List of songs recorded by Elvis Presley on the Sun label

Elvis Presley recorded at least 24 songs at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee between 1953 and 1955. The recordings reflect the wide variety of music that could be heard in Memphis at the time: blues, rhythm & blues, gospel, country & western, hillbilly, and bluegrass. Because of the recordings' historical significance in the foundation of rock and roll music, they were inducted into the US Congress's National Recording Registry in 2002.[1]

Of the 24 known tapes, 22 survive. Ten were released by Sun as Elvis' first five singles between 1954 and 1955. With the exception of the first four songs, which were demos recorded at Presley's expense, all of the songs were produced by Sam Phillips and featured Scotty Moore on guitar and Bill Black on bass.

A year after Presley left for RCA, he had a spontaneous informal session with Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, and Jerry Lee Lewis when visiting the Sun studio. This meeting was recorded on December 4, 1956, and dubbed the Million Dollar Quartet by the local newspaper the next day. These sessions are not generally included when reference is made to "Elvis's Sun Sessions", however.

History

Recordings

On July 18, 1953, Presley first went to the Memphis Recording Service at the Sun Record Company, now commonly known as Sun Studio.[2] He paid $3.98 to record the first of two double-sided demo acetates, "My Happiness" and "That's When Your Heartaches Begin." Presley reportedly gave the acetate to his mother as a much-belated extra birthday present,[3] although many biographers suggest that Presley simply wanted to get noticed by Sun owner Sam Phillips. These suggestions are strengthened by the fact that the Presleys did not own a record player at the time.[4][5] That one-off acetate has since been valued at $500,000 by Record Collector magazine. Returning to Sun Studios on January 4, 1954, he recorded a second acetate, "I'll Never Stand in Your Way"/"It Wouldn't Be the Same Without You."[6]

Phillips had already cut the first records by blues artists such as Howlin' Wolf and Junior Parker.[7] He thought a combination of black blues and boogie-woogie music would be very popular among white people, if presented in the right way.[8] In the spring, Presley auditioned for an amateur gospel quartet called The Songfellows as one of the group was leaving and they were seeking a replacement.[9] However, following Presley's audition, the original group member decided to stay.[9] In May, Presley auditioned at the Hi-Hat in Memphis as a vocalist for a band. Eddie Bond, the owner of the Hi-Hat, turned him down.[10]

When Phillips acquired a demo recording of "Without You" and was unable to identify the vocalist, his assistant, Marion Keisker, reminded him about the young truck driver. She called him on May 26, 1954. Presley was not able to do justice to the song (the original acetate of the song that Phillips presented to Elvis resides in the Memphis State University collection),[11] but Phillips asked him to perform some of the many other songs he knew. After running through a few songs, Presley expressed an interest in finding a band to play with and Phillips invited local Western swing musicians Winfield "Scotty" Moore (electric guitar) and Bill Black (slap bass) to audition Presley. They did so on Sunday, July 4, 1954, at Moore's house. Neither musician was overly impressed, but they agreed a studio session would be useful to explore his potential.[12]

On July 5, 1954, the trio met at Sun studios to rehearse and record a handful of songs. According to Moore, the first song they recorded was "I Love You Because", but after a few other country oriented songs that weren't all that impressive they decided to take a break.[13] During the break, Presley began "acting the fool" with Arthur Crudup's "That's All Right (Mama)," a blues song.[14] When the other two musicians joined in, Phillips got them to restart and began taping. This was the bright, upbeat sound he had been looking for.[15] Black remarked, "Damn. Get that on the radio and they'll run us out of town."[16] The group recorded four songs during that session, including bluegrass musician Bill Monroe's Blue Moon of Kentucky, which he had written and recorded as a slow waltz. Sources credit Bill Black with initiating the song, with Presley and Moore joining in. They ended up with a fast version of the song in 4/4 time. After an early take, Phillips can be heard on tape saying: "Fine, man. Hell, that's different—that's a pop song now, just about."[17]

To gauge professional and public reaction, Phillips took several acetates of the session to DJ Dewey Phillips (no relation) of Memphis radio station WHBQ's Red, Hot And Blue show. "That's All Right" subsequently received its first play on July 8, 1954.[18] A week later, Sun had received some 6,000 advanced orders for "That's All Right"/"Blue Moon of Kentucky," which was released on July 19, 1954. From August 18 through December 8, "Blue Moon of Kentucky" was consistently higher on the charts, and then both sides began to chart across the South.[19]

After several performances with other bands, Presley arranged for Moore and Black to be his regular back-up group, giving them each 25% of the takings.[20] Moore and Black were originally members of their own band, The Starlight Wranglers, but after the success of "That's All Right", jealousy within the group forced them to split.[21]

Over the next 15 months, the trio would release five singles, tour extensively across the South, and appear regularly on the Louisiana Hayride; the biggest rival to the Grand Ole Opry at the time. They had originally auditioned for the Opry in October 1954, but they failed to impress the people in charge, or the audience, and were not invited back. Several biographers cite Jim Denny, talent agent at the Opry, as the man who told Presley that he should "go back to driving a truck".[22]

The trio would record at Sun together until November 1955, when Phillips sold Presley's contract to RCA Victor for $40,000; the highest sum ever paid for a recording contract. Sun had permission to keep pressing the singles until January 1, 1956, and RCA released Presley's first five singles nationally on their label. In January 1956, Presley began recording for RCA, recording "Heartbreak Hotel" as his first single. He would return to Sun studios regularly over the next few months, visiting with Phillips and meeting many of his new artists.

Although Presley would never officially record with Sun again, he was caught on tape during an impromptu jamming session on December 4, 1956. Presley had arrived during a Carl Perkins recording session, which also featured a young Jerry Lee Lewis on piano, and a new artist named Johnny Cash watching on. During a break in recording Presley sat at the piano and began to sing along with Perkins, Lewis and Cash. Phillips kept his tape recorder running and, seeing an opportunity to promote another of his new acts, he arranged for a reporter to cover the event. The recordings would eventually be known as "The Million Dollar Quartet".

During Presley's tenure at Sun Records, he recorded two demo recordings in Lubbock, Texas: "Fool, Fool, Fool" and "Shake, Rattle and Roll", which were released for the first time by RCA in the 1990s. These are not considered Sun recordings.

The titles

Listed are the 24 titles from 1953–55, in order of their recording date, followed by the 1956 recordings known as the "The Million Dollar Quartet". A take means a second (or higher) version; the best take would be used to create a master to be issued.

My Happiness (self-financed demo)

Borney Bergantine - Betty Peterson Blasco
Recorded: 18 July 1953

That's When Your Heartaches Begin (self-financed demo)

William Raskin - Fred Fisher - George Brown
Recorded: 18 July

I'll Never Stand In Your Way (self-financed demo)

Hy Heath
Recorded: January 4, 1954

It Wouldn't Be The Same Without You (self-financed demo)

Fred Rose
Recorded: January 4, 1954

I Love You Because

Leon Payne. Original probably: Leon Payne (1949, Capitol); Eddie Fisher (1950, RCA Victor)
Recorded: July 5, 1954 (session 1)

That's All Right

Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Original: Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup (1947, RCA Victor). Crudup's original title is: "That's All Right (Mama)"; on the Sun label, and many later releases, '(Mama)' is omitted: "That's All Right".
Recorded: July 5, 1954 (session 1)

Elvis' recording of "That's All Right (Mama)" can be considered to be near the beginning of rock and roll, though the first rock and roll records predate it.

Harbor Lights

Hugh Williams - Jimmy Kennedy. Original: possibly Harry Owens and His Royal Hawaiians
Recorded: Possibly July 5, 1954 (session 1)

The 4-CD boxed set "Today, Tomorrow And Forever" contains an alternate version (take three).

Blue Moon of Kentucky

Bill Monroe
Original: Bill Monroe and His Bluegrass Boys (1947, Columbia)
Recorded: July 5, 1954 (session 1)

Elvis - The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters contains a fragment (1:03) of an alternate take in a slower, more country style. This take was originally release on bootleg in 1974, having been located at Sun Records many years after Presley left for RCA.

Blue Moon

R. Rodgers - L. Hart.
Original: Ted Fio Rito & His Orchestra (Brunswick LA231=C 11/19/1934)
Also: Connie Boswell (Brunswick 16642, 1/15/1935)
Recorded: August 19, 1954 (session 2)

Tomorrow Night

Sam Coslow - Will Grosz. Original: Lonnie Johnson (1948, King)
Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3)

I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')

Jimmy Wakely. Original: Jimmy Wakely (1943, Decca)
Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3)

Satisfied

Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3) (tape lost)

I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine

M. David. Original probably Patti Page (1950, Mercury)
Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3) The Dean Martin version was probably Elvis' inspiration.

Just Because

Sydney Robin - Bob Shelton - Joe Shelton. Original: The Shelton Brothers (1942, Decca)[23] Recorded 1933[24][25]

Also; Lonestar Cowboys, 1933 on RCA (Victor),[26][27] Nelstone's Hawaiians:[28] Victor V40273 (1929).[29] The song was also recorded by Frank Yankovic and was responsible for his band being rated the #13 band "on the Nation's Juke Boxes" in 1948.[30] It was also covered by The Flying Burrito Brothers.[31]

Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3)

Good Rockin' Tonight

Roy Brown. Original Roy Brown (1947, DeLuxe); also Wynonie "Mr. Blues" Harris (1948, King)
Recorded: September 10, 1954 (session 3)

Milkcow Blues Boogie

Kokomo Arnold. Original probably Kokomo Arnold (1935, Decca)
Other releases: Johnny Lee Wills (1941, Decca); Moon Mullican (1946, King); Bob Wills & His Texas Playboys als "Brain Cloudy Blues", (1946, Columbia)
Recorded: December 8, 1954 (session 4)

You're a Heartbreaker

Jack Sallee
Recorded: December 8, 1954 (session 4)

Baby Let's Play House

Arthur Gunter. Original: Arthur Gunter (1954, Excello)
Recorded: February 11, 1955 (session 5)[32][33]

In 1951 Eddy Arnold recorded a song titled “I Want to Play House with You” [34] [35] by Cy Coben. This song has been misidentified as the same song. It is not.[36]

I Got a Woman

Ray Charles
Recorded: February 5, 1955 (session 5) (tape lost)

Trying to Get to You

Rose Marie McCoy - Charles Singleton. Original: The Eagles (1954, Mercury)
Recorded: February 11, 1955 (session 5, not published) and July 11, 1955 (session 7, published). In 2002, RCA included information in the liner notes of Sunrise as to Presley recording this song while simultaneously playing the piano, and not aided by his rhythm guitar, as previously believed. Because the piano was not directly miked, it can only be heard faintly in the background.

I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone

Stan Kesler - William Taylor.
Recorded: March 5, 1955 (session 6)

I Forgot To Remember To Forget

Stan Kesler - Charlie Feathers.
Recorded: July 11, 1955 (session 7)

Mystery Train

Junior Parker - Sam Phillips. Original: Little Junior's Blue Flames (1953, Sun)
Recorded: July 11, 1955 (session 7)

When It Rains It Really Pours

William R. Emerson. Original: Billy Emerson (1955, Sun)
Recorded: November 20, 1955 (session 8)

The Million Dollar Quartet (session recordings)

On December 4, 1956, a year after Elvis had left Sun for RCA, he revisited Sun Studio. The afternoon became a jam session with Carl Perkins (then already famous for his "Blue Suede Shoes"), Jerry Lee Lewis (relatively unknown at the time), and Johnny Cash (not heard on the tapes, although he does appear on the cover photo). The taping was largely unintended by the quartet; they were just singing the songs they had in mind. About 40 titles are recorded, most of them incomplete. Elvis is caught telling about a singer he saw in Las Vegas, doing his version of "Don't Be Cruel", and they're enjoying "Brown Eyed Handsome Man" from Chuck Berry.
Recorded: December 4, 1956.

Rumored/legendary recordings

Over the decades, several additional recordings have been claimed as having been recorded by Elvis at Sun Records. The reference work Elvis: The Illustrated Record by Roy Carr and Mick Farren lists the following songs that were, as of 1982, believed to have been recorded by Elvis at Sun Records but as of 2009 remain unreleased and unaccounted for in the official record:[37]

Releases

Most of the tapes, including the private single, the Million Dollar Quartet and alternate takes have been released.

Sun Singles

Ten songs, making five singles, were originally released on the Sun label. These records (in both 45 RPM and 78 RPM formats) are among the most valuable of Elvis' output, fetching four figures in excellent condition:

RCA Releases

After signing with RCA, the same songs, in the same b/w combination, were re-released by RCA. (December 1955). The songs were available on 78 RPM and 45 RPM, which explains the two ordering-numbers 20/47, respectively:

The same pairings were later reissued as part of RCA's Gold Standard series in five different label formats: Black label with dog at top (September 1958), black label with dog on left side (September 1965), orange label (November 1968), red label (September 1970), and black label with dog in upper right hand corner (September 1976)

Elvis Presley (1956)

On January 27, 1956, the first RCA single, "Heartbreak Hotel" b/w "I Was the One" was released, giving Elvis a nationwide breakthrough. His reputation as a performer on stage was already growing in the same dimensions.

On March 23, 1956. the first album, Elvis Presley was released (RCA 1254). At that moment "Heartbreak Hotel" was climbing the lists, but as Rock'n'Roll was largely bought by teenagers at the time, and teenagers usually bought singles,[41] albums were seen as less important for the genre, as such "Heartbreak Hotel" is not on this album. RCA, however, put five unreleased Sun recordings on this album:

For LP Fans Only (1958) and A Date with Elvis (1959)

These two albums were released during Elvis' hitch in the Army, consisting of tracks previously released only as singles or on EPs, including all but one of the ten commercially released Sun tracks. Four were included on For LP Fans Only...

...with five featured on A Date with Elvis:

The remaining commercial release, "I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine", would not appear on LP until the 1976 compilation "The Sun Sessions".

Elvis for Everyone! (1965)

The Sun Sessions (1976)

On March 22, 1976, the album The Sun Sessions was released, with 16 out of the 24 known Sun titles:

Missing:

The Complete Sun Sessions [33-track LP-set] / The Sun Sessions [28-track CD] (1987)

Although the title suggests more, only 18 out of the 24 known Sun songs are here. The album does contain several takes from "I Love You Because", and "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone".
Missing:

The Million Dollar Quartet (1989)

The recordings have been released in 1989 as a CD, titled, Elvis Presley - The Million Dollar Quartet (RCA CD # 2023-2-R),

The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters (1992)

Nearly every song Elvis recorded at Sun is present here (although "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" is hidden on CD number 5; the rest is on CD 1).
Missing: "Satisfied" (apparently lost forever), all but one track from the Million Dollar Quartet session, as well as "It Wouldn't be the Same Without You" and "I'll Never Stand in Your Way." The latter two songs appear on yet another (and as complete as possible) Sun sessions CD titled "Sunrise."

Sunrise (1999)

Another delving in the Sun Records vaults is the most complete collection of Elvis' recordings from that time. All the masters, some demos and alternate recordings, and a few early live-recorded tracks.

Elvis at Sun (2004)

The current (as of mid-2006) version of the Sun recordings. Contains the five singles ("That's All Right"/"Blue Moon of Kentucky";"Good Rockin' Tonight"/"I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine";"Milkcow Blues Boogie"/"You're a Heartbreaker;"Baby Let's Play House"/"I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone";"I Forgot to Remember to Forget"/"Mystery Train") plus "Harbor Lights," "I Love You Because" (alternate take 2), "Tomorrow Night," "I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')," "Just Because," "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" (slow version), "Trying to Get to You" and "When It Rains It Really Pours."
Missing:

A Boy from Tupelo: The Complete 1953–55 Recordings (2012)

A limited-edition 3-CD box set released in June 2012 by RCA/Sony collectors' label Follow That Dream (FTD) Records, as a companion piece to a book by Ernst Mikael Jørgensen, also entitled A Boy from Tupelo. The book chronicles Presley's day-to-day life from July 4, 1954 (the day when he first rehearsed with guitarist Scotty Moore) to December 31, 1955, including many previously unpublished testimonies, accounts and details on every single show performed by Presley during the period (the book is, indeed, mainly intended as a complete concertography and tourography of Elvis Presley's early career). The first two of the three discs released in conjunction with the book feature, as the title specifies, all the material recorded by Presley from 1953 to 1955, including all of the alternate takes and all of the recordings which were missing from previous releases, with the exception of "Satisfied" and "I Got a Woman"; the latter two recordings are stated by Jørgensen himself, in the book, to be actually lost. However, a live rendition from March 19, 1955 of "I Got a Woman" is featured on the third disc of the package, along with 31 more live recordings from the era, 27 of which are previously unreleased. The A Boy from Tupelo book + CDs package, which was printed as a strictly limited run of 3,000 copies (each including a gift pack consisting in five 45-RPM reproductions of Presley's original Sun singles) is, as of September 2012, sold out and not scheduled to be reprinted.[42]

See also

References

  1. ↑ The Full National Recording Registry
  2. ↑ Guralnick, Peter (1999). Elvis: Day by Day. Ballantine Books Inc. p. 12. ISBN 978-0-345-42089-3.
  3. ↑ "Elvis biography: 1935 - 1957". elvis.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  4. ↑ (August 18, 1997). "Good Rockin'". Newsweek, pp.54-5
  5. ↑ Clayton, p.53
  6. ↑ Jorgensen, p.10
  7. ↑ "Elvis Presley". PBS, courtesy of palmpictures.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  8. ↑ Miller, p.71
  9. 1 2 Hopkins, Jerry (1972). Elvis: A Biography. Macmillan. p. 48. ISBN 978-0-333-13617-1.
  10. ↑ Guralnick 1994, p.83
  11. ↑ Lichter, p.12
  12. ↑ "Sam Phillips Sun Records Two". history-of-rock.com. Retrieved on 2007-10-14.
  13. ↑ Hopkins, Jerry (1972). Elvis: A Biography. Macmillan. p. 52. ISBN 978-0-333-13617-1.
  14. ↑ Guralnick, Peter (1992). The Complete 50's Masters (CD booklet notes).
  15. ↑ Jorgensen, p.13
  16. ↑ (August 11–August 17, 2007). "Would he still be King?". Radio Times. BBC, p.12
  17. ↑ Naylor and Halliday, p.42
  18. ↑ Carr and Farren, p.6
  19. ↑ EPE (July 21, 2004). "Elvis Presley Sun Recordings". elvis.co.au. Retrieved on August 17, 2007.
  20. ↑ Hopkins, Jerry (1972). Elvis: A Biography. Macmillan. p. 54. ISBN 978-0-333-13617-1.
  21. ↑ Hopkins, Jerry (1972). Elvis: A Biography. Macmillan. p. 55. ISBN 978-0-333-13617-1.
  22. ↑ Hopkins, Jerry (1972). Elvis: A Biography. Macmillan. p. 58. ISBN 978-0-333-13617-1.
  23. ↑ retrieved 1.1.2009
  24. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music By Paul Kingsbury, Laura Garrard, Daniel Cooper, John Rumble, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum (Nashville, Tenn.) Published by Sourcebooks, Inc., 2004 page 480 ISBN 0-19-517608-1, ISBN 978-0-19-517608-7
  25. ↑ retrieved 1.1.2009
  26. ↑ The Encyclopedia of Country Music: The Ultimate Guide to the Music By Paul Kingsbury, Laura Garrard, Daniel Cooper, John Rumble, Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum (Nashville, Tenn.) Published by Sourcebooks, Inc., 2004. page 91. ISBN 0-19-517608-1, ISBN 978-0-19-517608-7
  27. ↑ The encyclopedia of country music: the ultimate guide to the music - Paul Kingsbury, Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. 2004-12-16. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  28. ↑ Wadey, Paul (October 20, 1998). "Obituary: Frank Yankovic". The Independent (London).
  29. ↑ "VICTOR numerical listing discography". 78discography.com. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  30. ↑ Billboard Jan 22, 1949. page 56.
  31. ↑ http://www.allmusic.com/album/farther-along-the-best-of-the-flying-burrito-brothers-mw0000198034
  32. ↑ Baby Let's Play House label
  33. ↑ Baby Let's Play House sample
  34. ↑ sample @ cduniverse
  35. ↑ currently not available 1.9.2009
  36. ↑ "The A-Z of Buddy Holly" by Alan Mann
  37. ↑ Roy Carr and Mick Farren, Elvis: The Illustrated Record (Harmony Books, 1982), p. 22-23
  38. ↑ Carr and Farren, p. 99
  39. ↑ Carr and Farren, p. 22
  40. ↑ Carr and Farren, p. 23
  41. ↑ "Elvis Presley". Allmusic. Retrieved 2012-03-05.
  42. ↑ ElvisNews.com: FTD Deletions

External links

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