Elvis 1967: How Great Thou Art album

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How Great Thou Art became Elvis’ first album release of 1967 when it hit record stores that February. The LP, recorded May 1966 in Nashville, featured the following songs:

SIDE 1

  • How Great Thou Art
  • In The Garden
  • Somebody Bigger Than You And I
  • Farther Along
  • Stand By Me
  • Without Him

SIDE 2

  • So High
  • Where Could I Go But To The Lord
  • By And By
  • If The Lord Wasn’t Walking By My Side
  • Run On
  • Where No One Stands Alone
  • Crying In The Chapel (October 1960)

Though he had been nominated ten times in the past, Elvis went on to earn his first Grammy award for the How Great Thou Art album, which won for Best Sacred Performance of 1967. By March 1968, How Great Thou Art had also sold enough copies to earn a gold record.

Billboard article, March 30, 1968

Billboard article, March 30, 1968

After the lean years of 1964 and 1965, arguably the low points of his entire recording career, Elvis fired the opening salvos of what eventually became his comeback during that May 1966 session. How Great Thou Art features many moving performances, perhaps none more so than the title song. It also showcases the raucous energy of “Run On,” a song that rocked more than any of his recent secular efforts.

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Research Sources

  • Elvis Presley: A Life In Music – The Complete Recording Sessions by Ernst Jorgensen, St. Martin’s Press, New York, 1998.
  • Billboard, Vol. 80, No. 13, Billboard Publications, Inc., March 30, 1968.
  • ELVIS: His Life From A To Z by Fred Worth and Steve Tamerius, Wings Books, New York, 1992.

Throughout 2011, The Mystery Train is commemorating the 44th anniversary of 1967. Why? Riders of this train love exploring Elvis’ entire career, not just the 1950s. Find out more here.

The Pacific War Memorial Commission Proudly Presents In Person: Elvis Presley

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Today marks the 50th anniversary of Elvis’ benefit concert in Hawaii for the Pearl Harbor USS Arizona Memorial. Below is a repost of a feature I wrote last year about this event.

Elvis was nervous at the start of the show, but the screaming audience has since calmed his fears. Truth is, he learned to use his nervous energy to his advantage on stage years ago. Despite all that has changed in his life, the fuel that powers him continues to be his fans.

This concert is a little different from most of the others, though. This time, he is in Hawaii to raise money for a cause that is very important to him. Colonel has worked out most of the details, of course, including talks with NBC to have the concert aired on TV.

A few songs in now, Elvis glances at his hastily scribbled list to see what is up next. It turns out to be one of his favorites, one sure to get a reaction from the crowd. “Treat me like a fool,” he begins and is met with more yells of approval. He still knows his audience, no matter what anybody says.

After introducing the band and backup singers, it is time for another song. He first heard this Drifters number back in 1954, but didn’t get to record it until he was out of the Army. “It was a night, ooh what a night it was, it really was such a night,” he sings into the microphone.

This time, the audience is a little quiet at first. They don’t know this one as well. No problem, Elvis throws a little leg into it and is instantly rewarded with more cheers. Secretly, he is glad Colonel’s deal fell through and those NBC cameras aren’t here after all. No need to tone this show down.

The year is 1961, and Elvis is in Hawaii to help raise money for the USS Arizona memorial. Just over seven months from now will mark the twentieth anniversary of the December 7, 1941, Japanese sneak attack on Pearl Harbor that plunged the United States into the middle of World War II.

That attack sunk the mighty Arizona, forever entombing over 1,000 officers and crew below the water in the battleship. Yet, a memorial commission established in 1949 is still having trouble finding the money to start construction on a proper tribute to the fallen.

* * *

Though NBC ended up not filming the show, fortunately at least the audio was captured and preserved for us to still hear today. It appears on the 1980 “Silver” boxed set Elvis Aron Presley, which received a CD release in 1998. The sound quality is not great, but it is certainly listenable.

I pulled this set out for the first time in years yesterday and loved hearing this top-notch and exciting concert. It also reminded me that quite some time ago I had set aside a related book for later reading. As is often the case, by the time “later” came, I had forgotten about it.

Elvis In Hawaii by Jerry Hopkins (author of Elvis: A Biography and Elvis: The Final Years) is an oversized book filled with text and photos about Elvis’ various excursions to Hawaii, including this 1961 concert. One of the cool pieces of memorabilia in the book is Elvis’ handwritten set list for the show, which helped inspire today’s post. Interestingly, he originally planned to sing “Doin’ The Best I Can,” a 1960 album cut from G.I. Blues, before scratching it out and replacing it with his 1956 hit “Don’t Be Cruel.”

Of course, Elvis would return to Hawaii a number of times after this show, including the 1973 cancer fund benefit for which the television cameras of NBC and the world were present, Aloha From Hawaii.

USS Arizona Memorial in 2006

USS Arizona Memorial in 2006

The 1961 USS Arizona benefit raised over $50,000 for the memorial as well as turned a spotlight on the issue to encourage contributions from others, including the US Congress. On Memorial Day 1962, the memorial was finally dedicated.

Though no one knew it at the time, the show also marked Elvis’ last live appearance for over seven years until the studio audience tapings of the 1968 ELVIS television special and his full-fledged 1969 Las Vegas shows. Instead, for better or worse, most of the rest of his 1960s career would focus on making movies.

* * *

Elvis knows he could stay on all night and they would stay, but the show is winding down now. He won’t be leaving Hawaii yet, though.

In just a couple of days, he has to start filming a new movie, Blue Hawaii. Though Mr. Wallis once told him it was to be a “drama,” Elvis is no longer so sure of that after reading the script and recording over a dozen songs for the soundtrack back in Hollywood just a few days ago.

Being on stage in Hawaii is a lot better than that stuffy recording studio. “We’d like to do a spiritual song for you, ladies and gentlemen, from our religious album called His Hand In Mine,” he says. “It goes something like this.”

He launches into “Swing Down, Sweet Chariot.” For that moment on stage, all is right in his world.

Go behind-the-scenes with Old Yeller in Viva Las Vegas

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Filming Viva Las Vegas

Filming Viva Las Vegas

Because it linked to my “Victory in Vegas for Elvis the Jedi Master” post, I recently came across an incredible webpage containing 19 behind-the-scenes photos of Viva Las Vegas. The photos are from the collection of two-time Academy Award-winning cinematographer Haskell Wexler. Wexler owned the “Old Yeller III,” a car featured in the Las Vegas Grand Prix race sequence.

One of those images from Tam’s Old Race Car Site is above. The site describes it as, “Three of the most interesting cars involved in the production await instructions at a staging point in the mountains. Old Yeller III and the ‘Vinegaroon’ are joined by a beautiful Ferrari 250GT ‘Tour de France’.”

Really cool stuff! View the full set of images at the “Filming ‘Viva Las Vegas'” page. If you’re a car buff, the entire Tam’s Old Race Car Site is definitely worth checking out as well.

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Image Source
Original image is from the Haskell Wexler Collection, provided by Tam’s Old Race Car Site. Thank you to Jeff Wexler and Tam McPartland for allowing use of this photograph on The Mystery Train Elvis Blog. Please do not reproduce this image without obtaining permission.

The Elvis Today Blog goes retro!

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The “Elvis” of Elvis blogs.

The greatest Elvis blog of all time.

Those are two apt descriptions that immediately come to mind for Thomas Melin’s Elvis Today Blog. Thomas is far too humble to promote his blog with such strong words, so I thought I’d take a moment and do it for him. Some folks out there like to brag, but I suppose when you are already at the top of the mountain, there’s no need for it.

Who says the Internet will be the death of books? On the contrary, Thomas has turned his first 271 Elvis Today posts into a book – now available. I’ve already read every post on his site, but I’m looking forward to reading them all again in this retro format. The book also contains one bonus post that never appeared on the Elvis Today Blog web version.

* * *

Thomas has been kind enough to guest blog for me a couple of times:

  • Elvis Super 8 Film Festival
  • Clambake! (The Mystery Train Elvis blog)

I hope he keep those Elvis Today Blog posts coming. After all, every spectacular book deserves a sequel.

REVIEW – Live In Vegas: August 26, 1969 Dinner Show CD (FTD)

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Live In Vegas: August 26, 1969 Dinner Show CD (Follow That Dream Records, 2011)

If you believe some fans, surely we’ve already heard enough 1969 Las Vegas concerts. Now that Live In Vegas: August 26, 1969 Dinner Show is available from FTD, let’s take a closer look at their claims.

Claim: If you’ve heard one 1969 show, you’ve heard them all.
Verdict: FALSE

For those who believe there are no more revelations to discover in these shows, I can easily pull one example of many from this release alone. For over 40 years now, Elvis fans have listened to the 1969 compilation Elvis In Person. How many ever realized that Elvis dedicated the specific performance of “Suspicious Minds” contained on that album to Barbara McNair, one of his Change Of Habit co-stars?

Elvis evidently thought a lot of McNair, who played Sister Irene, for he plugged her upcoming TV series, The Barbara McNair Show, when presenting her to the audience. As mentioned, Elvis’ introduction of the familiar version of “Suspicious Minds” is now slightly different: “A new record that just came out, ladies and gentlemen, I hope you like it, I’d like to do this especially for Barbie, it’s called ‘Suspicious Minds.'”

Though it is the sixth full-length show released from this engagement, Live In Vegas actually marks the first release of a concert that contributed songs to the Elvis In Person compilation (“Suspicious Minds” and “Can’t Help Falling In Love”). One of the joys of being able to hear complete 1969 shows like this one is re-discovering a song within its original context.

Claim: Every 1969 show had the same set list.
Verdict: FALSE

Live In Vegas is actually the first full show released thus far to include “My Babe” (previously compiled on Elvis Aron Presley) or “Inherit The Wind” (previously compiled on Collectors Gold). This is also the first full show so far where Elvis omits “Are You Lonesome Tonight” and only the second where he omits “What’d I Say.”

Incidentally, the inane argument that the set lists were always the same wasn’t even true of the first five shows released. Don’t get me wrong – of course, the core set lists are similar. These shows were all recorded within less than a week’s time, after all. The amusing part is that some fans apparently expect that Elvis should have completely revamped his show night after night. The 1969 concerts were about as perfect as any Elvis did in his career, but that’s not good enough for some.

Claim: If you’ve already heard the Midnight Show from this same date on All Shook Up, Live In Vegas will just be more of the same.
Verdict: FALSE

Though indeed recorded just a few hours apart from one another, the shows captured on All Shook Up and Live In Vegas are quite different from one another and do not play like repeats of the same show. The biggest difference is tone. While Elvis seems unable to control his infectious laughter through much of All Shook Up – including the fantastic “Are You Laughing Tonight” – he is much more focused on Live In Vegas. In fact, other than a few snickers here and there, there is little foreshadowing in the Dinner Show as to what will occur in the Midnight Show.

As far as the songs performed for these specific shows, the Dinner Show (Live In Vegas) features “Memories,” “My Babe,” and “Inherit The Wind,” which are not present on the later show. The Midnight Show (All Shook Up), on the other hand, features “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “Are You Lonesome Tonight,” “Rubberneckin’” and “This Is The Story,” which are not present on the earlier show.

I find being able to listen to two shows from the same day during this incredible time of Elvis’ career to be one of the most positive aspects of this release, certainly not a drawback. It is fascinating to imagine being there for that single day, somehow fortunate enough to have tickets to both shows.

Show & Sound Quality

I’m just glad Ernst Jorgensen and the rest of Sony’s Follow That Dream team do not subscribe to the sort of claims refuted above. If they did, we might have missed out on Live In Vegas.

With that out of the way, we can now move on to more important things, like show and sound quality. The first few times I played this disc, my opinion was that no 1969 show had ever sounded this vibrant.

I have played all six full shows this week and part of me believes that Live In Vegas is the best of the complete 1969 shows released so far, in terms of Elvis’ performance. I am not quite ready to say that yet, though. I want to give more time for the newness to wear off and allow myself to compare the various shows more objectively. Like all of the other 1969 shows thus far released, though, this is without a doubt one of Elvis’ greatest concerts.

Elvis treats his classics with more respect in 1969 than he would in later years. “Blue Suede Shoes,” “All Shook Up,” “Love Me Tender,” “Jailhouse Rock,” and “Don’t Be Cruel” are all contenders as his best 1969 versions.

“You see, they fixed these lights up for Nancy Sinatra. They wouldn’t do it for me. That shows where the pull is. . . . I’ll show ’em, I won’t come back,” Elvis states shortly after welcoming the audience early on. Nancy’s engagement on the same stage would begin on August 29, just a day after Elvis’ would end. Elvis stuck around and caught her show and, despite his joke, returned to the International for another engagement just six months after this first one.

“Hound Dog” is also great, once you get past his cringe-inducing introduction of the song that also plagues every other version released so far from this engagement.

There are two tracks I always pay close attention to on the 1969 shows. One is “Suspicious Minds” – already a known factor on this album – and the other is the “Mystery Train/Tiger Man” medley. Elvis does a kickin’ rendition of this medley on Live In Vegas.

While Ronnie Tutt’s jungle drums are the focus in the first bits of “Tiger Man” before the second guitar break, the mix turns over to James Burton’s rockin’ guitar riffs for the other half of the song. It makes for a great compromise and one of the best versions of the song yet released.

I have yet to hear a bad version of “Runaway” from these shows, and this one is no exception. What a terrific performance from Elvis, driven again by James Burton. Too bad it was dropped from the show after 1969.

“Yesterday” is the typical “I’m not half the stud…” version and, as usual, the tacked on “Hey Jude” ending is no help.

After introducing the band, Elvis has Barbara McNair stand and introduces her as “a young lady that I just got through making a picture with called Change Of Habit, and I found her to be one of the nicest, warmest, lovingest people I’ve ever met.” When audience members complain they could not see her, he has the lights turned back on so she can stand up again.

It’s really cool hearing Elvis promote one of his movies on stage. Since he took a break from concerts through most of the 1960s, when he made the bulk of his movies, this was not an opportunity he had very often.

“In The Ghetto” is beautiful, similar to the Elvis In Person version.

On both of his August 26 shows, Elvis omits his breakneck speed version of “What’d I Say” and, in my opinion, the shows are all the better for it. “Suspicious Minds” is the ideal penultimate song, segueing perfectly into “Can’t Help Falling In Love.”

Speaking of “Can’t Help Falling In Love,” the Elvis In Person version has always been my favorite from 1969, and it sounds even better here.

* * *

Live In Vegas showcases Elvis Presley at his best on stage in a sound presentation that is richly mastered and crystal clear.

Sony reportedly has another six full shows from this engagement in its vault, including three more that contributed songs to the Elvis In Person album: the August 25 Dinner Show and the August 24 & 25 Midnight Shows.

There will always be complainers–even when Elvis was alive, he couldn’t please everyone, not even in 1969–but here’s hoping the rest of those 1969 shows, particularly the Elvis In Person ones, are eventually released. I’m looking forward to hearing each and every one of them.

And all four speakers were blaring Elvis

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The latest FTD release, Live In Vegas: August 26, 1969 Dinner Show, arrived at my house yesterday. I resisted the urge to give it a quick listen last night so that I can give it proper attention this weekend. I’ll be reviewing this one soon, and I can’t wait to hear it. I wonder if my neighbors would mind if I blared an Elvis concert at 6:30 in the morning? Of course, it wouldn’t be the first time.

* * *

Came across a nice little Elvis mention courtesy of Google News while web surfing last night. I started to post a link here, but was too sleepy to type coherently. I’m definitely a morning person, you see. Anyway, over on JSOnline, the web site of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, someone wrote the following comment and question to “Mr. Music:”

I know the peak time for quadraphonic albums is around 1975. But the first quad LP I bought was ‘Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite,’ the soundtrack of Elvis Presley’s 1973 Honolulu concert. Since this came out before quad’s heyday, is it the first quad album? I’ll bet it is the top-selling quad release. Also, did anyone ever make quad singles?”- Jeremy Norbert, Milwaukee

Quadraphonic sound was an early consumer version of what we now call surround sound. In stereo sound, the audio is separated into two distinct channels. In quadraphonic sound, the audio was separated into four distinct channels – meaning you would listen with four speakers. Though it was indeed used for Aloha From Hawaii via Satellite, the format did not catch on.

I didn’t even notice this last night, but another perusal of the article just now reveals that “Mr. Music” is none other than renowned record collecting and Elvis expert/author Jerry Osborne. No wonder I was so impressed with his response. I was surprised last night that a “mainstream media” member could give such a knowledgable reply without tossing in snide comments or jokes about Elvis in the 70s. Now it all makes sense.

Check out Osborne’s reply: “Elvis in Hawaii helped take sound to a new level” — JSOnline. I’ll definitely be keeping an eye on Osborne’s Mr. Music column in the future.

An updated version of Osborne’s Elvis: Like Any Other Soldier book is available now. You can find out more information about his publications over at Jerry Osborne’s site.

FTD to release Elvis Sings Guitar Man

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Just learned terrific news. The next Follow That Dream Records release is going to be the “imaginary album” Elvis Sings Guitar Man, filling in its Classic Album series with songs recorded in Nashville in 1966 and 1967 (“Elvis Sings Guitar Man” — Elvis Today). These songs originally found their homes as bonuses on various movie soundtracks. This 2-CD set will fit in perfectly with The Mystery Train’s ongoing tribute to Elvis events of the year 1967.

The CD is due out in April. From ElvisNews.com, here’s the tracklisting:

DISC 1

01) Guitar Man 2:22
02) Tomorrow Is A Long Time 5:24
03) Big Boss Man 2:54
04) Love Letters 2:52
05) Indescribably Blue 2:50
06) Fools Fall In Love 2:08
07) Hi-Heel Sneakers 2:48
08) Down In The Alley 2:54
09) Come What May 2:03
10) Mine 2:39
11) Just Call Me Lonesome 2:08
12) You Don’t Know Me 2:32
13) Singing Tree 2:22
14) I’ll Remember You 2:48

Bonus Song
15) Beyond The Reef (overdubbed version)

First Takes
16) Guitar Man – takes 1,2,5 4:22
17) Tomorrow Is A Long Time – takes 1,2 6:15
18) Big Boss Man – take 2 3:35
19) Love Letters –take 2 2:53
20) Fools Fall In Love – takes 1,4 2:40
21) Hi-Heel Sneakers – take 5 4:58
22) Down In The Alley – take 1 3:13
23) Come What May – take 2 2:12
24) Singing Tree – take 1 3:11
25) I’ll Remember You – vocal overdub take 2 4:14

DISC 2

May 1966 Sessions
01) Down In The Alley – takes 2,3,4 2:18
02) Down In The Alley – take 6 2:51
03) Love Letters – takes 3,4,5,7 4:39
04) Love Letters – take 8 3:12
05) Beyond The Reef – takes 1,2 (undubbed master) 5:42
06) Come What May – takes 3,4 2:27
07) Come What May – take 6 2:07
08) Come What May – take 7 – 2:21

June 1966 Sessions
09) Indescribably – (vocal overdub) take 1 2:55
10) I’ll Remember You – (unedited master) vocal overdub 1 4:10

1967 Sessions
11) Guitar Man – takes 7,9 2:52
12) Guitar Man – take 10 2:55
13) Guitar Man – takes 11, 12 (unedited/undubbed master) 4:02
14) Big Boss Man – takes 1,3,4,5 3:19
15) Big Boss Man – takes 7, 9 3:48
16) Singing Tree – takes 2,4 3:28
17) Singing Tree – take 8 3:03
18) Singing Tree – takes 10,13 3:44
19) Just Call Me Lonesome – takes 3,4 2:55
20) Just Call Me Lonesome – takes 5,6 2:31
21) Hi-Heel Sneakers – takes 1,6 2:51
22) Hi-Heel Sneakers – take 7 – (unedited master) 4:57
23) You Don’t Know Me – take 2 2:57
24) Singing Tree – (remake) takes 1,2,3 3:21

FTD is Sony’s collectors label for Elvis fans. The releases are available from various online stores. Since they originate in Denmark and then ship to retailers, there is sometimes a two or three week delay after the “release date” before the CDs arrive for those of us in the United States.