EAP Index World: Elvis, Volumes I & 2 / Strictly Elvis (EP

Elvis was the two-volume title of an EP released by RCA which, along with another EP, Strictly Elvis, helped promote the LP of the same name released on October 19, 1956, Elvis' second on the label.

The main recording sessions took place on September 1, 2 and 3, 1956 at Radio Recorders in Hollywood, and an extra track from the January 30 session was used to close out the time and number of tracks for an acceptable LP.

RCA Victor producer Steve Sholes had commissioned two new songs for this batch of sessions: "Paralyzed" by Otis Blackwell and "Love Me" by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller, the authors respectively of both sides of the hit single "Hound Dog/Don't Be Cruel". Presley chose three Little Richard covers ("Rip it Up", "Long Tall Sally", "Ready Teddy") and three new country ballads ("First in Line", "How's the World Treating You", "How do You Think I Feel"). Also included was the song for which Elvis won his third (or fifth) award at the Mississippi-Alabama Fair & Dairy Show on October 3, 1945, when he was ten years old, "Old Shep" by Red Foley.

With 11 of the album's 12 tracks recorded in a single set of sessions in September 1956, Presley and his band, along with The Jordanaires, managed to recreate the aural feel of the days at Sun Studio, blending Rhythm & Blues, Country and Western styles like on their first singles. They reinforced this effect by including material that harked back to their time at Sun: "So Glad You're Mine", a Blues by Arthur Crudup, author of "That's All Right (Mama)", and a song recorded by Bluegrass founder Bill Monroe, "When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again".

The album spent four weeks at #1 on the Billboard Top Pop Albums in 1956, making Elvis the first artist to have two albums at number one in the same year. It was certified Gold on February 17, 1960 and Platinum on August 10, 2011 by the RIAA.

RCA again used the strategy of saturating the market by releasing the LP songs in other formats. Although not counting as many EPs and singles as the LP ELVIS PRESLEY, this work was divided into three other releases in October 1956 and January 1957, the latter linked to the single "Playing For Keeps / Too Much", recorded in the same sessions of September.

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Title:

Elvis, Volume 1

Label:

RCA Victor [EPA 992]

Format:

Number of tracks:

Running time:

9:30

Type of album:

Studio / Compilation

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

September 1 - 3, 1956

Released:

October 19, 1956

Singles:

---

Elvis, Volume 1 was the first EP to redistribute the content of the LP ELVIS, released on the same day. It contained four tracks present on the aforementioned album, all from the September 1956 sessions. The work includes the following tracks:

ORIGINAL EP

SIDE A

1. Rip it Up

2. Love Me

SIDE B

3. When My Blue Moon Turns to Gold Again

4. Paralyzed

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Title:

Elvis, Volume 1

Label:

RCA Victor [EPA 993]

Format:

Number of tracks:

Running time:

11:00

Type of album:

Studio / Compilation

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

January 30, September 2 & 3, 1956

Released:

October 19, 1956

Singles:

---

Elvis, Volume 2 was the second EP to redistribute the content of the ELVIS LP. It contained four other tracks present on the aforementioned album, three of them from the September sessions and "So Glad You're Mine" as a leftover from January 1956. The work includes the following tracks:

ORIGINAL EP

SIDE A

1. So Glad You're Mine

2. Old Shep

SIDE B

3. Ready Teddy

4. Anyplace is Paradise

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Title:

Strictly Elvis

Label:

RCA Victor [EPA 994]

Format:

Number of tracks:

Running time:

10:00

Type of album:

Studio / Compilation

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1956

Recorded:

September 1 - 3, 1956

Released:

January 25, 1957

Singles:

---

Strictly Elvis was the third EP and last work to redistribute the content of the ELVIS LP. It contained the four tracks from the aforementioned album that had not yet been re-released, all from the September 1956 sessions. The work includes the following tracks:

ORIGINAL EP

SIDE A

1. Long Tall Sally

2. First in Line

SIDE B

3. How do You Think I Feel

4. How's the World Treating You

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RECORDING SESSIONS

Dates:

January 30; September 1, 2 & 3, 1956

Studio:

RCA Studio 1
Radio Recorders Studio 1

Location:

New York, New York

Hollywood, California

Musicians:

Voice: Elvis Presley
Guitar: Elvis Presley
Electric guitar: Scotty Moore
Bass: Bill Black
Drums: D. J. Fontana
Piano: Elvis presley, Gordon Stoker
Backing Vocals: The Jordanaires

Sound engineer / Rrcording engineer:

Thorne Nogar, Ernie Oehlrich

JANUARY 30, 1956
Blue Suede Shoes G2WB 1230-10
My Baby Left Me G2WB 1231-09
One-Sided Love Affair G2WB 1232-08
So Glad You're Mine G2WB 1233-10

SEPTEMBER 1, 1956
Playing For Keeps G2WB 4920-SP
Love Me G2WB 4921-09
Paralyzed
I Need You So
How Do You Think I Feel G2WB 4923-07
How's The World Treating You G2WB 4924-07

SEPTEMBER 2, 1956
Paralyzed
When My Blue Moon Turns To Gold Again G2WB 4925-10
Long Tall Sally G2WB 4926-04
Old Shep G2WB 4927-01
Paralyzed (Insert)
Paralyzed (Composite) G2WB 4922-SP
Too Much G2WB 4928-12
Too Much (Insert)
Too Much (Composite) G2WB 4928-SP
Anyplace Is Paradise G2WB 4929-22

SEPTEMBER 3, 1956
Ready Teddy G2WB 4930-12
First In Line G2WB 4931-27
Rip It Up G2WB 4932-19

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SESSION LOGS