Maps of Music

Elvis (1956)

Where the lyrics of Elvis take you, and where it was really made.

In the US it came out under the plain title Elvis, but in the UK in 1957 it was issued as Elvis Presley No. 2 with a different front cover.

Key places

September 1956 sessions in Hollywood (1956)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — Most of the album was recorded here over three days in September 1956. The source names Radio Recorders in Hollywood as the session location. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Earlier New York session (1956)

Recording site Record Plant Studios — One track, So Glad You're Mine, was cut earlier at RCA Victor's recording studios in New York. Only the city is pinned here, not the studio building. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Elvis: second studio album by Elvis Presley, American rock and roll singer
• Released by RCA Victor on October 19, 1956, in mono
• Also known as Elvis Presley No. 2
• Released in the UK in 1957 under the title Elvis Presley No. 2 with a different front cover (His Master's Voice CLP1105)
• Also cataloged as Rock 'n' Roll No. 2
• The original U.S. release started the practice of crediting Presley only by his first name on album sleeves

Background

• Steve Sholes commissioned two new songs for these sessions: 'Paralyzed' from Otis Blackwell and 'Love Me' from Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller
• Leiber and Stoller also wrote 'Hound Dog', Presley's summer hit of 1956, the first record to top the Billboard Pop, R&B and C&W singles charts
• Presley decided upon three Little Richard covers
• Three new country ballads came from Boudleaux Bryant, Chet Atkins, Stan Kesler, and Aaron Schroeder with Ben Weisman
• Schroeder and Weisman were contracted to Hill and Range, the publisher of manager Colonel Tom Parker, and would write dozens of songs for Presley through the 1960s
• 'Old Shep', Red Foley's 1941 country song, was included; Presley had won second prize with it at a fair in Tupelo at age ten

Recording

• All tracks except 'So Glad You're Mine' were recorded at one set of sessions over three days in September 1956
• Presley's touring band of Scotty Moore, Bill Black and D.J. Fontana, with The Jordanaires, recreated the loose feel of the Sun Studio days
• The repertoire mixed rhythm and blues with country and western, including a blues by Arthur Crudup and Bill Monroe's 'When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again'
• Steve Sholes handled the paperwork as RCA's representative, while Presley chose the songs and led the session
• The piano player is not registered in RCA Victor's official archives; Gordon Stoker of the Jordanaires said in a 1984 interview that he played on most songs
• Another account argued that Presley himself played piano on 'Love Me', 'Old Shep' and 'How's the World Treating You'

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi; family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was 13.
• Began his career in 1954 at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring African-American music to a wider audience.
• Recorded "That's All Right" with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black in July 1954.
• A pioneer of rockabilly, a fusion of country music and rhythm and blues.

Members

• Classic quartet: Presley (vocals, guitar), Scotty Moore (lead guitar), Bill Black (bass), and D. J. Fontana (drums), who joined in 1955.

Career

• RCA Victor acquired his contract in 1955 for $40,000; "Heartbreak Hotel" hit number one in the US in 1956.
• Became a leading figure of rock and roll, though his style was considered a threat to white American youth by some.
• Made his film debut in Love Me Tender (1956) and devoted much of the 1960s to Hollywood films.
• Returned to the stage with the 1968 NBC special Elvis, followed by a Las Vegas residency and tours.
• Gave the first solo-artist concert broadcast worldwide, Aloha from Hawaii, in 1973.
• Died August 16, 1977 at Graceland, aged 42.
• Estimated to have sold 500 million records worldwide; won three Grammy Awards.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Billboard Top Pop Albums chart: four weeks at number one in 1956
• Presley became the first recording artist to have both albums go straight to number one in the same year
• The album's chart positions were listed under catalog number LPM 1382
• The chart data for this album came from the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart

Records

• Total of five weeks at number one on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart
• Certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America on February 17, 1960
• Certified Platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America on August 10, 2011
• Released in mono by RCA Victor on October 19, 1956
• Its 1956 chart run came right after Presley's debut album, which also reached number one

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Natalie Wood and Nick Adams attended some of the sessions; both had starred in Rebel Without a Cause, Presley's favorite James Dean film
• Presley won second prize at a fair in Tupelo at age ten with 'Old Shep', which appears on this album
• Steve Sholes was the RCA man at the session, while Presley chose the songs and led it
• The album's piano credits remain uncertain because RCA Victor's official archives do not register the piano player

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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