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

(Continued from Part One)

Presley terminated his deal with Neal and named Parker as his new manager on March 2.  Elvis released his self-titled debut album on March 13, which went Platinum and topped Album charts on both sides of the Atlantic.  The eponymous album was the first Rock & Roll album to top the Billboard chart, a spot it occupied for 10 weeks.  

 

Lloyd Price wrote "Lawdy Miss Clawdy" and first recorded it in 1952.  At the time, Price was working for New Orleans radio station WBOK.  He recorded jingles for various products, including those promoted by disc jockey James "Okey Dokey" Smith.  One of Smith's catch phrases was "Lawdy Miss Clawdy", and Price was inspired to write this song.  With piano from Fats Domino, it became  one of the biggest R&B hits of the year.

Presley's cover version gave Price a run for his money, featuring a standout piano from Shorty Long.

"Trying To Get To You" appears on Presley's debut album (with Elvis playing piano), released March of 1956.

On April 3, Presley appeared on The Milton Berle Show on NBC-TV.  He performed for two weeks at the New Frontier Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada and signed a seven-year deal with Paramount Pictures.  Elvis also promoted the album with a tour of the Midwest in the United States.

While in Las Vegas, Presley caught shows by Freddie Bell and the Bellboys and loved their version of "Hound Dog", which had been a hit in 1953 for Big Mama Thornton.  "Hound Dog", written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, became Elvis's new closing number.  

Elvis met Leiber and Stoller that year, and according to Presley biographer Peter Guralnick, Leber and Stoller were "astonished at his encyclopedic understanding of the blues." 

(Presley with Moore (hidden from view), Fontana and Black)

Presley appeared again on The Milton Berle Show on June 5, spontaneously halting "Hound Dog" and with a wave of his arm began a slow, grinding version complete with wild, exaggerated body movements.  Presley's antics created much controversy and television critics were outraged.  It is one of the most iconic moments in music or television history.  Many referred to him as "Elvis The Pelvis" after that.  

Elvis performed next on NBC's Steve Allen Show and sang "Hound Dog" for less than a minute to a basset hound.  Presley would later say that agreeing to the skit was the worst decision he ever made.

 

The next day, Elvis recorded "Hound Dog" and "Don't Be Cruel" with the Jordanaires, who provided spirited hand clapping as well and would work with him through the 1960's.  These two classics (The #1 Double-Sided Hits of the Rock Era*) were released on July 13 and both sides of the single were across-the-board smashes--#1 Popular, #1 R&B and #1 Country.  "Don't Be Cruel" held onto the top spot for 11 weeks and has sold six million singles.

"Hound Dog" also topped charts for 11 weeks and it too is over six million units sold.  

When "Don't Be Cruel" and "Hound Dog" both went to #1, Elvis broke the Rock Era record for most #1's with four (displacing Pat Boone who had two).  So dominant was Presley in the 50's that he held on to the record for 14 more years.

Although "Blue Suede Shoes" hit #2 in the Netherlands, it's peak of #20 makes it one of The Top Unknown/Underrated Songs of the Rock Era*.  To wit, Elvis's version outsold Carl Perkins' version, which reached #2 for two weeks.

 

On August 31, 1956 RCA simultaneously released seven 45's, representing each of Elvis's songs not previously available on a single.  "I Got A Woman" is the best of these.

Presley recorded the Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart song "Blue Moon", later made famous by the Marcels in 1961.

In September, Elvis began recording his second album in Hollywood, California. 

When Ed Sullivan, who was the king of television, saw that Presley's appearance on Allen's show beat him in the ratings for the first time, Sullivan booked Presley for three appearances for a record sum of $50,000.  The first show on September 9, including a performance of the next song, drew a record 82.6% of the television audience.  

 

John Mascaralo and Robert (Bumps) Blackwell wrote this song, originally recorded by Little Richard.  Elvis recovered his cover on September 3 and as mentioned above, sang it six days later.  "Ready Teddy" was one of his most frequently-performed songs in the 1950's.

Jesse Stone wrote this next song, using the pseudonym Charles E. Calhoun, and it was an early Rock Era standard.  Joe Turner first hit #2 with it in 1954.  Bill Haley & the Comets recorded it the same day they recorded the classic "Rock Around The Clock".  

Presley recorded it on February 3 at RCA Studios in New York City and released the single "Shake, Rattle And Roll", which wasn't a hit but is still thought to be one of his best songs.  He had recorded the song originally at KDAV in Lubbock in January of 1955 while still with Sun Records (this version was not released until the 1990's).  The single version was a new recording for RCA.

Presley's performance of "Love Me Tender" on The Ed Sullivan Show led to a record million advance orders.  The #1 smash for five weeks in the U.S. and #1 in Canada has sold over four million copies and is ranked #36 of all-time for the Rock Era*.

 

The flip side of "Love Me Tender", which obviously got a lot of exposure, is "Any Way You Want Me".  It is one of Elvis's first power ballads, not sung tenderly as on the famous A-side, but with force, and the Jordanaires gave him their full vocal support.

There had been no one like him, and Elvis caused quite a stir wherever he performed.  Join us for Part Three, exclusively on Inside The Rock Era!