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Elvis' Golden Records

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Elvis' Golden Records is the fifth album by Elvis Presley issued by RCA Victor, LPM 1707, in March 1958, recorded mostly at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, with one session at RCA Studios in New York on January 30, one at 20th Century Fox Stage One in Hollywood on August 24, and three at RCA Studios in Nashville in January and April 1956.[1] It is a compilation of hit singles released in 1956 and 1957, and is widely believed to be the first greatest hits album in rock and roll history. It is the first of five Elvis' Golden/Gold Records compilations, four of which would be released during Presley's lifetime. It peaked at number three on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It was certified Gold on October 17, 1961, Platinum on May 20, 1988, 5x Platinum on March 27, 1992 and 6x Platinum on August 17, 1999 by the Recording Industry Association of America.[2]

Content

Golden Records comprises eight number one A-sides along with five B-sides, "Hound Dog", "Loving You", "That's When Your Heartaches Begin", "Treat Me Nice", "Anyway You Want Me", and one album track, "Love Me", originally issued on the 1956 LP Elvis. Every flip-side also hit the chart separately from its parent hit side, with four making the Top 40, and "Hound Dog" also topping the chart; chart positions noted for those tracks individually. "Love Me" was also included on the Elvis Vol. 1 EP single which made the top ten on the singles chart.

In the 1950s, a gold record awarded for a single referred to sales of one million units, different from the definition in use by the late 1970s for albums, where a gold record came to mean album sales of 500,000 units. Exact figures from the RIAA are difficult to confirm, but in the press conference from September 22, 1958, originally released on the EP Elvis Sails in 1958 and included on disc four of CD box set The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters, the interviewer asks Presley for a tally of his gold records. Presley responds, saying "I have 25 million sellers, and two albums that have sold a million each."[3]

The original 1984 CD issue in reprocessed (fake) stereo sound, was quickly withdrawn and reissued in original monophonic. The July 15, 1997 reissue added six tracks, with "Blue Suede Shoes" an unusual release in that it was issued simultaneously in conjunction with every track from Elvis' debut LP Elvis Presley in singles form, more than five months after the release of the album on March 23. Two more charting RCA B-sides, "I Was the One" and "My Baby Left Me", and three Sun Records tracks rounded out the compact disc. RCA had purchased the rights to reissue Sun material when buying Elvis' contract from Sam Phillips in 1955, using Sun recordings to fill out album tracks throughout the decade.

Although RCA executive Steve Sholes was the in-house A&R man for Presley, and nominally in charge of his recording sessions at RCA, accounts by Presley historian Peter Guralnick and Presley discographer Ernst Mikael Jorgensen indicate that Presley himself acted as the producer for his RCA sessions in the 1950s.

The unified Billboard Hot 100 singles chart was not created until August, 1958, after the release of this compilation, and of course after the release of all of these singles. Chart positions referenced would be taken from the Best Sellers In Stores chart, although early measurement of rock and roll records also came from the Most Played In Jukeboxes chart.

Track listing

Chart positions for singles taken from Billboard Pop Singles chart except as indicated.

Original release

Side one
No. Z Song Title Writer(s) Recorded Catalogue Release date Chart Peak Time
1. "Hound Dog" Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller July 2, 1956 47-6604b July 13, 1956 1 2:15
2. "Loving You" Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller February 24, 1957 47-7000b June 11, 1957 20 2:12
3. "All Shook Up" Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley January 12, 1957 47-6870 March 22, 1957 1 1:57
4. "Heartbreak Hotel" Mae Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley January 10, 1956 47-6357 January 27, 1956 1 2:09
5. "Jailhouse Rock" Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller April 30, 1957 47-7035 September 24, 1957 1 2:27
6. "Love Me" Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller September 1, 1956 LPM 1382 October 19, 1956 2 2:43
7. "Too Much" Lee Rosenberg and Bernard Weinman September 2, 1956 47-6800 January 4, 1957 1 2:31
Side two
No. Song Title Writer(s) Recorded Catalogue Release date Chart Peak Time
1. "Don't Be Cruel" Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley July 2, 1956 47-6604 July 13, 1956 1 2:02
2. "That's When Your Heartaches Begin Fred Fisher, Billy Hill, William Raskin January 13, 1957 47-6870b March 22, 1957 58 3:21
3. "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe January 24, 1957 47-7000 June 11, 1957 1 1:45
4. "Love Me Tender" Vera Matson and Elvis Presley August 24, 1956 47-6643 September 28, 1956 1 2:41
5. "Treat Me Nice" Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller September 5, 1957 47-7035b September 24, 1957 18 2:10
6. "Anyway You Want Me (That's How I Will Be)" Cliff Owens and Aaron Schroeder July 2, 1956 47-6643b September 28, 1956 20 2:14
7. "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" Lou Kosloff and George Mysels April 14, 1956 47-6540 May 12, 1956 1 2:40

1997 reissue bonus tracks

The 1997 CD reissue of Elvis' Golden Records included the original 14 tracks along with the following bonus tracks:
No. Song Title Writer(s) Recorded Catalogue Release date Chart Peak Time
15. "My Baby Left Me" Arthur Crudup January 30, 1956 47-6540b May 4, 1956 31 2:12
16. "I Was The One" Aaron Schroeder, Claude DeMetrius, Hal Blair, Bill Peppers January 11, 1956 47-6357b January 27, 1956 19 2:34
17. "That's All Right" Arthur Crudup July 5, 1954 Sun 209 July 19, 1954 — 1:55
18. "Baby, Let's Play House" Arthur Gunter February 5, 1955 Sun 217 April 10, 1955 5 (C&W) 2:16
19. "Mystery Train" Herman Parker Jr. and Sam Phillips July 11, 1955 Sun 223b August 6, 1955 11 (C&W) 2:24
20. "Blue Suede Shoes" Carl Perkins January 30, 1956 47-6636 August 31, 1956 20 1:59

Original UK release

The UK issue (LPM-1717) has a footnote attributed to "RCA Records, London":
"This album, as issued in the U.S.A., contains 14 of ELVIS PRESLEY'S 16 consecutive Golden Records. Four of these, LOVING YOU, JAILHOUSE ROCK, TEDDY BEAR, TREAT ME NICE have already been issued on the RCA label in this country. So in response to many letters from Elvis' fans all over the British Isles, we have replaced them with four earlier recordings which have NEVER BEFORE BEEN ISSUED IN THIS COUNTRY. These are, I LOVE YOU BECAUSE, YOU'RE A HEARTBREAKER, I'LL NEVER LET YOU GO, I FORGOT TO REMEMBER TO FORGET.
Side one
No. Song Title Writer(s) Recorded Catalogue Release date Chart Peak Time
1. "Hound Dog" Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller July 2, 1956 HMV POP 249 September 1956 2 2:15
2. "I Love You Because" Leon Payne July 5, 1954 — — — 2:42
3. "All Shook Up" Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley January 12, 1957 HMV POP 359 June 1957 1 1:57
4. "Heartbreak Hotel" Mae Axton, Tommy Durden, Elvis Presley January 10, 1956 HMV 7M 385 March 1956 2 2:09
5. "You're a Heartbreaker" Jack Sallee January 2, 1954 — — — 2:12
6. "Love Me" Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller September 1956 HMV POP 295b February 1, 1957 25 2:43
7. "Too Much" Lee Rosenberg and Bernard Weinman September 2, 1956 HMV POP 330 April 1957 6 2:31
Side two
No. Song Title Writer(s) Recorded Catalogue Release date Chart Peak Time
1. "Don't Be Cruel" Otis Blackwell and Elvis Presley July 2, 1956 HMV POP 249b September 1956 1 2:02
2. "That's When Your Heartaches Begin" Fred Fisher, Billy Hill, William Raskin January 13, 1957 HMV POP 359b June 1957 1 3:21
3. "I'll Never Let You Go" Jimmy Wakely September 10, 1954 — — — 2:24
4. "Love Me Tender" Vera Matson and Elvis Presley August 24, 1956 HMV POP 253 December 1956 11 2:41
5. "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" Stan Kesler and Charlie Feathers July 11, 1955 — — — 2:28
6. "Anyway You Want Me (That's How I Will Be)" Cliff Owens and Aaron Schroeder July 2, 1956 HMV POP 253b December 1956 11 2:14
7. "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" Lou Kosloff and George Mysels April 14, 1956 HMV 7M 424 July 1956 14 2:40

Certifications/sales

Region Certification Certified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[4] Platinum 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[5] 6× Platinum 6,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "Keith Flynn's Elvis Presley Pages". RIAA. 2013. Retrieved May 18, 2013.
  2. ^ "Searchable datebase". RIAA. 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013. Note: Enter search for "Presley, Elvis"
  3. ^ The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50s Masters, disc 4, track 24
  4. ^ "Canadian album certifications – Elvis Presley – Elvis' Golden Records". Music Canada.
  5. ^ "American album certifications – Presley, Elvis – Elvis' Golden Records, Volume 1". Recording Industry Association of America.
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