Elvis Presley - The Albums and Singles Thread pt2 The Sixties

So we come to 1968, and as we know this was a huge turning point for Elvis. We have one more soundtrack, and a few singles and then everything changed. Then when we get to 69 Elvis either did, or should have been considered back in the game.

 

Guitar Man/ Hi Heel Sneakers


We already looked at Guitar Man, but we also get Hi Heeled sneakers here, as somewhat of a bonus, although the single was rather edited.

Written By :
Robert Higginbotham aka Tommy Tucker

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, September 10-12, 1967 : September 11, 1967. take 7 edited for single release.

This track is a rock and roll song, but, aside from the sitar sounding guitar in there, has a feel like it could have come off Muddy Waters Hard Again album. I enjoy this song a lot, it has a more traditional sound (again aside from that sitar sound) I like the late sixties music, but I am not altogether sure Elvis should have been worried about trying to sound contemporary in that sense. Anyway this is a good fun rock song and sets 1968 off on a good start.

 

The original, available on the 60's Masters box.

 

It's great that he sings a line from Ode To Billie Joe, which was number one at the time he recorded Hi-Heel Sneakers.

 

Elvis Golden Records Vol 4


Side 1
Love Letters (1966)
Witchcraft
It Hurts Me
What'd I Say
Please Don't Drag That String Around
Indescribably Blue

Side 2
Devil In Disguise
Lonely Man
Mess Of Blues
Ask Me
Ain't That Loving You Baby
Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello

Released January 2, 1968
Recorded June 1958 to June 1966
Genre Rock and roll
Length 29:03
Label RCA Victor

Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4 is a greatest hits album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3921, in January 1968, with recording sessions taking place over an eight-year span at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and at RCA Studios and Radio Recorders in Hollywood. It is a compilation of hit singles released between 1961 and 1967, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200.[2] It was certified Gold on March 27, 1992 by the Recording Industry Association of America.[3]

Although he had remained a popular artist since the release Elvis' Golden Records Volume 3 (1963), placing eight albums in the Top Ten and 17 singles in the Top 40 Presley's sales had cooled off since his heyday.[2] The compilation album Elvis for Everyone (1965) was his first to sell under 300,000 copies, and his last five soundtrack albums had all done progressively worse in the marketplace, units shifted dropping to under 200,000.[4] Singles were no longer reaching the Top 40 automatically, and while his recent single "Big Boss Man" sold 350,000, that fell short of the needed 500,000 to qualify for gold status in US singles sales.[5] Usually a guaranteed seller, this volume sold only 400,000 copies; better than his recent soundtrack albums, but well off the mark set by its three predecessors.[6] The future of Presley's career was certainly in question.

Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4 comprises five Top 40 A-sides along with seven b-sides, five of which also made the Top 40. Three songs had not been written expressly for Presley: "Love Letters" came from the 1945 film of the same name; "Witchcraft" had been a 1956 hit record for The Spiders; and "What'd I Say" was the Ray Charles classic from 1959.[7] Three B-sides, "Lonely Man", "A Mess of Blues", and "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello" were old enough to have been included on Elvis' Golden Records Volume 3, and another b-side, "Ain't That Loving You Baby", came from RCA's furlough session of June 10, 1958, set up to augment their stock of Presley product while their star was in the United States Army.[8]

The first three Gold Records volumes covered two to three years of singles releases, but there was a five-year gap between this and the previous volume. This would be the last of the series issued during Presley's lifetime. Elvis' Gold Records Volume 5, which included singles from 1969 to 1977, was released posthumously in 1984.

By 1968, the practice of releasing LPs in monophonic sound was being discontinued. As a result, RCA Victor issued very few mono copies of Elvis' Gold Records Vol. 4and they are considered valuable collector's items.[9]

Original recordings were produced by Steve Sholes, Joseph Lilley, Chet Atkins, Urban Thielmann, George Stoll, and Felton Jarvis.

1997 Reissue with Bonus Tracks
"Return to Sender"Otis BlackwellWinfield Scott
March 27, 196247−8100October 2, 196222:062.

"Rock−a−Hula Baby"Fred WiseBen WeismanDolores Fuller
March 23, 196147−7968bNovember 22, 1961231:573.

"Love Letters"Edward HeymanVictor Young
May 26, 196647−8870June 8, 1966192:304.

"Bossa Nova Baby"Jerry LeiberMike Stoller
January 22, 196347−8243October 1, 196382:025.

"Witchcraft"Dave BartholomewPearl King
May 26, 196347−8243bOctober 1, 1963322:196.

"Kissin' Cousins"Fred WiseRandy Starr
September 30, 196347−8307February 10, 1964122:127.

"It Hurts Me"Joy ByersCharlie Daniels
January 12, 196447−8307bFebruary 10, 1964292:278.

"Viva Las Vegas"Doc PomusMort Shuman
July 10, 196347−8360bApril 28, 1964292:219.

"What'd I Say"Ray CharlesAugust 30, 196347−8360April 28, 1964213:0210.

"Please Don't Drag That String Around"Otis BlackwellWinfield Scott
May 26, 196347−8188bJune 18, 1963−1:5411.

"Indescribably Blue"Darrell GlennJune 10, 196647−9056January 10, 1967332:4812.

"(You're the) Devil in Disguise"Bernie BaumBill GiantFlorence Kaye
May 26, 196347−8188June 18, 196332:2013.

"Lonely Man"Bennie BenjaminSol Marcus
November 7, 196047−7850bFebruary 7, 1961322:4314.

"A Mess of Blues"Doc PomusMort Shuman
March 20, 196047−7777bJuly 5, 1960322:3915.

"Ask Me"Domenico ModugnoBernie BaumBill GiantFlorence Kaye
January 12, 196447−8840September 22, 1964122:0716.

"Ain't That Loving You Baby"Clyde OtisIvory Joe Hunter
195847−8840bSeptember 22, 1964162:2217

"Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello"Jerry LeiberMike Stoller
March 19, 196247−8041bJuly 7, 1962551:5218.

"Crying in the Chapel"Artie GlennOctober 31, 196047−0643April 6, 196532:24

The Ftd extras

Bonus Songs

13 Wild in the Country
14 Viva Las Vegas
15 I'm Yours (single version)
16 Come What May
17 Fools Fall in Love

Outtakes

18 Lonely Man - take 3*
19 A Mess of Blues - splice of take 4* & 3
20 Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello - take 3
21 Kiss Me Quick - takes 8* & 9*
22 Suspicion - splice of takes 4 & 5*
23 Gonna Get Back Home Somehow take 4*
24 What'd I Say - splice of takes 3* & 4/M

Disc 2 - The Original Mono Album

01 Love Letters
02 Witchcraft
03 It Hurts Me
04 What'd I Say
05 Please Don't Drag That String Around
06 Indescribably Blue
07 Devil in Disguise
08 Lonely Man
09 A Mess of Blues
10 Ask Me
11 Ain't That Loving You Baby
12 Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello
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This is actually one of my favourite of the golden records releases. I just think these are a great batch of songs ... and perhaps I am/was just more familiar with the earlier releases.

I was actually thinking about something, and I could be completely off track, but how many artists have, or even can release four complete different best of/greatest hits albums in the first thirteen years of their existence. I don't know, but it was just a thought that crossed my mind,

There isn't much new material this morning, but there seems to be, perhaps a fair bit to talk about, or think about.
We'll continue with the lead up to Speedway in the morning.

 

yea it's a great song ... it is somewhat of a shame he didn't record a version of it himself. That's one of my favourite songs of the day.

 

The mono pressing is very valuable.

 

Any RCA mono albums from late '67 into 1968 are scarcer than their mono counterparts....The rule of thumb is usually anything numbered from LPM-3800 and up until the final RCA Mono which was LPM-4023. Most command a few extra bucks if the seller knows what is being sold, but other than that you can get lucky by snagging some rare vinyl for a few bucks........

.......except for the Elvis ones. *Those*'ll set you back a few bucks simply because of good ole' Presley Supply & Demand. (disclaimer.....unless you get REALLY lucky and find a Mono Clambake, for instance, for $2 at an Ohio flea market! )

 

This is my favorite of the "Golden Records" series. Volume 4 is sequenced perfectly. The previous volumes had much bigger hits but this album just flows wonderfully. If this was a studio album instead of a compilation album, it would be one of the greatest of all time. It is a testament that Elvis did have many gems among the much lacking soundtrack offerings.

 

Great way starting off the New Year, having Guitar Man/Hi Heel Sneakers released on a single. Now, I no longer had to request DJs to play songs from the Clambake album, and believe me, it was no easy task.

DJs were playing both sides and it was the first time in years, this happened with an Elvis single.

With all the airplay in my hometown, I thought this single was going to be in the top ten, but it peaked at 43 in US (BB).

 

Elvis' Gold Records Vol. 4 is one of my favorites. I prefer the original pressing over the reissue with bonus tracks.

Unfortunately, it didn't get the airplay to help sales, but it did get played a lot in Record Shops.

Mono copies of Elvis' Gold Records Vol. 4 are not as valuable as once thought.

 

On January 23, 1968 RCA continued with re-releasing singles, that had previously been released, as part of their "Gold Standard Series".
(US) RCA 447-0655 (45rpm) Tell Me Why / Blue River
(US) RCA 447-0656 (45rpm) Frankie And Johnny / Please Don't Stop Loving Me
(US) RCA 447-0657 (45rpm) Love Letters / Come What May
(US) RCA 447-0658 (45rpm) Spinout / All That I Am

 

U.S. Male/Stay Away
Released: February 27, 1968
* Recorded: RCA Studio B, Nashville, January 16, 1968
** Recorded: RCA Studio B, Nashville, January 17, 1968

U.S. Male
Written By :
Jerry Hubbard aka Jerry Reed

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, January 15-17, 1968 : January 17, 1968. take 12

This is a great little song, that kind of reminds me of Johnny Cash. We have Jerry Reed participating again and that is a nice addition. This song is probably something that appeals more to Americans as it has that sort of USA is number one kind of thing going on. Which isn't to say it's a bad song, just that it has that US-centric kind of thing going on that we often get a little tired of in other countries lol ... most males from any country will defend the honour of their woman lol....
but anyhow it's a fun little song.

 

Stay Away
Written By :
Roy C. Bennett & Sid Tepper

Recorded :
RCA's Studio B, Nashville, January 15-17, 1968 : January 16, 1968. take 15

This appears to be the only track released from the Stay Away Joe movie at this stage. I guess they were starting to realise the damage the soundtracks were doing and kept it to a minimum, with most of the tracks appearing later on in various scrapped together albums in the seventies.
This song has that semi-country kind of feel about it also, and it is interesting in that it has a quick tempo, with a very measured vocal. It has a melody not too dissimilar to Greensleeves, whether by accident or design. I'm sure Henry the eighth won't mind too much.
Not a bad song at all.

 

Very, very few Elvis records are as valuable as they were, say, in the 80s and 90s. Do you mean it isn't as RARE as once thought?

 

Sorry about adding a couple more. In hindsight it seemed like slim pickings for you guys to talk about.

 

All of a sudden we are hit with a string of great releases!

High Heel Sneakers a great bluesy number. US Male put Elvis back in regular radio play after years of drought. And Elvis Gold Records Vol 4 is very special to me as it was the first Elvis record I bought with my own money. (I had to sacrifice Marvel comics collecting as I transitioned to Elvis record collecting). Such is life, you just cannot afford all your hobbies at once.

 

The single master of Hi-Heel Sneakers is a great, tough little number. I particularly enjoy hearing it in the context of the "lost singles" section of the silver box. The unedited master goes on too long and doesn't have the snappiness of the single edit, imo.

I'm not sure if I realized until just now that Jerry Reed played on US Male and Stay Away! Anyway, it's a fantastic single. US Male is hilarious and catchy, and Stay Away is one of the best "let's steal the melody from a folk song" tracks that Elvis recorded. I like both the fast and slow versions.

I agree. Apart from What'd I Say, I enjoy every moment of the album. I've certainly played it more often than any other Golden Records album.

 

I have seen many Double Trouble LPs in person in mono. I have NEVER seen Clambake, Gold V4 nor Speedway in person in mono. And I think I only ever noticed ONE Speedway in mono for sale on line and only a handful of Clambake and Gold Vol 4 online.

 

I think I am in the minority here as I really like What'd I Say. Yes, I think I play Gold Vol 4 the most to this day, of all the volumes. The one I play the least is Gold Vol 2. (Not including Gold Vol 5 here as it was posthumous plus it did not use the same criteria as the others).

 

I like What'd I Say quite a bit actually. It is interesting as it is a complete rearrangement from the Ray Charles version. It has a more traditional v/c/v/c arrangement, which in this instance , I think, isn't a bad thing.
It is hard to fault any of the first four Golden Records releases, but yea, I think two is my least played, and three and four get more spins than I would have ever thought twenty years ago

 

Yeah, I didn't count Vol. 5 either, but if I did, it'd be right behind Vol. 4 for me. In most cases, I prefer the Vol. 5 mixes/mastering to the other versions I've heard. The American Sound material, in particular, sounds fantastic.

 

Just did a check of popsike.com. SPEEDWAY in mono is still a 4-figure LP in good condition. GH 4 seems to drift from 300-1000. CLAMBAKE has def. come down in price from a few years back.

 

Gold Vol 4 LPM Still In Shrink, Record Near Mint Sold for $750.00 last year on eBay (no longer listed).

However, with Speedway LPM, it's going up in value imo. One just sold for $1,546.00 last month on eBay#
382826538913.

 

I’ve got a mono Clambake. There usually seems to be a couple on eBay at any given moment, but prices are all over the place. I’ve never seen a GH4 or Speedway in person, although several years back there was a collector selling a sealed Speedway and was asking something like $3K for it. Far too rich for my blood! Plus, I’d want an open one so I could play it.

I see mono Double Troubles about as often as mono Clambake. The ‘collectible’ Double Trouble these days is with the ‘trouble double’ wording in the cover, as seen in the pic I posted when we were discussing that album.

As far as stereo LPs, it took me a very long while to find a stereo Harum Scarum. Tons of mono copies out there, but relatively few stereos.