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Blue Hawaii is the fourteenth album by Elvis Presley, released on RCA Victor Records in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 2426, in October 1961 – the exact date of October 1 is disputed.[citation needed] It is a soundtrack for Presley's film of the same nameRecording sessions took place at Radio Recorders in Hollywood on March 21, 22, and 23, 1961. It spent 20 weeks at the number one slot and 39 weeks in the Top 10 on the US Top Pop Albums chart. It was certified Gold on December 21, 1961, Platinum and 2x Platinum on March 27, 1992 and 3x Platinum on July 30, 2002 by theRecording Industry Association of America.[2] On the US Top Pop Albums chart Blue Hawaii is second only to the soundtrack of West Side Story as the most successful album of the 1960s.

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RCA and Presley's manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had initially planned a schedule of one soundtrack and one popular music release per year for Presley, in addition to the requisite four singles.[3] To coincide with the location of the film, touches of Hawaiian music were included, from instrumentation to the traditional song "Aloha 'Oe". The title song was taken from the 1937 Bing Crosby film Waikiki Wedding, and "Hawaiian Wedding Song" dates from a 1926 operetta.

The songs "Can't Help Falling in Love" and "Rock-A-Hula Baby" were pulled off the album for two sides of a single released the following month. TheA-side "Can't Help Falling in Love," which would become the standard closer for an Elvis Presley concert in the 1970s, went to number two on theBillboard Hot 100, while the b-side charted independently at number 23.

The Blue Hawaii soundtrack was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1961 in the category of Best Sound Track Album or Recording of Original Cast from a Motion Picture or Television.

The success of this soundtrack and its predecessor G. I. Blues, both of which sold in much greater quantity than Presley's two regular releases of the time, Elvis Is Back! and Something for Everybody, set the pace for the rest of the decade.[4] Parker and Presley would focus on Elvis' film career, non-soundtrack albums taking a back seat with only six during the 1960s against sixteen full-length soundtrack albums among 27 movies and the comeback special. Five songs from this album appear on the 1995 compendium soundtrack box set Command Performances: The Essential 60s Masters II: the two sides of the single, "Blue Hawaii," "Hawaiian Wedding Song," and "Beach Boy Blues."

Personnel[edit][]

Track listing[edit][]

Original release[edit][]

Side one
No. Title Writer(s) Recording date Length
1. "Blue Hawaii"   Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger March 22 2:36
2. "Almost Always True"   Ben Weisman and Fred Wise March 22 2:25
3. "Aloha 'Oe"   Queen Lydia Lili'uokalani March 21 1:53
4. "No More"   Don Robertson, Hal Blair and Sebastián Iradier March 21 2:22
5. "Can't Help Falling in Love"   George David WeissHugo PerettiLuigi Creatore March 23 3:01
6. "Rock-A-Hula Baby"   Ben Weisman, Fred Wise, Dolores Fuller March 23 1:59
7. "Moonlight Swim"   Ben Weisman and Sylvia Dee March 22 2:20
Side two
No. Title Writer(s) Recording date Length
1. "Ku-U-I-Po"   George David Weiss, Hugo Peretti, Luigi Creatore March 21 2:23
2. "Ito Eats"   Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett March 22 1:23
3. "Slicin' Sand"   Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett March 21 1:36
4. "Hawaiian Sunset"   Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett March 21 2:32
5. "Beach Boy Blues"   Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett March 23 2:03
6. "Island of Love"   Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett March 22 2:41
7. "Hawaiian Wedding Song"   Al Hoffman, Charles King, Dick Manning March 22 2:48

1997 Reissue[edit][]

On April 29, 1997, RCA released a remastered and expanded version for compact disc. Tracks 1-7 were the seven songs from side one of the original LP and tracks 8-14 were from side two. Tracks 15-22 are bonus tracks, all of which had been recorded during the original album sessions and were previously unreleased except for "Steppin' Out of Line" which had originally appeared on the LP Pot Luck with Elvis (1962).

No. Title Writer(s) Recording date Length
15. "Steppin' Out of Line" (originally issued on the Pot Luck With Elvis LP) Ben WeismanFred WiseDolores Fuller March 22, 1961 1:53
16. "Can't Help Falling in Love(movie version) George David WeissHugo PerettiLuigi Creatore March 23, 1961 1:54
17. "Slicin' Sand(alternate take 4) Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett March 21, 1961 1:45
18. "No More(alternate take 7) Don Robertson and Hal Blair March 21, 1961 2:35
19. "Rock-A-Hula Baby(alternate take 1) Ben Weisman, Fred Wise, Dolores Fuller March 23, 1961 2:15
20. "Beach Boy Blues" (movie version) Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett March 23, 1961 1:58
21. "Steppin' Out of Line" (movie version) Ben Weisman, Fred Wise, Dolores Fuller March 22, 1961 1:54
22. "Blue Hawaii(alternate take 3) Leo Robin and Ralph Rainger March 22, 1961 2:40

Chart positions[edit][]

Year Chart Position
1961 Billboard Pop Albums (Billboard 200) (mono and stereo) 1
1962 UK Albums Chart[5]
Billboard Pop Albums (Billboard 200) (mono and stereo)
Preceded by

Judy at Carnegie Hall by Judy Garland

Billboard 200 number-one album (mono)

December 11, 1961 – May 4, 1962

Succeeded by

West Side Story (soundtrack) by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim

Preceded by

Stereo 35/MM by Enoch Light & the Light Brigade

Billboard 200 number-one album (stereo)

December 11, 1961 – January 12, 1962

Succeeded by

Holiday Sing Along with Mitch by Mitch Miller

Preceded by

Another Black and White Minstrel Show by George Mitchell Minstrels The Young Ones by Cliff Richard & The Shadows

UK Albums Chart number-one album

6 January 1962 – 13 January 1962 24 February 1962 – 23 June 1962

Succeeded by

The Young Ones by Cliff Richard & The Shadows West Side Story (soundtrack) by Leonard Bernstein and Steven Sondheim

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