Elvis Presley, The #2 Artist of the Rock Era, Part Four

 

(Continued from Part Three)

Leiber and Stoller wrote the title song and essentially produced the sessions for the movie Jailhouse Rock.  Elvis referred to the two as his "good-luck charm" and Leber said of Elvis:  "He was fast.  Any demo you gave him he knew by heart in ten minutes."  "Jailhouse Rock" exploded to #1 in the U.S. for seven weeks and three weeks at the top in Canada.  It is The #13 Song of the Rock Era*.

 

Elvis thought this song to be the best from recording sessions, so much so that he re-recorded it at a later session that was mostly devoted to Christmas songs for an upcoming album.  "Treat Me Nice" is also from the soundtrack and reached #18.

 

This song, written by Aaron Schroeder and Abner Silver and recorded by Presley on April 30 in Radio Recorders Studio in Hollywood, was the last song performed by Elvis in the movie--"Young And Beautiful".

Leiber and Stoller, according to the book Hound Dog:  The Leiber & Stoller Autobiography, were in their motel room one day eating breakfast when Jean Aberbach, Elvis's music publisher, dropped in to see if they had finished the songs for Jailhouse Rock yet.  After the duo said they hadn't, Aberbach pushed a sofa against the door of the hotel room and went to sleep on it.  Leiber and Stoller wrote the songs and woke him up.  Only after handing Aberbach the songs would he let them go!  

In the movie, Stoller can be seen playing the piano on "(You're So Square) Baby". 

 

 

Rose Marie McCoy and Kelly Owens teamed to write this one.  "I Beg Of You" reached #8, already Elvis's 12th Top 10 record.

Leiber and Stoller came through again with this smash.  Stoller, who played piano in the movie Jailhouse Rock, said that one day as they were leaving the set, Elvis came over and said "I want you to write me a real pretty ballad."  Leiber and Stoller wrote the song on a Saturday morning, recorded a demo recorded by Young Jessie of the Flairs, and gave it to Presley on Monday.  Elvis loved the song, recorded it, and just three weeks after "Jailhouse Rock" topped the charts, "Don't" went to #1.  It was already Presley's 10th #1 song, just 21 months after he debuted with "Heartbreak Hotel".

By comparison, The Eagles (The #10 Artist of the Rock Era*) have not yet achieved 10 #1 songs--they have 5.  #9 Stevie Wonder took 23 years to get his 10th #1, #8 Billy Joel has had 3 #1's, #7 Madonna required 10 years to get 10 #1 songs, The #6 Artist*, the Bee Gees, have 9 career #1's,  it took #5 Michael Jackson 17 years to achieve 10 #1's, The #4 Rolling Stones have eight #1's in their entire career and #3 Elton John has nine career #1's.  

Presley recorded both sides of this single about the time he was filming King Creole.  He released the single "Wear Your Ring Around My Neck", which hit #1 in Canada, #2 in the U.S. and #3 in the U.K. and was certified Platinum.

The sessions for both sides were fraught with problems.  Leiber and Stoller were to supervise the recording, but that didn't work out, mostly because of Leiber's recent hospitalization for pneumonia.  Elvis at first didn't want to record at all, and when he did the sessions did not go well.

It took 22 takes to get a satisfactory recording of "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck" and another 48 for "Doncha' Think It's Time".  Relations between Elvis and his two amazing backing musicians, Scotty Moore and Bill Black, were frayed and there had been a public spat over recognition and money the previous September. Moore and Black, who were getting limited salaries and not getting any percentage from sales of records, quit.  

 

This was the last session that Black participated in and Moore was brought back only on a per diem basis a few weeks later. "Doncha' Think It's Time" is the flip side of "Wear My Ring Around Your Neck".

Presley went on three short tours to promote the work.  At the end of the year, Presley extended his streak of #1 studio albums to four with Elvis' Christmas Album, recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood.  The album has now sold over 17 million copies in the United States and 20 million worldwide. It is the top-selling Christmas album of all-time and one of the top-selling albums of all-time. 

 

A red booklet-like album cover featuring promotional photos from the movie Jailhouse Rock were included in original issues of the album.  Even rarer is a gold foil price tag-shaped sticker attached to the shrink wrap, reading "TO___________, FROM____________, ELVIS SINGS", followed by a list of the tracks.  

Original copies with that gold stick intact on the shrink wrap are among the most valuable of Presley's albums, selling for $10-20,000 or more.  Limited red vinyl albums and album covers with gold print on the spine are even more valuable.  Elvis's version of "Here Comes Santa Claus" has become one of the definitive covers of Gene Autry's classic.

 

On this one, Presley's version of this song is the standard--"I'll Be Home For Christmas".

On December 20, Elvis received word that he had been drafted into the Army.  He received a deferment so he could finish his movie King Creole.  

The Soundtrack went to #1 in the U.K. and #2 in the U.S. and was certified Gold in 1999.

Leiber and Stoller wrote three songs for the "King Creole" Soundtrack but it was the last time they would work closely with Presley.  When Black recorded with Elvis on February 11, it was the final time he would perform with Presley--Black died in 1965.

Elvis was soon off to war, but his music remained in the States.  Join us for Part Five!