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Elvis at Sun | ||||
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Compilation album by | ||||
Released | June 22, 2004 | |||
Recorded | July 1954–November 1955 | |||
Genre | Rock and roll, rockabilly | |||
Length | 47:40 | |||
Label | RCA 61205-2 | |||
Producer | Sam Phillips | |||
Elvis Presley chronology | ||||
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Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
Allmusic | [1] |
Elvis at Sun is a compact disc compilation of Elvis Presley's studio recordings at Sun Studio from 1954 to 1955, released in June 2004, BMG Heritage 61205. This set features master recordings made by Presley and his accompanists, Scotty Moore and Bill Black, occasionally augmented by other musicians, prior to his arrival on RCA Records in early 1956.
The tapes for the Sun versions of "I Got A Woman" and "Satisfied" were lost. The former would be recorded for Presley during his first RCA session. All of the studio recordings were produced by Sam Phillips, the owner of Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee. Phillips released Presley's recording contract to RCA for the substantial sum, in 1955 dollars, of $35,000. This gave RCA the rights to all of Presley's masters recorded at Sun.
The disc contains a slightly different track list and running order than previous issues of the Sun material, such as the Sunrise double-disc, with the shorter version of "When It Rains It Really Pours" from the fifties box, and an alternate of "I Love You Because." It still presents all eighteen Sun titles from the singer's stay at the label.
"Elvis At Sun" also was released in the vinyl LP configuration.
The set includes "That's All Right (Mama)", one of candidates for being "the first rock and roll record". Elvis' entire period at Sun is one of the seminal events in the birth of rock and roll, specifically also the beginning of the subgenre known as rockabilly. In 2001, VH1 named its parent album the 21st greatest album of all time. In 2003, the album was ranked number 11 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of the 500 greatest albums of all time. Two tracks from the Presley's Sun sessions were included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll: "Mystery Train," and "That's All Right."
In 2002, given their importance in the development of American popular music, The Sun Sessions were chosen, by the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress, to be kept as a bequeathal to posterity.
For more detailed information on the recording sessions, see Elvis Presley's Sun recordings.
Chart positions for LPs and EPs from Billboard Top Pop Albums chart; positions for singles from Billboard Pop Singles chart except as indicated.
Track | Song Title | Writer(s) | Time | Recorded | Release Date | Original LP Issue | Catalogue | Chart Peak |
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1. | "Harbor Lights" | Jimmy Kennedy and Hugh Williams | 2:37 | 1954-07-05 | 1959-07-24 | A Date With Elvis | LPM 2011 | #46 |
2. | "I Love You Because" alternate | Leon Payne | 3:29 | 1954-07-05 | 1987 | The Complete Sun Sessions | RCA 6414-2 | |
3. | "That's All Right" | Arthur Crudup | 1:57 | 1954-07-05 | 1954-07-19 | For LP Fans Only | Sun 209 | |
4. | "Blue Moon Of Kentucky" | Bill Monroe | 2:04 | 1954-07-05 | 1954-07-19 | A Date With Elvis | Sun 209b | |
5. | "Blue Moon" | Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart | 2:44 | 1954-08-19 | 1956-03-23 | Elvis Presley | LPM 1254 | #1 |
6. | "Tomorrow Night" | Sam Coslow and Will Grocz | 3:00 | 1954-09-10 | 1965-08-10 | Elvis for Everyone | LSP 3450 | #10 |
7. | "I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')" | Jimmy Wakely | 2:25 | 1954-09-10 | 1956-03-23 | Elvis Presley | LPM 1254 | #1 |
8. | "Just Because" | Sydney Robin, Bob Shelton, Joe Shelton | 2:33 | 1954-09-10 | 1956-03-23 | Elvis Presley | LPM 1254 | #1 |
9. | "Good Rockin' Tonight" | Roy Brown | 2:13 | 1954-09-10 | 1954-09-25 | A Date With Elvis | Sun 210 | |
10. | "I Don't Care If the Sun Don't Shine" | Mack David | 2:20 | 1954-09-10 | 1954-09-25 | The Sun Sessions | Sun 210b | |
11. | "Milkcow Blues Boogie" | Kokomo Arnold | 2:37 | 1954-11/12? | 1954-12-28 | A Date With Elvis | Sun 215 | |
12. | "You're a Heartbreaker" | Jack Sallee | 2:12 | 1954-11/12? | 1954-12-28 | For LP Fans Only | Sun 215b | #74 |
13. | "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" (slow version) | Stan Kesler and William E. Taylor | 2:41 | 1955-03-05 | 1987 | The Complete Sun Sessions | RCA 6414-2 | |
14. | "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" | Stan Kesler and William E. Taylor | 2:37 | 1955-03-05 | 1955-04-10 | For LP Fans Only | Sun 217b | |
15. | "Baby Let's Play House" | Arthur Gunter | 2:17 | 1955-02-05 | 1955-04-10 | A Date With Elvis | Sun 217 | C&W #5 |
16. | "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" | Stan Kesler and Charlie Feathers | 2:30 | 1955-07-11 | 1955-08-06 | A Date With Elvis | Sun 223 | C&W #1 |
17. | "Mystery Train" | Junior Parker and Sam Phillips | 2:29 | 1955-07-11 | 1955-08-06 | For LP Fans Only | Sun 223b | |
18. | "Trying to Get to You" | Rose Marie McCoy and Charles Singleton | 2:33 | 1955-07-11 | 1956-03-23 | Elvis Presley | LPM 1254 | #1 |
19. | "When It Rains It Really Pours" | William Emerson | 2:00 | 1955-11-20 | 1992-06-23 | The Complete 50s Masters | RCA 66050-2 | #159 |
Chart (2004) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA) [2] | 69 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [3] | 88 |
US Top Country Albums (Billboard) [4] | 37 |
The Sun Sessions is a compilation album by American singer Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Records in 1976. The album contains Presley's earliest commercial recordings, made in Memphis, Tennessee for Sun Records in 1954 and 1955. RCA issued the album in the UK in 1975 under the title The Sun Collection. The album features liner notes by Roy Carr of the New Musical Express. The Sun Sessions features most of the tracks Elvis recorded for Sun Records and produced by Sam Phillips, the head of Sun Studios. The Sun Sessions reached number two on the Billboard Country Albums and number 1 on the Cashbox Country Albums charts.
"Mystery Train" is a song written and recorded by American blues musician Junior Parker in 1953. Originally performed in the style of a Memphis blues or rhythm and blues tune, it was inspired by earlier songs and later became a popular rockabilly song, as first covered by Elvis Presley, then numerous others.
"That's All Right" is a song written and originally performed by the American blues singer Arthur Crudup and recorded in 1946. It was rereleased in early March 1949 by RCA Victor under the title "That's All Right, Mama", which was issued as RCA's first rhythm and blues record on its new 45 rpm single format.
Elvis Presley is the debut studio album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released by RCA Victor, on March 23, 1956,. The recording sessions took place on January 10 and January 11 at the RCA Victor Studios in Nashville, Tennessee, and on January 30 and January 31 at the RCA Victor studios in New York. Additional material originated from sessions at Sun Studio in Memphis, Tennessee, on July 5, August 19 and September 10, 1954, and on July 11, 1955.
"Don't Be Cruel" is a song that was recorded by Elvis Presley and written by Otis Blackwell in 1956. It was inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004, it was listed #197 in Rolling Stone's list of 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
A Date with Elvis is a compilation album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, issued on RCA Victor in July 1959. The album compiled a selection of previously released material from multiple sessions at Sun, an August 1956 recording session at 20th Century Fox Stage One and two from Radio Recorders in Hollywood. The album reached #32 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.
Elvis is the second studio album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor on October 19, 1956 in mono. Recording sessions took place on September 1, September 2, and September 3 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, with one track left over from the sessions for Presley's debut album at the RCA Victor recording studios on January 30 in New York. It spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart that year, making Presley the first recording artist to have both albums go straight to number one in the same year. It would go on to spend 5 weeks at #1 in total. It was certified Gold on February 17, 1960, and Platinum on August 10, 2011, by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Elvis' Golden Records is a compilation album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor in March 1958. It compiled his 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 RCA Victor Elvis' Golden/Gold Records compilations, the first four of which were issued during Presley's lifetime. The album peaked at number three on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart and was certified 6× platinum on August 17, 1999, by the Recording Industry Association of America.
For LP Fans Only is a compilation album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on February 6, 1959 by RCA Victor. It compiled previously released material from an August 1956 recording session at 20th Century Fox Stage One, a September 1956 session at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, sessions on January 10 and 11 at the RCA Victor Studios in Nashville, two more at the RCA Victor Studios in New York, and multiple sessions at Sun Studio. The album reached number 19 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart.
Elvis' Golden Records Volume 3 is a greatest hits album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, released by RCA Victor as LPM/LSP-2765 on August 12, 1963. The album was the third volume of an eventual five volume collection, and his eighteenth altogether. It is a compilation of hit singles released in 1960, 1961, and 1962.
Elvis for Everyone! is a compilation album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3450, on August 10, 1965. Recording sessions took place over a ten-year span at Sun Studio in Memphis, RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. It peaked at number 10 on the Top Pop Albums chart.
Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4 is a greatest hits album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3921, in January 1968, with recording sessions taking place over an eight-year span at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and at RCA Studios and Radio Recorders in Hollywood. It is a compilation of hit singles released between 1961 and 1967, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200. It was certified Gold on March 27, 1992, by the Recording Industry Association of America.
Pot Luck with Elvis is the seventh studio album by American singer and musician Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2523, in May 18, 1962. Recording sessions took place on March 22, 1961, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, and on June 25 and October 15, 1961, and March 18 and March 19, 1962, at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee. It peaked at number 4 on the Billboard Top LP's chart.
Sunrise is a two-disc compilation of Elvis Presley's studio recordings at Sun Studio from 1953 to 1955, released in 1999, RCA 67675-2. This set features all of the surviving master recordings made by Presley and his accompanists, Scotty Moore and Bill Black, occasionally augmented by other musicians, prior to his arrival on RCA Records in 1956.
The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters is a five-disc box set compilation of the complete known studio master recordings by American singer and musician Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1950s. Issued in 1992 by RCA Records, catalog number 66050-2, it was soon followed by similar box sets covering Presley's musical output in the 1960s and 1970s. This set's initial long-box release included a set of collectible stamps duplicating the record jackets from every Presley LP on RCA Victor, every single that had a picture sleeve, and most of his EP releases. The set includes a booklet with an extensive session list and discography, and a lengthy essay by Peter Guralnick. It peaked at #159 on the album chart and was certified a gold record on August 7, 1992, by the RIAA. Further certifications were for platinum on November 20, 1992, and for double platinum on July 30, 2002.
Elvis 56 is a compilation album of studio master recordings by American singer and musician Elvis Presley made during 1956, released by RCA Records in 1996. The original sessions took place at RCA Studios in Nashville and New York, and at Radio Recorders in Hollywood.
From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential '60s Masters is a five-disc box set compilation of studio master recordings by American singer and musician Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1960s; it was released in 1993 on RCA Records, catalogue number 66160-2. In its initial long-box release, it included a set of collectable stamps duplicating the record jackets of every Presley LP on RCA Victor, and those of the singles pertinent to this box set. The set also includes a booklet with an extensive session list and discography, as well as a lengthy essay by Peter Guralnick. It was certified Gold by the RIAA on November 30, 1993, and Platinum on January 6, 2004. This set followed an exhaustive box set of Presley's 1950s output and was followed by a more selective box set of his work in the 1970s.
Loving You is the first soundtrack album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley. It was released by RCA Victor in mono, LPM 1515, in June 1957 to accompany his film, Loving You (1957). Recording sessions took place on January 15, 16, 17, and 18, 1957, at the Paramount Pictures Scoring Stage, and on January 12, 13, 19, and February 23 and 24, 1957, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood. These are the first sessions where Steve Sholes is officially listed as producer. It spent ten weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It was certified Gold on April 9, 1968 by the Recording Industry Association of America.
"Little Sister" is a rock and roll song written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. It was originally released as a single in 1961 by American singer Elvis Presley, who enjoyed a No. 5 hit with it on the Billboard Hot 100. The single also reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. Lead guitar was played by Hank Garland and the rhythm guitar was played by Scotty Moore with backing vocals by the Jordanaires featuring the distinctive bass voice of Ray Walker.
Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II is a two-disc compilation of studio master recordings by American singer and musician Elvis Presley during the decade of the 1960s, released in 1995 on RCA Records, catalogue number 66601-2. It also includes a booklet with session details and an essay by Susan M. Doll.