Viva Las Vegas (EP)

Viva Las Vegas
EP by Elvis Presley
Released May 1964
Recorded July 1963
Genre Soundtrack
Length 10:31
31:31 (2010 Re-release)
Label RCA Victor
Producer George Stoll
Elvis Presley chronology
Kid Galahad
(1962)Kid Galahad1962		 Viva Las Vegas
(1964)		 Tickle Me
(1965)Tickle Me1965

Viva Las Vegas is a Extended play record by Elvis Presley, containing four songs from the 1964 motion picture of the same name. It was released by RCA Victor May 1964.

Recording and release history

Recording sessions took place on July 9, 10, and 11, 1963, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. By now film and soundtrack obligations were starting to back up on each other, and six weeks after the aborted "lost album" sessions of May 1963, the stable of Presley songwriters were required to come up with another dozen songs for yet another new picture.[1] Song quality took a back seat to the need for volume, and Presley's filming schedule made it difficult for song publishers to live up to obligations.[2] Memphis Mafia pal Red West had written a "Ray Charles-styled" number, but so little good material had surfaced that an extra session was scheduled on August 30 for an actual Ray Charles song, "What'd I Say" later released as a single to promote the film with its title song.[2]

Fifteen songs were recorded for the film, nine were used in the film, but only six were issued on records. The idea of a full-length soundtrack long-playing album was not considered, which has garnered much criticism from various accounts, including Elvis: The Illustrated Record. "Night Life", "Do the Vega" (neither of which were used in the film), and a medley "The Yellow Rose of Texas/The Eyes of Texas" would be released on Elvis Sings Flaming Star in 1969, as the Neapolitan song "Santa Lucia" was placed on Elvis for Everyone in 1965.[3]"The Lady Loves Me" would be issued on Elvis: A Legendary Performer Volume 4 in 1983, and the duet between Presley and Ann-Margret "You're the Boss" (cut from the film) on Elvis Sings Leiber & Stoller in 1991.[1] An additional duet between Presley and Ann-Margret, "Today, Tomorrow and Forever", along with Ann-Margret's solo numbers, would wait until later retrospectives to appear on record (the version of "Today, Tomorrow and Forever" released on the soundtrack was a solo performance by Presley). One track, a rhythm and blues dance number called "The Climb", performed by an ensemble vocal group that included Presley on backing vocals, as of 2014 has never been officially released by RCA.

Two songs were released as a single, catalogue 47-8360 on April 28, a cover of the Ray Charles rhythm and blues classic from 1959, "What'd I Say", with the film title song "Viva Las Vegas" by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman on the b-side. The strength of both sides caused it to split the difference on the chart, with "What'd I Say" peaking at disappointing #21 and "Viva Las Vegas" faring even worse at #29. The four-song soundtrack appeared as an extended play single in May 1964 to coincide with the film's premiere. The soundtrack EP barely made the Billboard Hot 100 at #92, the lowest-charting release of Presley's career to this point.[4] RCA had not released an Elvis EP single in two years; given that it was a dying format, and given the disastrous chart performance of Viva Las Vegas, the company would only issue two more for the remainder of Presley's career.[5]

Released during Beatlemania and the beginning of the British invasion, none of the music made an impact on the new direction in which popular music was moving. Even the most jazzed-infused song of Presley's illustrious career, "I Need Somebody to Lean On," went practically unnoticed. North American box office receipts of $9,442,967 were markedly lower than The Beatles' first motion picture, A Hard Day's Night, which was released two months later worldwide, earning $12,300,000 in North America (£5,125,000 U.K).

In 1993 it was released as part of the RCA 'Double Feautes' remastered collection. This edition had all the twelve songs and 11 of the 'Roustabout' soundtrack.

In January 2010, as part of the 75th anniversary of Elvis' birth, Sony Music finally released an official almost-complete soundtrack album for the first time on CD, which features all twelve songs recorded for the film. The front cover to the CD insert reproduces the images used for the original EP release, and also adds the words "...AND MORE" as part of the text. The release was not a complete soundtrack, as it omitted the film version of "C'mon Everybody", the duet version of "Today, Tomorrow and Forever" and "The Climb" featuring Presley on backing vocals. It also excludes the songs featuring Ann-Margret on lead vocals, "My Rival" and "Appreciation."

Track listing

Original release side one
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."If You Think I Don't Need You" (recorded July 9, 1963)Red West, Joe Cooper2:07
2."I Need Somebody to Lean On" (recorded July 10, 1963)Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman3:03
Original release side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."C'mon Everybody" (recorded July 9, 1963)Joy Byers2:21
2."Today, Tomorrow and Forever" (recorded July 11, 1963)Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye3:27
2010 expanded reissue
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Viva Las Vegas"Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman2:27
2."What'd I Say"Ray Charles3:06
3."If You Think I Don't Need You"Red West, Joe Cooper2:07
4."I Need Somebody to Lean On"Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman3:03
5."C'mon Everybody"Joy Byers2:21
6."Today, Tomorrow and Forever"Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye3:27
7."Night Life"Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye1:52
8."Santa Lucia"Traditional1:14
9."Do The Vega"Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye2:26
10."You're the Boss" (with Ann-Margret)Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller2:47
11."The Yellow Rose Of Texas" / "The Eyes of Texas"Fred Wise, Randy Starr, John Sinclair2:58
12."The Lady Loves Me" (with Ann-Margret)Sid Tepper, Roy C. Bennett3:43

Personnel

References

  1. 1 2 Jorgensen 1998, p. 183.
  2. 1 2 Jorgensen 1998, p. 184.
  3. ↑ Jorgensen 1998, p. 182.
  4. ↑ Jorgensen 1998, p. 416.
  5. ↑ Jorgensen 1998, pp. 172 and 199.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.