SOUND ADVICE BLOG
A website blog that provides insights on Elvis music, movies and shares ideas on different subject matters related to Elvis. An opportunity to share and explore different aspects of Elvis career as well as his present day Legacy.
Elvis Country (Side B)
In June 1970 Elvis was in Nashville Studio B for a marathon session that would lead to including many of his country favorites to be released on the album ‘Elvis Country’. In this Sound Advice session we look at side B of the album.
As we flip the record to Elvis Country "I'm 10,000 Years Old" to Side "B" the first song is a song written by Dallas Frazier called There Goes My Everything. First released by Ferlin Husky in 1966 on his I Could Sing All Night LP. The song came well known on a recording from Jack Greene's recording where it was voted Single and Song of the Year in 1967 at the 1st Country Music Association Awards.
Below is the Jack Greene version along with a live performance from Elvis in 1970.
Elvis recorded the song on June 8, 1970 and song was released as a single on December 8, 1970 where it reached #21 on the Pop charts and #23 on the Country charts. Listen below to take 1.
The next song was It's Your Baby, You Rock It. Written by Shirl Milete and Nora Fowler the song was first recorded by Jesse Brady who used that as a stage name but later returned to his real name Allen Wright.
Elvis recorded the song on June 5, 1970 and below is Take 3 in which Elvis discusses the guitar intro. Take 3 has no back ground vocals a noticible difference to the master recording with the full background vocals and instrumentation.
Next up on Side B is The Fool a song originally recorded by Sanford Clark in 1956. Elvis recorded this song originally at his home in Bad Nauheim, Germany and then officially for this country album. Listen to Clark's original version in which Elvis keeps his version very similar too.
Elvis official recording took place on June 4, 1970. Below is the first original home recording as well as Take 1 from the recording session.
Faded Love was originally recorded by Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys in 1950. Elvis recorded the song on June 7, 1970 and only completed three takes utilizing the first take with an overdub master. The song was also remixed on the 1980 album ‘Guitar Man’ by producer Felton Jarvis.
I Washed My Hand In Muddy Waters is a Joe Babcock written tune from 1964. Babcock did studio work with the Jordanaires and formed the vocal group the Nashville Edition. He sang on more than 10,000 recordings including Elvis' Kentucky Rain and Suspicious Minds. The song was recorded by Stonewall Jackson and can be heard below. Elvis did the song while rehearsing for the movie That's The Way It Is and was available on The Lost Performances.
Elvis recorded "Muddy Water" on June 7, 1970 with a much faster tempo than the original Stonewall Jackson version and even more so than his impromptu rehearsal version above.
The final song on the album was a popular country song composed by Hank Cochran in 1963 called Make The World Go Away. The original version of the song was recorded by Ray Price that same year and it was a top 40 song for Timi Yuro (1963), Eddy Arnold (1965) and Donny & Marie Osmond (1975). Elvis recorded the song June 7, 1970 and utilize the song in his concert performances in the early 70's.
Below is the original Ray Price version along with Elvis concert performance from August 1970.
Elvis Country (Side A)
Elvis was heavily influenced by country music and in 1971 he released ‘Elvis Country’. In this Sound Advice session we look at side A of the album providing insight and comparisons from original artists and specific Elvis recordings.
Elvis Country "I'm 10,000 Years Old" was Elvis 11th studio album and released on January 2, 1971. It reached #12 on the Pop Charts and #6 on the Country charts receiving Gold status by the RIAA in December of 1977.
Segments of the song "I Was Born About 10,000 Years Ago" are used to link the songs together in the album. Recorded June 4, 1970 the song was released in its complete form on the LP Elvis Now in February 20, 1972.
The first song on the album on side one was Snowbird written by Canadian songwriter Gene MacLellan. Although this song was recorded by many performers it was best known through Ann Murray's 1969 recording which was released as a single in 1970. Elvis was fond of Ann Murray's singing and would record the song on September 22, 1970. Here is the song that influenced Elvis own recording by Ann Murray and his first take of the song during recording.
Listen to Elvis rehearsal and first take of Snowbird as well as the master recording.
Tomorrow Never Comes was a song written and performed by Ernest Tubb and released on Decca records in 1945. Elvis moody interpretation of the song is greatly in contrast with Tubbs original version.
Listen to Elvis' first take of the song which has a soft feel compared to the master version where he has full force grit and emotion in the song. Recorded June 7, 1970
Little Cabin On The Hill was written and recorded by Bill Monroe in which his title was "Little Cabin Home On The Hill". Elvis first recorded version was on December 4th, 1956 in which he imitated Monroe during the Million Dollar Quarter recordings.
Elvis would record the song on June 4, 1970. In many ways he stays true to the original recording. Listen to take 1 and the master recording.
Whole Lotta Shakin' Going On is widely known as a Jerry Lee Lewis song in which he recorded in 1957. However the first recoring was two years prior by Big Maybelle. A very cool but raunchier version of the songs.
Elvis recording from September 22, 1970 adds more of the country version with Elvis' vocals feeding off the drum beat.
The classic Funny How Time Slips Away was written by Willie Nelson but first recorded by Billy Walker on April 21, 1961. On July 1954 Walker along with Slim Whitman were headlining a show at the Overton Shell in Memphis along with newcomer Elvis Presley. This was Elvis' first professional appearance after his recording of "That's All Right Mama.
Elvis recorded the song on June 7, 1970 and performed this song during his life performances in the mid 1970's. Below is a live version from a 1972 concert and a performance by Billy Walker on the Opry.
The last song on Side A is a beautiful song written by Howard Barnes and Don Robertson called I Really Don't Want To Know in which they produced a demo in 1953. A year later the song was professionally recorded by Eddie Arnold. Elvis recorded the song on June 7, 1970 and released as a single December 8, 1970 where it peaked at #21 on the Pop Charts and #23 in the country chart. Below is the Eddie Arnold original along with Elvis’ undubbed version from the album and a live performance during one his final concert tours.