Viva Las Vegas (EP)
Viva Las Vegas is an EP by American singer Elvis Presley, containing four songs from the 1964 motion picture, Viva Las Vegas. It was released by RCA Victor in May 1964 to coincide with the film's premiere. The soundtrack EP made the Billboard Hot 100 at #92, the lowest-charting release of Presley's career to this point.[1] RCA had not released a Presley EP single in two years; given that it was a dying format, and given the disappointing chart performance of Viva Las Vegas, the company would only issue two more for the remainder of Presley's career.[2]
| Viva Las Vegas | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| EP by | ||||
| Released | May 1964 | |||
| Recorded | July 9-11, 1963 | |||
| Genre | Pop | |||
| Length | 10:31 31:31 (2010 Re-release) | |||
| Label | RCA Victor | |||
| Producer | George Stoll | |||
| Elvis Presley chronology | ||||
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Recording and release history
Recording sessions took place on July 9, 10 and 11, 1963, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, California. By then, 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 was required to come up with another dozen songs for yet another new picture.[3] Song quality took a back seat to the need for quantity, and Presley's filming schedule made it difficult for song publishers to live up to obligations.[4] 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 a Ray Charles song, "What'd I Say", later released as a single to promote the film with its title song.[4]
Fifteen songs were recorded of which eleven were used in the film. The idea of a full-length soundtrack long-playing album was not considered, which has attracted 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" were released on Elvis Sings Flaming Star in 1969, as the Neapolitan song "Santa Lucia" was placed on Elvis for Everyone in 1965.[5]"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.[3] An additional duet between Presley and Ann-Margret, "Today, Tomorrow and Forever" (cut from the film), 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 performed in the film). One track, a rhythm and blues dance number called "The Climb", performed by an ensemble vocal group, as of 2014 has never been officially released by RCA.
Two songs used in the film 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.
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 jazz-infused song of Presley's illustrious career, "I Need Somebody to Lean On", went practically unnoticed. However, North American box office receipts of $9,442,967 were markedly higher than The Beatles' first motion picture, A Hard Day's Night, which was released two months later worldwide, earning $1,626,784 in worldwide receipts.
Reissues
In 1993, Viva Las Vegas was released as part of the RCA 'Double Features' remastered collection. This edition had all the twelve songs and 11 of the Roustabout soundtrack.
In 2003 the complete soundtrack was reissued on the Follow That Dream collectors label in a special edition that contained the original album tracks along with a selection of alternate takes.
In January 2010, as part of the 75th anniversary of Presley's birth, Sony Music finally released an official almost-complete soundtrack album which included all twelve songs recorded for the film. The front cover of 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" (which featured whistling as well as backing vocals by Ann-Margret), the duet version of "Today, Tomorrow and Forever" and "The Climb" featuring Presley on backing vocals. It also excludes the songs with Ann-Margret on lead vocals, "My Rival" and "Appreciation". The original film version of "What'd I Say" also featured backing vocals by Ann-Margret and has yet to be officially released.
In August 2018 the Follow That Dream label released The Viva Las Vegas Sessions as a Special 3–CD Deluxe Edition, which made the film version of "C'mon Everybody" and "The Climb" officially available for the first time. According to the track listing, a version of "The Climb" was recorded for record release.
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "If You Think I Don't Need You" (recorded July 9, 1963) | Red West, Joe Cooper | 2:07 |
| 2. | "I Need Somebody to Lean On" (recorded July 10, 1963) | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | 3:03 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "C'mon Everybody" (recorded July 9, 1963) | Joy Byers | 2:21 |
| 2. | "Today, Tomorrow and Forever" (recorded July 11, 1963) | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | 3:27 |
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Viva Las Vegas" | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | 2:27 |
| 2. | "What'd I Say" | Ray Charles | 3:06 |
| 3. | "If You Think I Don't Need You" | Red West, Joe Cooper | 2:07 |
| 4. | "I Need Somebody to Lean On" | Doc Pomus, Mort Shuman | 3:03 |
| 5. | "C'mon Everybody" | Joy Byers | 2:21 |
| 6. | "Today, Tomorrow and Forever" | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | 3:27 |
| 7. | "Night Life" | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | 1:52 |
| 8. | "Santa Lucia" | Traditional | 1:14 |
| 9. | "Do The Vega" | Bill Giant, Bernie Baum, Florence Kaye | 2:26 |
| 10. | "You're the Boss" (with Ann-Margret) | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | 2:47 |
| 11. | "The Yellow Rose of Texas" / "The Eyes of Texas" | Fred Wise, Randy Starr, John Sinclair | 2:58 |
| 12. | "The Lady Loves Me" (with Ann-Margret) | Sid Tepper, Roy C. Bennett | 3:43 |
Personnel
- Elvis Presley – vocals
- The Jordanaires – background vocals
- Ann-Margret – vocals on "The Lady Loves Me" and "You're the Boss"
- Oliver Mitchell – trumpet
- James Zito – trumpet
- Herb Taylor – trombone
- Randall Miller – trombone
- Boots Randolph – saxophone
- William Green – saxophone
- Scotty Moore – electric guitar
- Tiny Timbrell – electric guitar
- Billy Strange – electric guitar
- Glen Campbell – electric guitar on "What'd I Say"
- Alton Hendrickson – electric guitar on "What'd I Say"
- Dudley Brooks – piano
- Floyd Cramer – piano
- Calvin Jackson – piano, organ
- Bob Moore – double bass
- Ray Siegel – double bass on "What'd I Say"
- D. J. Fontana – drums
- Buddy Harman – drums
- Frank Carlson – drums
- Hal Blaine – drums
References
- Jorgensen 1998, p. 416.
- Jorgensen 1998, pp. 172 and 199.
- Jorgensen 1998, p. 183.
- Jorgensen 1998, p. 184.
- Jorgensen 1998, p. 182.
External links
- Viva Las Vegas at Discogs (list of releases)
- Viva Las Vegas at AllMusic
