Elvis for Everyone

Infobox Album |
Name = Elvis for Everyone
Type = Compilation album
Artist = Elvis Presley


Released = August 10, 1965
Recorded = July 1954 to January 1964
Genre = Rock
Length = 23:58
Label = RCA Records
Producer = Sam Phillips, Steve Sholes Chet Atkins, Urban Thielmann Hans Salter, George Stoll
Reviews = All Music Guide Rating|2.5|5 [http://allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:13420roac48b link]
Last album = "Girl Happy"
(1965)
This album = "Elvis for Everyone"
(1965)
Next album = "Harum Scarum"
(1965)

"Elvis for Everyone" is the twenty-third album by Elvis Presley, issued on RCA Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3450, in August 1965. Recorded at Sun Studio in Memphis, RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and Radio Recorders in Hollywood, it peaked at #10 on the Top Pop LPs chart. It is currently out of print.

Content

By 1965, Presley had been concentrating on his movie career and soundtrack output, and had not released a proper studio album since "Pot Luck with Elvis" in June 1962, although non-movie singles had been issued frequently. RCA invented the concept of an "Anniversary Album" to celebrate Presley's tenth year on their label, which became Elvis For Everyone. [Jorgensen, Ernst. "Elvis Presley, A Life In Music". New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; ISBN 0-312-18572-3, p. 200] Given the cover depicting Elvis standing next to the RCA mascot Nipper sitting atop a cash register, one can infer exactly what this album would be celebrating. Since May of 1963, Presley had only made one non-movie session in January of 1964 that yielded a mere three tracks, two of which had already been issued as sides for singles. Bereft of new material, RCA assembled this album from unused tracks going all the way back to the Sun years, from sessions for both soundtracks and regular commercial releases. Possibly owing to its assembly from scraps and rejects, although it made the top ten on the LP chart, it was the first Presley album to sell fewer than 300,000 copies during the decade. [Ibid. p. 201]

Other than the previously issued "Summer Kisses, Winter Tears," "In My Way" had appeared in the 1961 film "Wild in the Country", "Sound Advice" in the 1962 film "Follow That Dream", and the traditional Neapolitan ballad "Santa Lucia" in 1964s "Viva Las Vegas". The remaining eight tracks had been unissued in any form. The Sun ballad "Tomorrow Night" had overdubs added for release on this album.

According to "Elvis: The Illustrated Record", RCA had intended to include the unreleased Sun Records track "Tennessee Saturday Night," but withdrew it from the album and replaced it with "Tomorrow Night". [Carr, Roy, and Farren, Mick. "Elvis: The Illustrated Record". London: Harmony Books, 1982; p. 99] Neither has reference to a Presley Sun recording with this title ever been mentioned in any other source, nor has a Presley Sun recording with this title ever been discovered.

In its format as a compilation of mostly unissued leftovers from various sessions, and given its rather short running time, this album anticipated the Presley budget releases with a similar concept that would appear during the late 1960s and early 1970s on the RCA Camden label. RCA opted not to include it as part of its reissue program, appending its songs as bonus tracks to other albums as appropriate.

Collective Personnel

* Elvis Presley – vocal, guitar
* Scotty Moore – guitar
* Tiny Timbrell - guitar
* Howard Roberts - guitar
* Hank Garland - guitar
* Neal Matthews - guitar
* Harold Bradley - guitar
* Grady Martin - guitar
* Billy Strange - guitar
* Jerry Kennedy - guitar
* Dudley Brooks - piano
* Floyd Cramer - piano
* Jimmie Haskell - accordion
* Gordon Stoker - accordion
* Bill Black - double bass
* Meyer Rubin - bass
* Bob Moore - bass
* D.J. Fontana - drums
* Bernie Mattinson - drums
* Buddy Harman – drums
* Boots Randolph - saxophone, clarinet
* The Jordanaires - backing vocals
* Millie Kirkham - backing vocal

Track listing

ide One

ide Two

References