Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 1
Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 1 is a greatest hits collection by Elvis Presley issued in 1974 by RCA Records. It features 14 tracks, which includes twelve songs and two interviews with Presley. It was certified Gold on January 8, 1975 and Platinum and 2x Platinum on July 15, 1999 by the RIAA. The album opens with his first recording from 1954, "That's All Right", the song that started his recording career at Sun Records.
Ultimately, four volumes of Presley's music were released over the next decade in the RCA A Legendary Performer series, the only artist besides Glenn Miller to have multiple volumes issued in that series. Each successive volume contained increasing amounts of previously unissued material. This first volume included previously unreleased live performances of several songs from Presley's 1968 TV special, an alternate version of his first known recording for Sun Records ("I Love You Because"), and the first American release of "Tonight's All Right for Love" from the European version of G.I. Blues. The two interview recordings were originally released by RCA Victor in 1958 as the EP, Elvis Sails.
Although RCA Victor had released alternate takes of Presley studio recordings in the past—for example in 1958 two different takes of the song "Lover Doll" from the film soundtrack King Creole were released on the official soundtrack album (LPM-1884) and the reissue EP King Creole Volume 1 (EPA-4319)[1]—this was the first time the label began seriously releasing such material, although large scale release of alternate takes by Presley would not begin until after his death such as Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 3 (1979). Similarly, while RCA Victor had released collections of previously unissued recordings as far back as 1965's Elvis for Everyone, and across several issues on the RCA Camden budget label, this was the label's first serious foray into making such material available to collectors; again, this practice would increase considerably following Presley's death in 1977.
Track listing
| 1. |
"That's All Right" | Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup | July 6, 1954 |
1:33 |
| 2. |
"I Love You Because" (previously unreleased take) | Leon Payne | July 6, 1954 |
3:27 |
| 3. |
"Heartbreak Hotel" | Mae Boren Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley | January 10, 1956 |
2:08 |
| 4. |
"Elvis" | — | September 22, 1958 |
0:34 |
| 5. |
"Don't Be Cruel" | Otis Blackwell, Elvis Presley | July 2, 1956 |
2:03 |
| 6. |
"Love Me" (from Elvis TV special) | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | June 27, 1968 |
2:32 |
| 7. |
"Tryin' to Get to You" (from Elvis TV special) | Rose Marie McCoy, Charlie Singleton | June 27, 1968 |
2:33 |
|
| 1. |
"Love Me Tender" | Vera Matson, Elvis Presley | January 13, 1957 |
2:42 |
| 2. |
"Peace in the Valley" | Thomas A. Dorsey | September 22, 1958 |
3:20 |
| 3. |
"Elvis' Farewell to His Fans" | — | June 10, 1958 |
2:14 |
| 4. |
"(Now and Then There's) A Fool Such as I" | Bill Trader | June 11, 1958 |
2:30 |
| 5. |
"Tonight's All Right for Love" (previously unreleased track from G.I. Blues) | Joseph Lilley, Abner Silver, Sid Wayne | May 6, 1960 |
1:20 |
| 6. |
"Are You Lonesome Tonight?" (from Elvis TV special) | Lou Handman, Roy Turk | June 27, 1968 |
3:31 |
| 7. |
"Can't Help Falling in Love" | Luigi Creatore, Hugo Peretti, George David Weiss | March 23, 1961 |
3:00 |
|
References
- ↑ Roy Carr & Mick Farren, Elvis: The Illustrated Record (Harmony Books, 1982), p. 59
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