EAP Index World: Elvis Presley (Single / EP / Double EP / Triple EP

Elvis Presley was a series of seven singles and six EPs by RCA created to saturate the market for promotional material relating to the singer's first album on the label in 1956.

When Elvis signed to RCA Victor on November 20, 1955, he could barely imagine what the future of his career would look like.

Part of the press covered big stories about how the young man from rural Mississippi had reached the level of a national star in such a short time and, in some cases, took the opportunity to defame his image and talk about the "dangers of rock 'n' roll". Another part focused on the astronomical values of such a contract and what it would mean for music going forward, whether positively or negatively.

For better or for worse, the fact is that the contract with RCA really was astronomical. For all of Elvis' Sun Studio tapes and the transfer of rights, RCA paid Sam Phillips an unprecedented $35,000 plus a $5,000 bonus for the singer.

On January 10 and 11, 1956, Elvis went to RCA Studio B in Nashville to record the first 5 tracks in his new home. From these sessions was obtained the single "Heartbreak Hotel / I Was the One", which became the first work for RCA (the label had only made re-releases of the Sun singles until then) when released on January 27 of that year.

Needless to say, the single became an immediate hit and quickly reached 1 million copies sold while still on pre-order. It was an astounding result, given that RCA had never achieved such a feat with their other artists and that rock 'n' roll was still something that wasn't for everyone and was always tied to Elvis - even if these were quieter, more romantic tracks.

New sessions on January 30 and 31, 1956 captured another six tracks, which included "My Baby Left Me", which became the B-side to the "I Want You, I Need You, I Love You" single on May of that year, and "So Glad You're Mine", which would be out of release until the LP ELVIS in October 1956.

At the end of January, RCA had 7 unreleased tracks - not counting "So Glad You're Mine" - on hand. The rights to the Sun Studio tapes had been transferred to RCA with the sale of the contract, so five unreleased songs from the period ("I Love You Because", "Just Because", "Tryin' to Get to You", "I 'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')" and "Blue Moon") had yet to be released and were added to seven of the RCA sessions to create the iconic ELVIS PRESLEY album, released on March 23, 1956.

The LP spent ten weeks at number 1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums in 1956, being the first rock album to reach the top of the charts and the first of its kind to sell one million copies.

To help publicize the work and saturate the market with related material, RCA developed a bold strategy. All disc content would be released in a series of EPs and singles over the next 7 months. In yet another innovation by the label, the album would still be released in the UK in November 1956 with another cover and title ("Rock 'n' Roll"), and with 5 different tracks from the US original.

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Title:

Elvis Presley

Label:

RCA Victor [EPA 747]

Format:

Number of tracks:

Running time:

9:00

Type of album:

Studio / Compilation

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

September 12-16, 1954 - January 31, 1956

Released:

March 23, 1956

Singles:

---

Elvis Presley was Elvis' first EP on RCA. Released on the same day as the iconic LP of the same name, it contained four tracks from the aforementioned album, the oldest being the Sun Studio classic "Just Because". The work includes the following tracks:

ORIGINAL EP

SIDE A

1. Blue Suede Shoes

2. Tutti Frutti

SIDE B

3. I Got a Woman

4. Just Because

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Title:

Elvis Presley

Label:

RCA Victor [EPB 1254]

Format:

Double EP

Number of tracks:

Running time:

18:00

Type of album:

Studio / Compilation

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

September 12-16, 1954 - January 31, 1956

Released:

March 23, 1956

Singles:

---

Elvis Presley was also the title of Elvis' first double EP on RCA. It was released on the same day as the iconic ELVIS PRESLEY LP - and the EP above - and contained four tracks present on the aforementioned album, the oldest being "I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')" and "Tryin' to Get to You" from the Sun period. The work includes the following tracks:

ORIGINAL EP

EP 1, SIDE A

1. Blue Suede Shoes

2. I'm Counting On You

EP 1, SIDE B

3. Tutti Frutti

4. Tryin' to Get to You

EP 2, SIDE A

5. I Got a Woman

6. One-Sided Love Affair

EP 2, SIDE B

7. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)

8. I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')

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Title:

Elvis Presley

Label:

RCA Victor [EPA 830]

Format:

Number of tracks:

Running time:

10:00

Type of album:

Studio / Compilation

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

July 5, 1954 - February 3, 1956

Released:

June 8, 1956

Singles:

---

Elvis Presley was Elvis' third RCA EP to use the title of the label's iconic debut album. It contained two Sun Studio tracks from the aforementioned album and two new RCA tracks ("Shake, Rattle and Roll" and "Lawdy Miss Clawdy"). The last two would be so successful that they'd reappear as a single in August of that year. The work includes the following tracks:

ORIGINAL EP

SIDE A

1. Shake, Rattle and Roll

2. I Love You Because

SIDE B

3. Lawdy Miss Clawdy

4. Blue Moon

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Title:

The Real Elvis

Label:

RCA Victor [EPA 940]

Format:

Number of tracks:

Running time:

9:20

Type of album:

Studio / Compilation

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

January 30 - July 2, 1956

Released:

August 17, 1956

Singles:

---

The Real Elvis was another Elvis EP released by RCA to promote the singer's debut album on the label. It contained the four tracks from the two most recent singles that had already reached Gold ratings. The work includes the following tracks:

ORIGINAL EP

SIDE A

1. Don't Be Cruel

2. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You

SIDE B

3. Hound Dog

4. My Baby Left Me

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On August 31, 1956, RCA made the unusual decision to release the entire ELVIS PRESLEY album as multiple singles, which arguably prevented the new simultaneously released single, "Shake, Rattle and Roll / Lawdy Miss Clawdy", from ranking higher on the charts. However, "Blue Suede Shoes", released as a single in this experiment, kept RCA's promise to Sam Phillips and Carl Perkins for waiting more than eight months since the song's release by Sun, and peaked at number 20 on the singles chart. Such works are listed below:

Title:

Blue Suede Shoes / Tutti Frutti

Label:

RCA Victor [47-6636]

Format:

Single

Number of tracks:

Running time:

4:00

Type of album:

Single

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

January 30 & 31, 1956

Released:

August 31, 1956

Singles:

---

Title:

I'm Counting On You / I Got a Woman

Label:

RCA Victor [47-6637]

Format:

Single

Number of tracks:

Running time:

5:00

Type of album:

Single

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

January 10 & 11, 1956

Released:

August 31, 1956

Singles:

---

Title:

I'm Gonna Sit Right Down / I'll Never Let You Go

Label:

RCA Victor [47-6638]

Format:

Single

Number of tracks:

Running time:

4:30

Type of album:

Single

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

September 12-16, 1954 & January 31, 1956

Released:

August 31, 1956

Singles:

---

Title:

Tryin' to Get to You / I Love You Because

Label:

RCA Victor [47-6639]

Format:

Single

Number of tracks:

Running time:

5:15

Type of album:

Single

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

July 5, 1954 & July 21, 1955

Released:

August 31, 1956

Singles:

---

Title:

Blue Moon / Just Because

Label:

RCA Victor [47-6640]

Format:

Single

Number of tracks:

Running time:

5:10

Type of album:

Single

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

August 15-19 & September 12-16, 1954

Released:

August 31, 1956

Singles:

---

Title:

Money Honey / One-Sided Love Affair

Label:

RCA Victor [47-6641]

Format:

Single

Number of tracks:

Running time:

4:45

Type of album:

Single

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

January 10 & 30, 1956

Released:

August 31, 1956

Singles:

---

Title:

Shake, Rattle and Roll / Lawdy Miss Clawdy

Label:

RCA Victor [47-6642]

Format:

Single

Number of tracks:

Running time:

4:35

Type of album:

Single

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

February 3, 1956

Released:

August 31, 1956

Singles:

---

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Title:

Elvis Presley

Label:

RCA Victor [SPD 22]

Format:

Double EP

Number of tracks:

Duração:

18:00

Type of album:

Studio / Compilation

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

September 12-16, 1954 - January 31, 1956

Released:

October 19, 1956

Singles:

---

Elvis Presley foi o quarto EP relacionado ao primeiro álbum de Elvis pela RCA, lançado em 19 de outubro de 1956. Ele foi o segundo e último EP duplo do cantor. No trabalho constam as faixas:

EP ORIGINAL

EP 1, SIDE A

1. Blue Suede Shoes

2. I'm Counting On You

EP 1, SIDE B

3. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)

4. I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')

EP 2, SIDE A

5. I Got a Woman

6. One-Sided Love Affair

EP 2, SIDE B

7. Tutti Frutti

8. Tryin' to Get to You

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Title:

Elvis Presley

Label:

RCA Victor [SPD 23]

Format:

Triple EP

Number of tracks:

Duração:

27:30

Type of album:

Studio / Compilation

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

September 12-16, 1954 - July 2, 1956

Released:

October 19, 1956

Singles:

---

Elvis Presley foi o quinto e último EP relacionado ao primeiro álbum de Elvis pela RCA, lançado em 19 de outubro de 1956. Ele foi o primeiro e único EP triplo do cantor. No trabalho constam as faixas:

ORIGINAL EP

EP 1, SIDE A

1. Blue Suede Shoes

2. I'm Counting On You

EP 1, SIDE B

3. I Got a Woman

4. One-Sided Love Affair

EP 2, SIDE A

5. I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You)

6. I'll Never Let You Go (Lil' Darlin')

EP 2, SIDE B

7. Tutti Frutti

8. Tryin' to Get to You

EP 3, SIDE A

9. Don't Be Cruel

10. I Want You, I Need You, I Love You

EP 3, SIDE B

11. Hound Dog

12. My Baby Left Me

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RECORDING SESSIONS

Dates:

July 5, August 15-19 & September 12-16, 1954; July 21, 1955; January 10, 11, 30 & 31, February 3, April 14 & July 2, 1956

Studio:

Sun Studio

RCA Studio B

RCA Studio 1

Location:

Memphis, Tennessee

Nashville, Tennessee

New York, New York

Musicians:

1954/1955

Voice: Elvis Presley

Guitar: Elvis presley
Electric guitar: Scotty Moore
Bass: Bill Balck

Producer/ Recording engineer:

Sam Phillips

1956

Voice: Elvis Presley
Guitar: Elvis Presley
Electric guitar: Scotty Moore, Neal Matthews
Bass: Bill Black, Ray Siegal, Neal Matthews
Drums: DJ Fontana
Piano: Dudley Brooks
Cymbals: Hoyt Hawkins
Bongos: Gordon Stoker
Saxophone: Justin Gordon
Clarinet: Mahlon Clark
Trumpet: Teddy Bruckner
Trombone: Elmer Schneider
Backing Vocals: The Jordanaires
Sound engineer / Recording engineer:

Thorne Nogar / Wally Kamin

JULY 5, 1954
Harbor Lights EPA3 2742-03
I Love You Because G2WB 1086-SP
That's All Right F2WB 8040-04

AUGUST 15-19, 1954
Blue Moon F2WB 8117

SEPTEMBER 12-16, 1954
Tomorrow Night F2WB 8115-07
I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin') F2WB 8116-NA
Satisfied
I Don't Care If The Sun Don't Shine F2WB 8042-03
Just Because F2WB 8118-NA
Good Rockin' Tonight F2WB 8043-02

JULY 21, 1955
I Forgot to Remember to Forget F2WB 8000
Mystery Train F2WB 8001
Tryin' to Get to You F2WB 8039

JANUARY 10, 1956
I Got a Woman G2WB 0208
Heartbreak Hotel G2WB 0209
Money Honey G2WB 0210

JANUARY 11, 1956
I'm Counting On You G2WB 0211
I Was the One G2WB 0218

JANUARY 30, 1956
Blue Suede Shoes G2WB 1230
My Baby Left Me G2WB 1231
One-Sided Love Affair G2WB 1232

So Glad You're Mine G2WB 1233

JANUARY 31, 1956
I'm Gonna Sit Right Down and Cry (Over You) G2WB 1254
Tutti Frutti G2WB 1255

FEBRUARY 3, 1956
Lawdy Miss Clawdy G2WB 1293
Shake, Rattle and Roll G2WB 1294
Shake, Rattle and Roll (Backup Vocal Overdub) G2WB 1294

APRIL 14, 1956
I Want You, I Need You, I Love You G2WB 0271

JULY 2, 1956
Hound Dog G2WB 5935
Don't Be Cruel G2WB 5936
Any Way You Want Me (That's How I Will Be) G2WB 5937

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SESSION LOGS