60 years since Elvis' 'That's Alright Mama'

[JJ88]

Not sure how many Elvis fans there are here, but thought there should be a thread to mark that on 5th July 1954 Elvis first recorded his sound that first swept through Memphis then eventually, and it's no exaggeration to say it, the world.

I didn't realise that the version now on CDs such as 'The Complete 50s Masters' and 'Elvis At Sun' is *not* how it was heard then. The original has no reverb, is much more sonically 'dry' and sounds better for it...but sadly the master tape no longer exists and a transfer from the original record has only been on one expensive CD. This version should be available to the rest of us.

This thread is for thoughts about that first record and I'm happy for this thread to be a general reflection on Elvis' career too. For instance, I played his 1972 Madison Square Garden afternoon show yesterday and that's a hell of a performance!

[GuitarGeek]

I do like Elvis, though I tend to prefer his late 60's and early 70's recordings. I get the impression he didn't particularly like being pigeonholed as a "rock n roll" artist, and was more comfortable with what he was doing later, which was more a blend of country, gospel, and sort of MOR pop music. He still kept the rock n roll thing when he wanted it, but I think he general, he was more diverse on those later records. His versions of In The Ghetto, Promised Land (as heard in Men In Black), Burning Love, Funny How Time Slips Away and Always On My Mind are good examples of what I like from that period. And the sort of pop stuff he was doing in the early 70's was far superior to the awful stuff he was doing in the mid and late 50's and 60's.

And while I respect the effect the Sun Records era recordings had on...well, everyone at the time, I'm getting really sick of the logic that dictates that it was "the birth of rock n roll". I can't make up my mind if that's just record company hype (10 years ago, BMG, the current holders of the Elvis catalog, claimed as such in a press release, fanboy hysteria, or just plain racist bullshit. Dude, listen to the early work of Louis Jourdan, Ike Turner, or Fats Domino, then tell me Elvis invented rock n roll.

Speaking of the mix on some of those records, it's always irked me that the only time you hear back up vocals on the Elvis version of Hound Dog is during Scotty Moore's two great guitar solos. And there's not just backup vocals, there's back up vocals that are threatening to drown out Scotty's playing. What the frell?! Was Corporal Parker afraid Scotty might steal Elvis' thunder, and ordered the track mixed that way? I just think it's weird that during the actual vocal sections of the song, when Elvis is singing, there aren't any backup vocals. Give me a TARDIS and I'll go back and tell the Jordanaires to take a frelling leap!

As far as I'm concerned, Scotty Moore is half the reason you're listening to those records, in the first place. The original sound of that band was built on a mix of Scotty's guitar playing, and Elvis' vocals and acoustic rhythm guitar (remember that the original band had no drummer, so it was down to Scotty and Elvis to keep the rhythm happening).

And since I mention Scotty, I should also mention I love what James Burton played on the early 70's records too. A lot of times he was buried under an avalanche of background vocals (again), orchestral arrangements, etc, but he'd occasionally get to cut loose with so cool playing on his paisley Telecaster. In fact, the whole TCB band were pretty bad ass. In the Elvis On Tour concert, there's a great version of Polk Salad Sally where Jerry Scheff plays this great, albeit brief, bass solo. Now who knew Elvis would be hip enough to let the bassist take a solo?!

Oh yeah, and I like Bossa Nova Baby, from the Fun In Acapulco soundtrack too. That's got this cool organ/guitar riff at the end of each chorus.

Stupid trivia note: did you know that Burning Love was held off the number spot on the Billboard charts by Chuck Berry's My Ding-A-Ling?! Just another reason to hate that lousy song!

[JJ88]

Well Elvis himself gave credit to the black performers, even in the 50s- that's a matter of record. Also listen to that 'Million Dollar Quartet' jam and he's gushing about seeing a singer (who is now well known as Jackie Wilson, but was in The Dominoes then) doing 'Don't Be Cruel' better than he did.

Elvis actually had a lot of control in the studio, in terms of arrangements- the outtakes show him calling the shots much more than people imply. But I could do without backing vocals on *all* rock and roll records. They are really 'square' sounding and the only thing which dates the songs.

[GuitarGeek]

Elvis actually had a lot of control in the studio, in terms of arrangements- the outtakes show him calling the shots much more than people imply. But I could do without backing vocals on *all* rock and roll records. They are really 'square' sounding and the only thing which dates the songs.

Yeah, I've heard that he effectively produced himself, which was pretty much unheard of at the time. I just wish the Jordanaires had been potted down a bit in the mix.

[JJ88]

His pre-Beatles, non-soundtrack albums stand up remarkably well. They were clearly planned as albums because none of the songs were put out as singles (in the UK some were), so have a clear flow of their own.

One of several missed opportunities was to have put one out in 1967 or so- he cut some amazing stuff in '66/'67 which got buried on soundtracks that only real die-hards bought or later 'budget' releases.

[Oreb]

I'm a big fan of Elvis - have been for a few years now.

However it happened - and I think it was the result of a combination of sheer talent, hard work and numerous socio-economic factors - his early work changed the world. (Then 10 years later, Dylan changed it again, but that's another story). IMO he changed it for the better.

It took a huge toll on him (as the wonderful Guralnick biographies make clear) but the music and his performances will survive.

BTW - looking forward to the upcoming box set with the 'That's the Way It Is' concerts. To my taste he was never better.

[JJ88]

I have the previous, 3-cd deluxe release of 'That's The Way It Is'. I also have the 'Live In Las Vegas' set which has another show from August 1970- that one was heavily used in the 2000 re-edit of the film, I think.

I hope a similar exercise follows for 'Elvis On Tour', a film which less attention has been paid to but has some stunning moments. The film 'This Is Elvis' has a version of 'An American Trilogy' from those shows and it's the best one I've ever heard.

[bob_32_116]

Elvis did a few songs in the late 60's that I quite liked, eg. In the Ghetto, Memories, Kentucky Rain. Other than that, I'd rather listen to,say, the Everly brothers, or Roy Orbison.

[Yaman Aksu]

"is your heart filled with pain, will you come back again, shop at Macy's and love me tonight"

[Trane]

Didn't Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock come out before Elvis' rise to stardom with That's Allright Mama???

[GuitarGeek]

BTW, what's the deal of the extortionate prices on the Follow That Dream reissues? They've put out a number of CD's that you can basically only get through the Elvis website, for around 29 bucks. That's 29 bucks for a single CD! What! The! Frell!?!?! I know they're all "deluxe" deals, with bonus tracks, some (but not all) expanded to two CD's, but that's still way more to charge for even a double CD than is necessary. I would have thought the ripping off the fans part of the story would have ended when Van Kuijik died.

Some of the albums, there's a regular release available from Sony/BMG, but others, like the early 70's album entitled Elvis, seem to only be available as the FTD release. That one actually has another of my favorite Elvis songs, a tune called Where Do I Go From Here.

And the way they've released the various TV specials and concert films on DVD...yikes! Some of them have been reissued two or three different times, each one with a different combination of bonus features, so you have no idea which one to buy. Gotta love capitalism. I guess we should be thankful they've at least kept the CBS TV special that aired just after he died in the vault.

[JJ88]

The FTD label is aimed at die-hard collectors and have deluxe packaging. I don't have any of those releases. 'Elvis' is a cut-and-shut album made up of outtakes, and not very good outtakes for the most part. There's a song called 'Padre' on it which I find impossible to listen to without laughing. This album *is* available in a low-priced 20-disc box of his albums, but the mastering in that set is all over the place, and they included compilations instead of the 1956 'Elvis' (confused yet?) and the 1968 'Elvis' (there's that title again!!!) Comeback Special album, which are much more important.

'Where Do We Go From Here' also came out on a CD called 'Burning Love' which was an attempt to construct the album he might have released in 1972 from his studio/live recordings of that period, which got dumped on Camden budget compilations and dud albums like 'Elvis' and 'Elvis Now'.

The problem anyone dealing with Elvis' catalogue has now is because of the mess it was even when he was alive. Far, far too much material was released.

Didn't Bill Haley's Rock Around The Clock come out before Elvis' rise to stardom with That's Allright Mama???

Ever play a Bill Haley CD? I have...and every song sounds the same! Elvis had the most diversity out of all the original wave of rock singers. One could argue the work of Fats Waller and Louis Jordan, even some of Nat King Cole's mid 40s stuff, is basically rock 'n' roll, ten years beforehand. As the endless 'first prog song/album' debates prove, these things rarely happen in a vacuum.

[Trane]

Ever play a Bill Haley CD? I have...and every song sounds the same! Elvis had the most diversity out of all the original wave of rock singers. One could argue the work of Fats Waller and Louis Jordan, even some of Nat King Cole's mid 40s stuff, is basically rock 'n' roll, ten years beforehand. As the endless 'first prog song/album' debates prove, these things rarely happen in a vacuum.

I wasn't trying to say that BH&tC were better than Elvis, just that they had released RAtC before

[GuitarGeek]

I wasn't trying to say that BH&tC were better than Elvis, just that they had released RAtC before

If I remember correctly there was just a couple months difference between Rock Around The Clock and That's Alright Mama recording dates. At any rate, Ike Turner (and any number of other performers) preceded both of them, so "who came first" between Haley and Presley is kind of a moot point. For that matter, Johnnie Ray was reportedly mistaken for a black man on his early recordings, so Haley and Presley supporters don't even get to fight over "who as the first white man to sing black music" debate.

I wouldn't say every Bill Haley track sounds exactly alike. I mean, I can differentiate between Rock Around The Clock and See You Later Alligator. Maybe it's like the Ozric Tentacles joke: "They've got two songs: the reggae one, and the not reggae one".

On the other hand, Danny Cedrone's Rock Around The Clock solo (another of the great early guitar god moments in rock n roll) was pretty much the same solo he had recorded on an earlier Haley track called Rock This Joint, so maybe there is something to the suggestion that Haley reused the same formulas.

[JJ88]

^It's not even the songs themselves, just most are at the same speed and the same tempo. Elvis' records, by contrast, were much more varied. Not that 'Rock Around The Clock' isn't great, it is! But his hit career didn't last long, and when you hear the songs one after the other, it's clear why IMHO. There's also another element, Elvis was much younger.

There were a few people like Johnnie Ray and Frankie Laine that were doing pop with a certain amount of gusto, but there's no doubt that the pop charts were crying out for something new. That pre-rock early 50s period in pop is one of the worst of all time, relentlessly jolly novelties or bellicose ballads. Even a singer of the calibre of Frank Sinatra fell foul of this, and was butting heads with Columbia's Mitch Miller in this period over the quality of material he was being asked to record. Rock 'n' roll had a positive effect on those artists too, I think people like Sinatra, Peggy Lee, Nat King Cole, Tony Bennett etc. all made better records *after* rock 'n' roll!

[GuitarGeek]

There were a few people like Johnnie Ray and Frankie Laine that were doing pop with a certain amount of gusto, but there's no doubt that the pop charts were crying out for something new. That pre-rock early 50s period in pop is one of the worst of all time, relentlessly jolly novelties or bellicose ballads. Even a singer of the calibre of Frank Sinatra fell foul of this, and was butting heads with Columbia's Mitch Miller in this period over the quality of material he was being asked to record

I definitely agree with you about the 50's era pop music. There's some truly dreadful things in there in places. That kinda spilled over onto Elvis, as he ended up recording a lot of pop stuff that I don't think was very good. (Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear is a good example. Now I've always heard that's actually what Elvis wanted to do in the first place, ie sing that sort of Frank Sinatra/Dean Martin kind of pop music. And I can imagine there was a logic to make it so Elvis didn't get pigeonholed with what might turn out to be a short lived fad (as happened a couple decades later when disco music fell out of favor and many of the performers associated with the genre found themselves not being able to get a gig). I mean, who knew at the time what rock n roll was going to turn out to be. OK, fine, but at least do it with good songs.

As for Mitch Miller, I have the understanding he was another guy who hated rock n roll (he's quoted Wikipedia as referring to rock n roll as "musical baby food" or some such), and because he was the head of A&R at Columbia, he blocked all attempts by his henchmen to sign rock n roll performers during the 50's. I remember someone pointing that he did allow the signing of Bob Dylan, but I wonder if that didn't hinge on Mr. Zimmerman being a "folk singer" (and therefore "safe for public consumption", according to the uptight "adults" who still didn't understand rock n roll) and less on any vision that Mitch or anyone else at the label may have had about what the man from Minnesota was going to do a couple years later.

[ronmac]

Bill Haley's career didn't last because he was missing the key ingredient: coolness.

I mean, I'm no huge Elvis fan but:



He certainly had something that Haley didn't get.

[JJ88]

I never found 'Teddy Bear' particularly objectionable. Elvis has fun with that and injects a lot of personality onto it. The only thing that dates it is, again, the backing vocals. Those are straight out of the big band era!

Of his 50s stuff, there's only some ballads I really don't care for. 'I Want You I Need You I Love You' for example was a sizeable hit but the B-side 'My Baby Left Me' is a million times better.