Today in Music (1956): Elvis Presley’s self-titled debut album hit #1

Elvis Presley (aka “Rock ‘N’ Roll”) Elvis Presley

Released: March 23, 1956 Recorded: July 5, 1954 to January 31, 1956 Peak: 110 US, 11 UK Sales (in millions): 0.5 US) Genre: early rock and roll

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Heartbreak Hotel (Axton/ Durden/ Presley) [2:08] (3/3/56, 1 US, 2 UK, 3 RB, 1 CW, sales: 2 million, airplay: 2 million) * I Was the One (Blair/ Demetrius/ Peppers/ Schroeder) [1:11] (3/3/56, 19 US, 8 CW) * Blue Suede Shoes (Perkins) [1:59] (4/7/56, 20 US, 39 UK, sales: ½ million) I’m Counting on You (Robertson) [2:22] I Got a Woman (Charles/ Richards) [2:23] One-Sided Love Affair (Campbell) [2:10] I Love You Because (Payne) [2:41] Just Because (Robin/ Shelton/ Shelton) [2:31] Tutti Frutti (LaBostrie/ Little Richard) [1:57] Trying to Get to You (McCoy/ Singleton) [2:32] (11/1/57, 16 UK) I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry Over You (Biggs/ Thomas) [2:01] I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin’) (Wakely) [2:22] Blue Moon (Hart/ Rodgers) [2:40] (9/29/56, 55 US, 9 UK) Money Honey (Stone) [2:33] (5/1/56, 76 US) Shake, Rattle and Roll (Calhoun) [2:37] * My Baby Left Me (Crudup/ Presley) [2:11] (5/26/56, 31 US, 19 UK, 13 CW) * Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Price) [2:08] (11/8/57, 15 UK) * I Want You, I Need You, I Love You (Kosloff/ Mysels) [2:40] (5/26/56, 1 US, 14 UK, 3 RB, 1 CW, sales: 1 million) * * bonus tracks added to the CD reissue The Players: Elvis Presley (vocals, guitar, piano on “Tryin’ to Get to You”) Scotty Moore (electric guitar) Bill Black (bass) D.J. Fontana, Johnny Bernero (drums) Chet Atkins (acoustic guitar on “I’m Counting on You” and “Money Honey”) Floyd Cramer, Shorty Long (piano) Gordon Stoker, Ben Speer, Brock Speer (backing vocals)

Rating: 4.328 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings) Quotable: “As startling a debut record as any ever made” – Bruce Eder, All Music Guide Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: Before he was anointed “The King of Rock and Roll,” Elvis Presley recorded for Sun Records, releasing five singles in 1954 and 1955 that merged the sounds of R&B with country music in what became the template for rock and roll. After Elvis topped the country chart with “I Forgot to Remember to Forget,” it was obvious he needed a larger platform to showcase his talents. Elvis’ new manager, Colonel Tom Parker, had ties to RCA Records and convinced Steve Sholes, the head of the Country and Western and Rhythm and Blues division, to sign Elvis. On November 21, 1955, Sholes paid $35,000 to Sam Phillips, the head of Sun Records, to buy out Elvis’ contract. At the time, “Presley and rock and roll were still untested properties…in the music business.” AMG He was “a white man playing black music, without and established market to break into.” CS-5 The teens who did spend money on rock and roll bought singles, not albums. Rival executives whispered that this was nothing more than “Steve Sholes’ folly.” AMG However, Parker “was a born salesman who was determined to make Elvis a household name.” CS-6 By January, the company got Elvis into the studio to record a chunk of songs which would make it onto his debut album as well as Heartbreak Hotel, which was released as a single on January 27, 1956. It did nothing for about a month but then, thanks in part to appearances on the Dorsey Brothers TV show over four consecutive weeks, the single finally entered the charts on March 3. Television made a star out of Presley as his “boyish charms and unseemly hip thrusts [were broadcast] around the country.” CS-6 “The timely introduction of Top 40 radio” CS-6 also proved a huge factor in Elvis’ success. “Heartbreak Hotel” went on to top the Billboard charts for eight weeks. RCA wanted to capitalize on the success of the single with an album. Common practice at the time dictated that singles and albums were different entities so “Heartbreak Hotel” was not amongst the songs slated for the album. Seven songs were gathered from Elvis’ four recording sessions in January and compiled with five unreleased songs from Sun Records (I Love You Because, Just Because, Tryin’ to Get to You, I’ll Never Let You Go, and Blue Moon). The Sun tracks were “mostly country-styled” WK while the newer material leaned more of R&B covers, including Lawdy Miss Clawdy (Lloyd Price, 1952), Money Honey (The Drifters, 1953), Shake, Rattle, and Roll (Big Joe Turner, 1954), I Gotta Woman (Ray Charles, 1954), and Tutti Frutti (Little Richard, 1955). One song believed to have hit potential was Blue Suede Shoes. The rockabilly number was written by Carl Perkins, a former label mate of Elvis from his Sun days. Because of a promise Sholes made to Phillips, WK the song was withheld as a single until after Perkins had a chance to chart with it. His version became a classic of rock and roll, reaching #2 on the pop charts. Elvis’ version got to #20. The resulting album “was as startling a debut record as any ever made, representing every side of Elvis’ musical influences except gospel – rockabilly, blues, R&B, country, and pop were all here in an explosive and seductive combination.” AMG The album “proved the selling power” WK of rock and roll as well as Elvis. It was “the first rock & roll album to reach the number one spot on the national charts, and RCA’s first million dollar-earning pop album.” AMG Notes: In 1999, the album was reissued with the six bonus tracks noted in the track listing. Everything from this album is also on the box set The King of Rock and Roll: The ‘50s Masters.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for Elvis Presley AMG All Music Guide review by Bruce Eder CS Chris Smith (2009). 101 Albums That Changed Popular Music. Oxford University Press. Wikipedia.org Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 4/9/2008; last updated 3/16/2024.