Amazing Grace: His Greatest Sacred Performances
Amazing Grace: His Greatest Sacred Performances is a two-disc compilation of studio master recordings by Elvis Presley, released in 1994 on RCA Records and certified double platinum by the RIAA on July 15, 1999. The release also includes a booklet with session details and an essay by Charles Wolfe.
| Amazing Grace: His Greatest Sacred Performances | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Compilation album by | ||||
| Released | October 25, 1994 | |||
| Recorded | January 1957 – March 1974 | |||
| Genre | Gospel | |||
| Length | 1:22:17 | |||
| Label | RCA Records | |||
| Producer | Ernst Mikael Jorgensen Roger Semon Paul Williams | |||
| Elvis Presley chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Review scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   |
| MusicHound |  |
| The Rolling Stone Album Guide | |
| Rough Guides | |
Contents
The set, catalogued as number 66421-2, comprises recordings of gospel music made by Presley during his career. The contents of all three gospel albums Presley released in his lifetime are included, while other songs had appeared on singles, an extended play single, and other albums. The set also contains five previously unreleased selections, and the two discs present the studio masters in chronological session order.
Disc one contains the entirety of his two albums released respectively in 1960 and 1967, His Hand In Mine and How Great Thou Art. The other five tracks contain the four-song EP Peace in the Valley from 1957, incorporated later that year into his first Christmas album, and the 1965 hit single "Crying in the Chapel" which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Disc two contains the entirety of his 1972 album He Touched Me, with the five previously unreleased selections derived from a jam session captured on March 31, 1972, during the filming for Elvis on Tour. The songs "You'll Never Walk Alone" and "We Call On Him" were released as two sides of a single in time for Easter in 1968, and "Only Believe" and "Help Me" appeared as b-sides of singles in the 1970s but were excluded from the 1970s box set discs compiling his complete singles from that decade. The remaining five tracks appeared on Presley albums released during the 1970s, the songs "How Great Thou Art" and "Why Me Lord" being concert recordings.
This set accompanied RCA's mid-1990s compilation reissue program for Elvis Presley, including the five-disc box sets The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters, From Nashville to Memphis: The Essential 60's Masters, Walk a Mile in My Shoes: The Essential 70's Masters, and the two-disc set anthologizing his 1960s soundtrack recordings, Command Performances: The Essential 60's Masters II. These nineteen compact discs, containing 507 recordings in total, constitute a substantial percentage of Presley's career output.
All selections recorded at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, the Stax Recording Studio and the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee. Unknown location for the March 1972 jam session. Original recordings produced by Steve Sholes or Felton Jarvis.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Believe" | Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl, Al Stillman | Peace in the Valley (EP) | 2:03 |
| 2. | "(There'll Be) Peace in the Valley (For Me)" | Thomas A. Dorsey | Peace in the Valley | 3:20 |
| 3. | "Take My Hand, Precious Lord" | Thomas A. Dorsey | Peace in the Valley | 3:19 |
| 4. | "It Is No Secret (What God Can Do)" | Stuart Hamblen | Peace in the Valley | 3:54 |
| 5. | "Milky White Way" | Landers Coleman | His Hand in Mine | 2:12 |
| 6. | "His Hand In Mine" | Mosie Lister | His Hand in Mine | 3:15 |
| 7. | "I Believe in the Man in the Sky" | Richard Howard | His Hand in Mine | 2:11 |
| 8. | "He Knows Just What I Need" | Mosie Lister | His Hand in Mine | 2:12 |
| 9. | "Mansion Over the Hilltop" | Ira Stanphill | His Hand in Mine | 2:55 |
| 10. | "In My Father's House" | Aileene Hanks | His Hand in Mine | 2:03 |
| 11. | "Joshua Fit the Battle" | traditional | His Hand in Mine | 2:39 |
| 12. | "Swing Down Sweet Chariot" | traditional | His Hand in Mine | 2:32 |
| 13. | "I'm Gonna Walk Dem Golden Stairs" | Cully Holt | His Hand in Mine | 1:50 |
| 14. | "If We Never Meet Again" | Alfred E. Brumley | His Hand in Mine | 1:58 |
| 15. | "Known Only to Him" | Stuart Hamblen | His Hand in Mine | 2:07 |
| 16. | "I'm Working on a Building" | Hoyle Bowles | How Great Thou Art | 1:52 |
| 17. | "Crying in the Chapel" | Artie Glenn | How Great Thou Art | 2:24 |
| 18. | "Run On" | traditional | How Great Thou Art | 2:21 |
| 19. | "How Great Thou Art" | Stuart K. Hine | How Great Thou Art | 3:00 |
| 20. | "Stand by Me" | traditional | How Great Thou Art | 2:26 |
| 21. | "Where No One Stands Alone" | Mosie Lister | How Great Thou Art | 2:42 |
| 22. | "So High" | traditional | How Great Thou Art | 1:56 |
| 23. | "Farther Along" | traditional | How Great Thou Art | 4:04 |
| 24. | "By And By" | traditional | How Great Thou Art | 1:49 |
| 25. | "In the Garden" | C. Austin Miles | How Great Thou Art | 3:11 |
| 26. | "Somebody Bigger Than You and I" | Hy Heath, Sonny Burke, Johnny Lange | How Great Thou Art | 2:25 |
| 27. | "Without Him" | Mylon LeFevre | How Great Thou Art | 2:27 |
| 28. | "If The Lord Wasn't Walking By My Side" | Henry Slaughter | How Great Thou Art | 1:36 |
| 29. | "Where Could I Go But to the Lord?" | J.B. Coats | How Great Thou Art | 3:36 |
| Total length: | 1:14:19 | |||
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Original album release | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "We Call on Him" | Fred Karger, Sid Wayne, Ben Weisman | You'll Never Walk Alone | 2:31 |
| 2. | "You'll Never Walk Alone" | Oscar Hammerstein II and Richard Rodgers | You'll Never Walk Alone | 2:43 |
| 3. | "Only Believe" | Paul Rader | Love Letters from Elvis | 2:47 |
| 4. | "Amazing Grace" | John Newton | He Touched Me | 3:34 |
| 5. | "Miracle of the Rosary" | Lee Denson | Elvis Now | 1:50 |
| 6. | "Lead Me, Guide Me" | Doris Akers | He Touched Me | 2:39 |
| 7. | "He Touched Me" | William J. Gaither | He Touched Me | 2:39 |
| 8. | "I've Got Confidence" | Andraé Crouch | He Touched Me | 2:20 |
| 9. | "An Evening Prayer" | C. Gabriel Battersby and Charles H. Gabriel | He Touched Me | 1:54 |
| 10. | "Seeing Is Believing" | Red West and Glen Spreen | He Touched Me | 2:53 |
| 11. | "A Thing Called Love" | Jerry Hubbard | He Touched Me | 2:23 |
| 12. | "Put Your Hand in the Hand" | Gene MacLellan | He Touched Me | 3:15 |
| 13. | "Reach Out to Jesus" | Ralph Carmichael | He Touched Me | 3:14 |
| 14. | "He Is My Everything" | Dallas Frazier | He Touched Me | 2:39 |
| 15. | "There Is No God But God" | Bill Kenny | He Touched Me | 2:17 |
| 16. | "I, John" | William J. Gaither | He Touched Me | 2:15 |
| 17. | "Bosom of Abraham" | W. Johnson, G. McFadden, P. Brooks | He Touched Me | 1:35 |
| 18. | "Help Me" | Larry Gatlin | He Touched Me | 2:27 |
| 19. | "If That Isn't Love" | Dottie Rambo | Good Times | 3:39 |
| 20. | "Why Me Lord" | Kris Kristofferson | On Stage In Memphis | 2:52 |
| 21. | "How Great Thou Art" | Stuart K. Hine | On Stage In Memphis | 3:34 |
| 22. | "I, John" | William J. Gaither | previously unreleased | 2:11 |
| 23. | "Bosom of Abraham" | W. Johnson, G. McFadden, P. Brooks | previously unreleased | 0:53 |
| 24. | "You Better Run" | traditional | previously unreleased | 2:09 |
| 25. | "Lead Me, Guide Me" | Doris Akers | previously unreleased | 2:36 |
| 26. | "Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus" / "Nearer, My God, to Thee" (medley) | Helen Lemmel / Sarah Flower Adams | previously unreleased | 2:52 |
| Total length: | 1:06:41 | |||
Personnel
- Elvis Presley – vocals, guitar, piano
- The Jordanaires – vocals
- The Imperials – vocals
- The Sweet Inspirations – vocals
- The Nashville Edition – vocals
- J.D. Sumner and the Stamps – vocals
- Tim Baty – vocals
- Charlie Hodge – vocals, guitar
- Millie Kirkham – vocals
- Sherrill Nielsen – vocals
- Donnie Sumner – vocals
- Kathy Westmoreland – vocals
- Dolores Edgin – backing vocals
- Mary Greene – backing vocals
- Ginger Holladay – backing vocals
- Mary Holladay – backing vocals
- Sonja Montgomery – backing vocals
- June Page – backing vocals
- Susan Pilkington – backing vocals
- Temple Riser – backing vocals
- Henry Slaughter – backing vocals, keyboards
- Boots Randolph – saxophone
- Pete Drake – pedal steel guitar
- Harold Bradley – electric guitar
- James Burton – electric guitar
- Johnny Christopher – electric guitar
- Hank Garland – electric guitar
- Scotty Moore – electric guitar
- Chip Young – electric guitar
- John Wilkinson – electric guitar
- David Briggs – keyboards
- Floyd Cramer – piano
- Glen D. Hardin – piano
- Joe Moscheo – piano
- Gordon Stoker – piano
- Hoyt Hawkins – organ
- Charlie McCoy – organ, bass
- Glen Spreen – organ
- Duke Bardwell – bass
- Bill Black – bass
- Bob Moore – bass
- Norbert Putnam – bass
- Kenny Buttrey – drums
- Jerry Carrigan – drums, percussion
- D.J. Fontana – drums
- Buddy Harman – drums
- Ronnie Tutt – drums
References
- Amazing Grace: His Greatest Sacred Performances at AllMusic
- Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 893. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.CS1 maint: extra text: authors list (link)
- "Elvis Presley: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved June 20, 2015.
- Simpson, Paul (2004). The Rough Guide to Elvis. London: Rough Guides. p. 155. ISBN 1-84353-417-7.
Works cited
- Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley, A Life In Music. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; ISBN 0-312-18572-3
