Roustabout (album)

Roustabout
Soundtrack album / Studio album by Elvis Presley
Released October 20, 1964
Recorded March 2 & 3, April 29, 1964
Genre Pop
Length 20:05
Label RCA Victor
Producer Joseph Lilley
Elvis Presley chronology
Kissin' Cousins
(1964)
Roustabout
(1964)
Girl Happy
(1965)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Roustabout is the twenty-first album by Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2999, in October 1964. It was a soundtrack to the film of the same name. Recording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California, on March 2 and 3, and April 29, 1964. It peaked at number one on the Billboard Top LP's chart.[2] It was certified Gold on May 20, 1988 by the Recording Industry Association of America.[3] The album would be Presley's final soundtrack to reach number one and his last number one album until 1973's Aloha From Hawaii: Via Satellite.[2]

Content

Payments to Presley for each film amounted to between $225,000 to $1,000,000 up front, often half the budget for production, with a 50% share of the profits.[4] These movies were being shot in sometimes as little as three weeks, with the complete scoring and recording of the soundtrack albums taking no more than two weeks.[4] It fell to Freddy Bienstock, the assistant of Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, to ensure that the soundtrack songs fit into the profit equation with the publishing controlled by Elvis Presley Music or Gladys Music, the Hill and Range Publishing companies owned by Presley and Parker. As a result, successful writers such as Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, Otis Blackwell and Winfield Scott, and Don Robertson lost interest in adhering to the needs of the grind.[4] It was interlocking self-promotion, causing one MGM employee to remark that the movies "didn't need titles. They could be numbered. They would still sell".[4]

Blackwell and Scott in fact submitted a candidate for the title track, "I'm a Roustabout" recorded on March 3, only to find it substituted by a song from a different team of writers.[5] This recording was eventually released by RCA on the 2003 compilation 2nd to None.[6]

Presley and his coterie of top session musicians gamely plowed through all of this, and eleven songs were recorded for the twenty-minute soundtrack LP. Four songs from this album appeared on the 1995 soundtrack compilation, The Essential 60s Masters II: "Roustabout", "Little Egypt", "Poison Ivy League", and "There's a Brand New Day on the Horizon".[7]

Personnel

Track listing

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s)Recording date Length
1. "Roustabout"  Bernie Baum, Bill Giant, Florence KayeApril 29, 1964 1:56
2. "Little Egypt"  Jerry Leiber and Mike StollerMarch 2, 1964 2:15
3. "Poison Ivy League"  Bernie Baum, Bill Giant, Florence KayeMarch 2, 1964 2:02
4. "Hard Knocks"  Joy ByersMarch 2, 1964 1:42
5. "It's a Wonderful World"  Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 2, 1964 1:48
6. "Big Love Big Heartache"  Dolores Fuller, Lee Morris, Sonny HendrixMarch 3, 1964 1:57
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s)Recording date Length
1. "One Track Heart"  Bernie Baum, Bill Giant, Florence KayeMarch 3, 1964 2:15
2. "It's Carnival Time"  Ben Weisman and Sid WayneMarch 3, 1964 1:32
3. "Carny Town"  Fred Wise and Randy StarrMarch 3, 1964 1:19
4. "There's a Brand New Day on the Horizon"  Joy ByersMarch 3, 1964 2:00
5. "Wheels on My Heels"  Sid Tepper and Roy C. BennettMarch 3, 1964 1:19

Chart positions

Chart (1965) Peak
position
Billboard Pop Albums (Billboard 200) 1
Preceded by
Beach Boys Concert by The Beach Boys
Billboard 200 number-one album
January 2, 1965 – January 8, 1965
Succeeded by
Beatles '65 by The Beatles

References

  1. Allmusic review
  2. 1 2 "Pop Albums". Elvis Presley: Official Site of the King of Rock 'n' Roll. Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  3. "Searchable database". RIAA. Recording Industry Association of America. 2013. Retrieved May 21, 2013. Note: Enter search for "Roustabout"
  4. 1 2 3 4 Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; p. 198.
  5. Jorgensen, op. cit., pp. 198-199.
  6. "Events in Memphis - Elvis Presley News - Memphis, Tennessee". Elvis.com. Retrieved 2012-01-07.
  7. Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II at AllMusic
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