| G.I. Blues | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Soundtrack album by Elvis Presley | ||||
| Released | October 1, 1960 | |||
| Recorded | April - May 1960 | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll, rock music | |||
| Length | 26:35 | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Elvis Presley chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
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| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | [1] |
G.I. Blues is the eleventh album by Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2256, in October 1960. Recording sessions took place on April 27 and 28, and May 6, 1960, at RCA Studio C and Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. The album topped the Billboard Top Pop Album chart. It was certified Gold on 3/13/1963 and Platinum on 3/27/1992 by the R.I.A.A.
Contents |
Music on this album comprised songs that had appeared in the film of the same name. The song "Wooden Heart" was released as a single in the United Kingdom, where it was #1 for six weeks. In the United States, Joe Dowell recorded a cover version of "Wooden Heart" that topped the Billboard Hot 100. RCA later released "Wooden Heart" by Presley as the b-side of a single twice, once in 1964 on the back of a reissue of "Blue Christmas," and again on the flip of a belated issue in 1965 of "Puppet On A String" from the Girl Happy movie. Four songs from this album appear on the 1995 soundtrack compilation: "G.I. Blues," "Wooden Heart," "Shoppin' Around," and "Doin' the Best I Can."
Due to copyright reasons, the European version of the soundtrack album and film substitutes the opening track "Tonight Is So Right for Love" with the song "Tonight's All Right for Love," adapted from a melody by 19th century waltz-king Johann Strauss II. Interestingly, the melody for "Tonight Is So Right for Love" was taken directly from a barcarolle composed by Jacques Offenbach, one of Strauss's contemporaries. An American release of "Tonight's All Right for Love" did not occur until it appeared on the compilation album Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 1 in 1974. The version of "Blue Suede Shoes" used on the soundtrack is a new recording of the song Presley first recorded in 1956, and is one of only a few songs that Presley would re-record in a studio setting during his career, others being "Love Letters" and "A Little Less Conversation."
TThe G.I. Blues soundtrack album was nominated for two Grammy Awards in 1960 in the categories Best Sound Track Album Or Recording Of Original Cast From A Motion Picture Or Television and Best Vocal Performance Album, Male.
On April 27, 1997, RCA remastered the album for compact disc, adding eight outtakes from the recording session as bonus tracks. Two songs were previously released, the acoustic version of "Big Boots" appearing on the posthumous 1978 album Elvis Sings for Children and Grown-Ups Too, and the substitute "Tonight's All Right For Love."
| Track | Recorded | Song Title | Writer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 4/27/60 | Tonight Is So Right for Love | Abner Silver and Sid Wayne | 2:14 |
| 2. | 4/28/60 | What's She Really Like | Abner Silver and Sid Wayne | 2:17 |
| 3. | 5/6/60 | Frankfort Special | Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards | 2:58 |
| 4. | 4/28/60 | Wooden Heart | Ben Weisman, Fred Wise, Kathleen Twomey, Bert Kaempfert | 2:03 |
| 5. | 4/27/60 | G.I. Blues | Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett | 2:36 |
| Track | Recorded | Song Title | Writer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 5/6/60 | Pocketful of Rainbows | Ben Weisman and Fred Wise | 2:35 |
| 2. | 5/6/60 | Shoppin' Around | Aaron Schroeder, Sid Tepper, Roy C. Bennett | 2:24 |
| 3. | 5/6/60 | Big Boots | Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards | 1:31 |
| 4. | 4/27/60 | Didja' Ever | Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards | 2:36 |
| 5. | 4/28/60 | Blue Suede Shoes | Carl Perkins | 2:07 |
| 6. | 4/27/60 | Doin' the Best I Can | Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman | 3:10 |
Chart positions for albums from Billboard 200
| Track | Recorded | Album Title | Catalogue | Release date | Chart peak | Song title | Writer(s) | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | 5/6/60 | Legendary Performer | CPL1 0341 | 1/2/74 | #43 | Tonight's All Right For Love | Sid Wayne, Abner Silver, Johann Strauss II | 1:21 |
| 2. | 5/6/60 | previously unreleased | Big Boots (fast version) | Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards | 1:14 | |||
| 3. | 4/27/60 | previously unreleased | Shoppin' Around (alternate take) | Aaron Schroeder, Sid Tepper, Roy C. Bennett | 2:15 | |||
| 4. | 4/27/60 | previously unreleased | Frankfort Special (fast version) | Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards | 2:25 | |||
| 5. | 4/28/60 | previously unreleased | Pocketful of Rainbows (alternate take) | Ben Weisman and Fred Wise | 2:47 | |||
| 6. | 4/27/60 | previously unreleased | Didja' Ever (alternate take) | Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards | 2:42 | |||
| 7. | 5/6/60 | Sings for Children | CPL1 2901 | 7/78 | #130 | Big Boots (slow version) | Sid Wayne and Sherman Edwards | 0:58 |
| 8. | 4/28/60 | previously unreleased | What's She Really Like (alternate take) | Abner Silver and Sid Wayne | 2:24 | |||
| 9. | 4/27/60 | previously unreleased | Doin' the Best I Can (alternate take) | Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman | 3:17 |
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | Billboard Pop Albums (Billboard 200) (mono and stereo) | 1 |
| 1961 | UK Albums Chart[2] | 1 |
| Preceded by South Pacific by Original Soundtrack South Pacific by Original Soundtrack South Pacific by Original Soundtrack |
UK Albums Chart number-one album 14 January 1961 - 4 March 1961 11 March 1961 - 1 April 1961 8 April 1961 - 1 July 1961 |
Succeeded by South Pacific by Original Soundtrack South Pacific by Original Soundtrack South Pacific by Original Soundtrack |
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