplugged music from the ’68 Comeback Special would be very popular.  The problem here may be that this CD came out in 1999 as the very first FTD release.  Anything that old may have trouble hanging in there in the voting today.

Finally, the last FTD CD I favored in the March Elvisblog article was Tickle Me, a pseudo soundtrack album from a movie that never had one.  It was nowhere to be found in the TOP 40.  I did call it a “totally contorted, screwed-up concept,” and I guess other potential FTD buyers agreed and didn’t think that was a very good reason to part with $30.

©   2007   Philip R Arnold   All Rights Reserved   www.elvisblog.net

Elvis fans are fortunate the Internet offers a large choice of websites devoted to The King, and some of these sites have an incredible assortment of content.  I recently added three of the best Elvis websites to the list of this blog’s favorite links: www.elvis-collectors.com, www.elvisinfonet.com, and www.elvis.com.au.   This should have been done some time ago, because all had been referenced in earlier Elvisblog articles.

Do you ever check into a major Elvis website for the first time and feel overwhelmed by all the content they offer?  My answer is to check back every once in a while and try to cover everything in a new tab each time.  Thus, it was that I discovered The FTD Top 40 List on www.elvisnews.com this week.  They have archives going back only to June 2007, so I guess this is a fairly new addition.

The Follow That Dream label (FTD) was the topic of two Elvisblog articles back in February and March 2007.  To repeat, here’s a quick review of what the FTD program for Elvis music is all about.  Sony/BMG, the company that bought RCA in the mid-80s, started the Follow That Dream label in 1999.  It was to serve the dedicated Elvis collector, not the public at large.  It was also a response to the thriving business in bootleg Elvis records and CDs.  As the EPE website, www.elvis.com, states, “The volume of unofficial audio product in the marketplace reached a level which Sony/BMG and EPE could no longer tolerate.”  Well, they had access to a huge inventory of Elvis outtake and specialty material, so why not beat the bootleggers at their own game?

The ElvisNews.com FTD Top 40 list is compiled from reader responses.  The fine print says that votes are dropped after 18 months, so I guess the results are tallies of an 18-month rolling average.  Click here to see the entire list.

You will note that Elvis Is Back is the most popular FTD CD this month.  It was released in 2005 and contains studio recordings from the March and April 1960 sessions at Nashville’s famous Studio B.  I was particularly happy to see it on top, because the original Elvis album of that name has always been my favorite.  You may recall that this album came from the first recording sessions after Elvis returned from the Army.  After so long out of the spotlight, it was critical that Elvis produce some top-notch material -- and he certainly did.

These sessions gave birth to three #1 hits: “Stuck On You,” “It’s Now or Never,” and “Are You Lonesome Tonight?” as well as powerful B-sides “Fame and Fortune,” “A Mess Of The Blues,” and “I Gotta Know.”  However, none were included in the original album Elvis Is Back.  Col. Parker figured the fans would buy it whether or not it contained any hits.  That wasn’t quite right, but the album had it’s own charm.  I've always loved it because it contained three genuine, low-down blues songs: “Like A Baby,” It Feels So Right,” and “Reconsider Baby.” 

So, the FTD Elvis Is Back CD corrects the original mistake and contains all twelve album cuts plus both sides of the singles songs.  But that’s not all.  This double CD is almost 160 minutes of music, so you get tons of extras.  You get the first takes of ten songs, so you can see how much they changed and improved before the master was chosen.  The entire second CD is a collection of outtakes – over fifty of them covering fifteen songs.  If you like to hear studio chatter at recording sessions, this CD has plenty for you.  However, be warned.  There is a good bit of profanity from Elvis when he screws up the lyrics.

I do not own the FTD Elvis Is Back CD, but after reading the reviews on selected Elvis websites, I am putting it on my wish list for Christmas presents from family.  Here are some selected quotes from these reviews.

“The warmth of these 1960 master recordings is palpable, and as good as anything issued so far in the digital era.” (For Elvis CD Collectors)

“This might be the best music that Elvis would ever produce.” (Elvis Australia)

“Superb Audio Quality.  Beautifully restored… there is a lovely shine and fullness to this sound.” (Elvis Information Network)

“Seldom in his career would he be so consistently superb in voice, performance and material.” (For Elvis CD Collectors)

”This is a very different sound to the Elvis of the fifties, smoother, more mature, and with a new beauty and strength to his voice.”  (Elvis Australia)

“A totally essential FTD and their best, complete work so far.” (Elvis Information Network)

After reading these reviews, there’s no doubt I want to own Elvis Is Back.  I can’t wait until Christmas day when I will get to listen to it.  More on the FTD Top 40 List next week.

©  2007   Philip R Arnold   All Right Reserved   www.elvisblog.net

About fifteen years ago, I went into a record store in Memphis and asked what they had in Elvis bootleg albums.  The guy behind the counter gave me a skeptical look and sort-of danced around the question.  I should have expected this, because bootlegs are illegal, and he could get in trouble for selling them.  So, he asked me a bunch of questions, and, once he was satisfied I was a collector and not a federal agent, he finally reached under the counter and brought out a cardboard box full of bootlegs.

To my surprise, most of them had excellent full-color covers featuring uncommon photos of Elvis.  There were track listings and liner notes, and best of all, Elvis music that was not available on commercial releases.  The prices of these bootleg albums ranged from $25 to $200, and the shopkeeper assured me the sound quality was excellent on all.

I selected a few treasures and parted with nearly $100, but I was thrilled with the new additions to my collection.  Now I could listen to the audio tracks from Elvis’ appearance on The Milton Berle Show, alternate takes of Elvis’ songs on Sun Records, and alternate takes from the “King Creole” rehearsals.

But my favorite of all was the double album, “The Burbank Sessions Vol.1,” which contained songs from the unplugged session in the 68 Comeback Special.   That wonderful segment lasted a half hour or so, but Elvis and the boys actually were filmed going through it four different times with a flexible song list.  From that trove of videotape, the producers edited the best to use for the show.  My bootleg contained the songs from two of these filming sessions, both held on June 27, 1968.  Because there are some lyric flubs and other distinctive features, I can tell most of it did not appear in the original TV show.  So, technically I had purchased “Previously Unreleased Alternate Versions” at a time when the original versions had not yet been released, either.  Did you follow that?

When I got home, I immediately put the music on cassette tape, and I have played it zillions of times since.  Whenever I hear the songs of that unplugged session with all the screaming from those girls in the studio, I visualize Elvis wearing the black-leather outfit and looking as cool as he ever did in his life.

As I mentioned last week, the sales of bootleg Elvis music had grown to such a level that Sony/BMG and Graceland decided to minimize the problem and started the Follow That Dream label in 1999.  So, what do you think was the first thing they released?  Of course, it was music from the 68 Comeback Special titled “Burbank 68.”  It contained songs from the June 25 rehearsal and the June 29 show taping. 

In 2006, FTD’s Earnst Jorgensen went back to the well one more time and released “Let Yourself Go – The Making of ‘Elvis’ - The Comeback Special.”  It contains a lot of music from the special’s production numbers and Elvis’ solo performances.  Although both of these Follow That Dream releases have now caused the value of my prized bootleg album to drop, I’m not mad.  I would still recommend both CDs to any Elvis collector looking for something different.  I also would be surprised if there isn’t at least one more release of music from the 68 Comeback Special yet to come

There is one other interesting title on my Follow That Dream wish list.  It is titled “Tickle Me,” and FTD describes it as a Movie Soundtrack Reissue (Sort Of).   There never was any recording session to produce songs for the low-budget 1964 movie “Tickle Me.”  Instead, the producers saved money by using nine songs recorded during the preceding three years.  The songs were selected from seven different recording sessions.

“Tickle Me” did not have a soundtrack album, but now we can get FTD’s pseudo-soundtrack CD.  All nine songs from the movie are in it, as well as an alternate version of each.  Plus, as a bonus, five more tracks from those same earlier sessions are added.  It’s a totally screwy, contorted concept, and I love it.

©  2007   Philip R Arnold   All Rights Reserved   www.elvisblog.net

About ten years ago, I decided I wasn’t buying any more Elvis music.  I had over fifty albums, around a hundred 45s, nearly twenty EPs, several dozen cassettes, and a handful of CDs.  The new compilations didn’t interest me, and I wasn’t buying re-releases of anything just to get a few bonus alternate tracks.  Since then, I have accumulated new CDs like 30 #1 Hits and 2ND TO NONE as family members gave them to me for Christmas presents, but I stayed true to my plan and did no buying of my own.

Now I am starting to waver.  Right after New Years, I worked on a blog article reviewing the events of Elvisworld in 2006, and I mentioned the five CD releases in the Follow That Dream (FTD) series.  I was surprised to learn how many choices there were in the series and made a note to study them in more detail.  Now that I have, it’s probably time to change my thinking and order a few that sound pretty good.

For those of you unfamiliar with the Follow That Dream series, here is a little background.   Sony/BMG, the company that bought RCA in the mid-80s, started the FTD label in 1999.  It was to serve the dedicated Elvis collector, not the public at large.  It was also a response to the thriving business in bootleg Elvis records and CDs.  As the EPE website, www.elvis.com, states, “The volume of unofficial audio product in the marketplace reached a level which Sony/BMG and EPE could no longer tolerate.”  Well, they had access to a huge inventory of Elvis outtake and specialty material, so why not beat the bootleggers at their own game?

The man who made it all happen is Ernst Jorgensen, a Danish Elvis fan who went to work for BMG in 1988.  While he assisted in putting together several Elvis Presley albums for the European market, Jorgensen continued his passion to chronicle the details of the many Elvis recording sessions.  In 1998, he published the wonderful book, Elvis Presley, A Life in Music.  Ernst Jorgensen was uniquely qualified to handle the Follow That Dream project.

There are now 62 FTD releases offered by EPE on www.shopelvis.com.  It was quite a job reading the info on each one to see what interested me.  Automatically skipping the dozens of 70s concert soundboards helped.  I also have no interest in spending $30 for a CD of nothing but outtakes.  I would love to listen to them once, just out of curiosity, but that’s all.  And finally, I passed on the releases with six or seven alternate takes of the same songs. 

So, what are the releases that interest me?  The first is Too Much Monkey Business, which is an expansion of the 1981 album release Guitar Man.   For the latter, producers Felton Jarvis and Chip Young lifted Elvis’ vocals off original tapes and recorded new backing tracks using a group of session musicians.  This was two decades before the same procedure was used for the hugely successful “A Little Less Conversation.”  For my money, the best songs on Guitar Man are “Too Much Monkey Business,” “I’m Moving On,” and the title song.  The alternate instrumentation gave the songs a more modern sound, and some ended up as distinctly country tunes.  In fact, Guitar Man had a 31-week run on the country music charts, going as high as # 6.  It also went to # 49 on the Billboard pop album charts.

The FTD release of Too Much Monkey Business includes the ten songs on Guitar Man plus ten more originally redone in 1981 but not included in the album.  The most interesting sounding new songs are “Burning Love,” “In The Ghetto,” “Hey Jude,” “Kentucky Rain,” and “Blue Suede Shoes.”  So, when you play Too Much Monkey Business, you are hearing a collection of twenty songs that have never before been assembled together, and they all sound different than the versions you know.  This is my idea of something different for the Elvis collector who enjoys listening to his collection and not just accumulating oddities.

However, if you like outtakes and studio chatter and the like, the Follow That Dream label has the CDs you want.  Next week, we will discuss some of them, including the other favorite on my wish list.

In the early 60s, Elvis got into a routine of going to Nashville every spring to do recording sessions at RCA’s famed Studio B.  These would be considered non-soundtrack sessions, because almost all other recording Elvis did during those years was for movie soundtracks.  These annual spring recording sessions in Nashville in ’60, ’61, and ’62 produced a cache of songs to be released as singles. 

That is also the way it went after the recording sessions at Studio B on May 26-27, 1963.  A new 45 release followed within a month.  “Devil In Disguise” was the A-side, and it went to #3 on the charts.  The B-side was “Don’t Drag That String Around,” written by Otis Blackwell (“Don’t Be Cruel”).  Another good song, “Witchcraft,” was the B-side to “Bossa Nova Baby,” released in October that year.

After the spring Nashville sessions in ’60, ’61, and ’62, Elvis released a new non-soundtrack album each year.  Col. Parker decided they would not include any hits.  He was correct in believing the fans would still buy the albums anyway, and then later all the hits could be included in one of many Elvis “Best Of” compilations. 

So, the cycle for albums following the spring Nashville sessions was this: 1960 – Elvis Is Back,” 1961 – “Something for Everybody,”  1962 – “Pot Luck.”  However, in 1963 there was no regular non-soundtrack album released.  Pretty strange, considering that they had 13 brand new songs in the vault.  It’s an interesting story.

Actually, RCA did have an album using these recordings scheduled to come out in the fall of 1963, but then they decided they had enough songs for Elvis Golden Records 3, so they issued it instead.  Why bother with untested studio material when a greatest-hits record is a sure thing?  Next up was the Fun In Acapulco soundtrack release in November ’63, and two extra songs were needed for filler.  “Love Me Tonight” and “Slowly But Surely” were pulled from the remaining unused spring ’63 Studio B recordings.“

By April 1964, it was time for the Kissin’ Cousins soundtrack.  This movie was also short of enough songs for a full album, so again songs from the May ’63 Nashville sessions were used: “Long Lonely Highway” and “Echoes of Love.”  That was the death knell for the concept of an album of all the May ’63 Studio B recordings (less the hits, of course).  Two songs made it into the standard album Elvis for Everyone in 1965.  Four of the remaining songs were used in the soundtrack albums for Double Trouble in 1967 and Speedway in 1968. 

Finally, in 1991, RCA decided to right a wrong and finally released a CD of the May ’63 recordings.  It is appropriately titled The Lost Album, and I would rather own it than some of the other more recent CDs containing “Previously Unreleased Recordings.”  Elvis was just 28 in 1963, and he was still rocking pretty good.  The session featured three guitar players (led by Scotty Moore) playing on each song, and it had a double drum kit: DJ Fontana and Buddy Harman.  Elvis also had Floyd Cramer on piano, Boots Randolph on sax, Bob Moore on bass, and the Jordanaires and Millie Kirkham on vocals, bringing the group assembled there up to all-star status.

For my money, I think the best song on The Lost Album is “Memphis,” written and first recorded by Chuck Berry.  I also like “Devil In Disguise,” “Witchcraft,” and “Slowly But Surely.”  The rest of the songs are well described by Earnst Jorgenson in Elvis Presley, A Life in Music.  He said they “were all passable, and their flawless, pleasant sound make them records Elvis fans could enjoy.”

If you would like to own The Lost Album, it won’t come cheap.  You can find used copies on Amazon for $44 and up.  Ebay has a used copy for $35 and a sealed one for $50.  If you are not a collector, but would just like to hear the music, you can find cassettes and CDs that seem to be later RCA/BMG re-releases.  They are titled For The Asking (The Lost Album).  The song list is the same, and they cost less than $8 on Ebay.

So, if the concept of an unreleased Elvis album from 1963 interests you, check out The Lost Album.

©  2007   Philip R Arnold   All Rights Reserved   www.elvisblog.net

A few weeks ago we looked at a scathing review of Elvis’ second appearance on the Milton Berle Show by the Times’ TV critic, Jack Gould.  In another Elvisblog article, we noted the disdain shown by the Times’ movie critic for Elvis’ first few movies.  So, it may come as a surprise that the Times music critic, John S. Wilson, actually had some good things to say about Elvis’ second album, Elvis.

John S. Wilson had a four-decade career with the New York Times, starting in 1952.  He was the newspaper’s first critic to cover popular music.  He wrote about blues, cabaret, Latin, folk, pop, and his favorite, jazz.  Wilson’s article on January 13, 1957, was a four-column piece about Elvis.  The text framed around and under a good 4x6 photo of him centered on the page.  It was titled, “Elvis Presley: Rocking Blues Shouter.”

Mr. Wilson certainly knew his blues, and early in the article, he makes the argument that Elvis was imbued with the spirit and style of Negro country blues singer Big Bill Broonzy.  I have a little Broonzy music, and I can see where Wilson was coming from.  He continued, “His outright rock ‘n’ roll efforts generally are based on an exaggeration of his blues roots.”  OK, I buy that.  However, Wilson totally shot the mood by saying, “essentially, rock ‘n’ roll is a grotesque extension of the blues.”  Uh, oh.  This guy doesn’t like rock ‘n’ roll, I thought, and he’s going to slam Elvis.

But, no.  Wilson used great phrases like, “he is tuned to his times with …catalytic precision” and, “He will eventually settle into the mainstream of popular singers.”  I didn’t quite get it when Wilson wrote that Elvis’ music was “all amplified to brain-shattering proportions by doom-filled echo chambers.”   What?  The Sun Records echo sound is now recognized as pure musical genius, so Wilson was just wrong on that one. 

More than halfway through the article, Wilson finally got to the business at hand – his review of the new album Elvis.  He called the song “So Glad You’re Mine” an excellent, practically unalloyed, sample of country blues.  He described “Any Place Is Paradise” as another basically strong blues.

When Mr. Wilson finished talking about his favorite songs on the album, he started talking about Elvis, the singer.  The next two paragraphs are word-for-word from the article.

Mr. Presley is completely at home with the shouts, the whoops, the hoarse zest and the plaintive cry of the country blues singer.  When he is using these devices with artless skill, he is a genuinely exciting performer.

And on the artful side, Mr. Presley should not be underestimated.  Between his first disc, Elvis Presley, and his second, Elvis, the improvement in his diction, in the use he makes of his strong natural voice, and in the thoughtfulness of his presentations is very marked.  All these suggest that his horizons are far from limited. 

Boy, was John S. Wilson right about that.

I thoroughly enjoyed the nearly fifty-year-old article, “Elvis Presley: Rocking Blues Shouter.”  It is probably my favorite in the New York Times Elvis commemorative newspaper called The King.   However, even the articles I don’t like make excellent topics for Elvisblog, so we will return here again.

©   2006   Philip R Arnold   All Rights Reserved   www.elvisblog.net 

2006 is the 50^th anniversary of many things in Elvis’ history: his first hit song, his first TV appearance, his first album, his first movie.  It’s also the 30^th anniversary of his best album, at least in the opinion of most music critics.  Can you name it?

Well, the year was 1976, so what came out then?  If you remembered Moody Blue, that’s a good guess, but wrong.  It may be his most unusual because of the blue vinyl, but it’s not his best.

Perhaps you are thinking Elvis’ best album should be Blue Hawaii, because it was certainly his best seller (over 5 million copies -- and it stayed #1 on the charts for twenty straight weeks).  Or maybe it should be his first LP, Elvis Presley, which was the first rock & roll album to reach #1, and it completely changed the buying habits of America’s teenagers (who previously bought only 45’s, not long-play albums).  No, that’s not it either, according to most print and Internet music critics.

They say Elvis’ greatest album is The Sun Sessions.  Now you’re thinking, “You mean Elvis’ recordings at Sun Studios weren’t released on an album until twenty years after they were recorded?”  Strange, but true.  Here’s another strange fact.  The Sun Sessions was not released on CD until 1999, about fifteen years after compact discs took over as the dominant musical format.

So, who says The Sun Sessions are Elvis’ greatest album?  The most recent was Rolling Stone magazine in their list of the “500 Greatest Rock & Roll Albums.”  Overall, they treated Elvis’ albums rather poorly, but they did pick The Sun Sessions as #11.  They printed a mini-review after each selection, and this is what they had to say, “Bridging black and white, country and blues, his sound was revolutionary… In a tiny Memphis studio in 1954 and 1955, Sam Phillips and Elvis Presley created rock & roll.”

Three years ago, VH1 had a similar poll called “The Top 100 Albums of Rock & Roll,” and they declared The Sun Sessions the 21^st best ever.  Elvis Presley had Elvis’ next highest album ranking on the Rolling Stone list, coming in at #55.  However, it did not make the VH1 list at all.  That’s no surprise.  Not one album from the 50’s made the list.  Not Here’s Little Richard.  Not The Buddy Holly Story.  Ridiculous.

Here’s one more interesting piece of trivia about The Sun Sessions.  According to Rolling Stone, it reached only #76 on the charts the year it was released, and total sales after 26 years are up to only 346,781.  However, if significant critical reviews keep praising it, The Sun Sessions should continue to sell for many decades into the future.  For my money, it’s not just the historical significance that makes it a must-have.  It’s a fun CD.  With the exception of two wimpy ballads on it (which I program the player to skip), The Sun Sessions is a delightful collection of fun, rockabilly music.  It gets plenty of play at my house.

Most fans are aware Elvis won only three Grammy Awards, and that they were all for Gospel recordings.  There’s a lot more to the story.

How could the King of Rock & Roll not win any Grammys for his rock & roll records?  One big reason is that the Grammy awards did not start until 1958.  In 1956 and 1957, Elvis changed the sound of popular music and had hit after hit.  If there had been Grammy Awards for those years, Elvis surely would have won a cabinet full of trophies.  How could he have been denied the title for Best Vocal Performance, Male, or Best Performance By A Top 40 Artist?

An Elvis song would have been a shoo-in for Record Of The Year in 1956 with choices like “Heartbreak Hotel,” “Love Me Tender,” “Hound Dog,” and "Don’t Be Cruel.”  The Album of the Year for 1956 would undoubtedly have gone to Elvis’ first RCA album, Elvis Presley.  In 1957, the choices for Record of The Year would have been "Too Much," “All Shook Up,” “Teddy Bear,” and “Jailhouse Rock”.  ”  Elvis’ Christmas Album was the definitive rock & roll Christmas album of the period and would have been a strong contender for Album of The Year.

Elvis was off in Germany in the Army when the Grammy Awards were created in 1958,and he had no nominations.  However, the next year he received three.  “A Fool Such As I” was a nominee for Record of The Year, but got beat by Bobby Darin’s “Mack the Knife,” a really huge hit.  “A Big Hunk of Love” received two nominations.  However, Nat King Cole won Best Performance by A Top 40 Artist for “Midnight Flyer” (I can’t say that I even remember the song), and Dinah Washington won Best R&B Performance for “What A Difference A day Makes.”

1960 was Elvis’ best year for Grammy nominations with five, but he was up against Ray Charles who was having a huge year.  “Are You Lonesome Tonight” had three nominations:  Record of the Year, Best Vocal Performance, Male, and Best Performance by a Pop Singles Artist.   “Theme From A Summer Place” by Percy Faith won the Record of the Year, and Georgia On My Mind” by Ray Charles took the other two categories.  He won a total of four Grammys in 1960.

Elvis had two album nominations in 1960, both for the GI Blues.  However, Ray Charles beat him again.  The Genius of Ray Charles took the award for Best Vocal Performance, Male, Album.  The Best Soundtrack Album award went to Ernest Gold for Exodus.

Elvis had another shot at Best Soundtrack Album in 1961 with Blue Hawaii.  Ray Charles didn’t beat him, but Henry Mancini did with Breakfast At Tiffany’s.

For the next five years Elvis was making movies and none of his songs or albums received Grammy nominations.  In 1967, he finally won a Grammy for Best Sacred Performance for the album How Great Thou Art, which sold over a million copies and reached #18 in the Top Albums Chart.  In 1968, he was nominated in the same category for the single “You’ll Never Walk Alone,” but the award went to Jake Hess for “Beautiful Isle Of Somewhere.” 

In 1972 Elvis won his second Grammy when his album He Touched Me took the Best Inspirational Performance award.  In 1974 Elvis won this category again for his third and last Grammy.  But instead of winning for a single or an album, Elvis won for the live version of the song “How Great Thou Art” from the album Elvis Recorded Live On Stage in Memphis.

It should be noted that the Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences partially rectified their earlier snubs of Elvis by granting him their Lifetime Achievement Award in 1971.