Loving You is the third studio by Elvis Presley, issued on RCA Victor Records in mono, LPM 1515, in July 1957 — the July 1 release date is unconfirmed. Recording sessions took place on January 15, 16, 17, and 18, 1957, at the Paramount Pictures Scoring Stage, and on January 12, 13, 19, and February 23 and 24, 1957, at Radio Recorders in Hollywood.[1] These are the first sessions where Steve Sholes is officially listed as producer. It spent ten weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart. It was certified Gold on April 9, 1968 by the Recording Industry Association of America.[2]
Contents[]
Content[edit][]
The soundtrack includes seven songs composed expressly for the movie Loving You from writers contracted to Elvis Presley Music and Gladys Music, the publishing companies owned by Presley and his manager, Colonel Tom Parker.[3] An eighth song intended for but not appearing in the movie, "Don't Leave Me Now", was included on the album, and a new recording would appear on the soundtrack for his next film, Jailhouse Rock.
The previously released material comprises both sides the single taken from the soundtrack, Presley's number one hit "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" backed with the film's title track, "Loving You".[4] Producer Hal B. Wallis liked "Teddy Bear" so much that he insisted it be included in the movie.[5]Songs were added to bring up the running time of the album, including the swing-era favorite "Blueberry Hill", which had been a big hit for Fats Domino in 1956. "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" had been done previously by the Sons of the Pioneers as well as Bing Crosby with The Andrews Sisters. Cole Porter's "True Love", written for the 1956 musical film High Society also made the album, either to feature a straightforward romantic song, or to give Presley and The Jordanaires an excuse for some close harmony singing. The practice of RCA augmenting soundtrack recordings with extra songs from non-soundtrack studio sessions to bring up the running time of the LP to acceptable lengths would become a commonplace occurrence with Presley soundtracks through the 1960s.
RCA reissued the original 12 track album on compact disc in 1988. The album was reissued in an expanded CD edition on April 15, 1997, appending eight tracks to the original album. All tracks derive from the same sessions, with three alternate takes, the remaining track from the Just For You EP, three single sides including "Tell Me Why" which would wait almost nine years to be released, and a remake of the Sun master "When It Rains, It Really Pours," also released much later on the 1965 LP Elvis for Everyone. On January 11, 2005, Sony BMG reissued the album again, remastered using DSD technology with the six bonus tracks appended in standard fashion. A two-disc set was released on the Follow That Dream collectors label on January 12, 2006, with the bonus tracks and numerous additional takes.
Personnel[edit][]
- Elvis Presley – vocals, acoustic guitar (playing the back of his guitar on "Teddy Bear" and "True Love")
- Scotty Moore – electric guitar
- Tiny Timbrell – acoustic guitar
- Dudley Brooks – piano
- Gordon Stoker – piano
- Hoyt Hawkins – piano, organ
- Bill Black – double bass
- D.J. Fontana – drums
- The Jordanaires – backing vocals
- George Fields – harmonica
Track listing[edit][]
Original release[edit][]
Chart positions for singles taken from the Billboard Pop Singles chart; for albums from the Billboard Top Pop Albums chart; for EPA 4041 from the newly inaugurated 1957 EP chart
| Side one (songs from the film Loving You) | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Mean Woman Blues" | Claude Demetrius | January 13, 1957 | 2:15 | ||||||
| 2. | "(Let Me Be Your) Teddy Bear" | Kal Mann and Bernie Lowe | January 24, 1957 | 1:45 | ||||||
| 3. | "Loving You" | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | February 24, 1957 | 2:12 | ||||||
| 4. | "Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do" | Aaron Schroeder and Ben Weisman | January 12, 1957 | 2:31 | ||||||
| 5. | "Lonesome Cowboy" | Sid Tepper and Roy C. Bennett | January 15, 1957 | 3:07 | ||||||
| 6. | "Hot Dog" | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | January 18, 1957 | 1:17 | ||||||
| 7. | "Party" | Jessie Mae Robinson | January 22, 1957 | 1:27 | ||||||
| Side two | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length | ||||||
| 1. | "Blueberry Hill" | Vincent Rose, Al Lewis, Larry Stock | January 19, 1957 | 2:38 | ||||||
| 2. | "True Love" | Cole Porter | February 23, 1957 | 2:07 | ||||||
| 3. | "Don't Leave Me Now" | Aaron Schroeder and Ben Weisman | February 23, 1957 | 2:00 | ||||||
| 4. | "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You?" | Johnny Russell and Scott Wiseman | January 19, 1957 | 2:30 | ||||||
| 5. | "I Need You So" | Ivory Joe Hunter | February 23, 1957 | 2:40 | ||||||
"Teddy Bear" and "Loving You" were released as a single and charted at, respectively, number one and number twenty on Billboard's Top 20 charts.[6]
1997 and 2005 reissue bonus tracks[edit][]
Loving You was issued on CD with the originally album's 12 songs plus the following bonus tracks:
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 13. | "Tell Me Why" (originally released as a single, 47-8740, December 3, 1965, #33) | Titus Turner | January 12, 1957 | 2:05 | |
| 14. | "Is It So Strange" (originally released on the Just For You EP, EPA 4041, April 1, 1957, #16) | Faron Young | January 19, 1957 | 2:28 | |
| 15. | "One Night (of sin)" (alternated version of single release, 47-7410, October 21, 1958, #4) | Dave Bartholomew, Pearl King | January 24, 1957 | 2:29 | |
| 16. | "When It Rains, It Really Pours" (originally released on the Elvis for Everyone, LSP 3450, August 10, 1965, #10) | William Emerson | February 24, 1957 | 1:47 | |
| 17. | "I Beg of You" (alternate master take 12) | Rose Marie McCoy and Cliff Owens | January 13, 1957 | 1:50 | |
| 18. | "Party" (alternate master take 7) | Jessie Mae Robinson | January 22, 1957 | 1:07 | |
| 19. | "Loving You" (uptempo version alternate take 13) | Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller | February 14, 1957 | 1:25 | |
| 20. | "Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do" (finale) | Aaron Schroeder and Ben Weisman | January 12, 1957 | 1:20 |
Certifications[edit][]
| Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
|---|---|---|
| United States (RIAA)[7] | Gold | 500,000^ |
|
^shipments figures based on certification alone | ||
| Chart | Year | Peak
position |
|---|---|---|
| UK Albums Chart[8] | 1957 | 1 |
| Preceded by
The Tommy Steele Story by Tommy Steele A Swingin' Affair! by Frank Sinatra |
UK Albums Chart number-one album
7 September 1957 - 21 September 1957 9 November 1957 - 16 November 1957 |
Succeeded by
A Swingin' Affair! by Frank Sinatra The King and I by Original Soundtrack |