EAP Index World: Such a Night (EP

Title:

Such a Night

Label:

RCA Victor [EPA 4361]

Format:

Number of tracks:

Running time:

9:55

Type of album:

Studio / compilation

Linked to:

Official discography

Year:

1960

Recorded:

March 20 - April 4, 1960

Released:

July 5, 1960

Singles:

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Such a Night is Elvis' first EP on his return to the US after serving two years in the army in Germany, released only outside the United States.

With songs recorded in four days in late March and early April 1960, it aimed to promote the album "Elvis is Back!", the first LP of that year and Elvis' first major work in nearly two years.

During his final months in the military, Presley worked on new sounds and on improving his performance, also preparing material for his first session in Nashville, which was scheduled to take place on his return. In the meantime Colonel Parker negotiated new terms with RCA, obtaining a raise in Presley's salary and an appearance on The Frank Sinatra Show.

While in Germany, Charlie Hodge had taught him techniques to improve his breathing and expand his range, and Presley had added a full octave to his vocal range when he returned to the US. His new voice was further aided by a new three-track recorder at RCA, and to further improve the recording, Telefunken U-47 microphones - the first condenser microphone that could switch between omnidirectional and cardioid patterns - were installed.

On March 20 and 21, 1960, the singer recorded with his original band The Blue Moon Boys, except bassist Bill Black. For his first recording session, Presley considered "Soldier Boy", "I Will Be Home Again", "Such a Night" and "Like a Baby". The first song recorded was Otis Blackwell's "Make Me Know It", which was completed in nineteen takes, followed by "Soldier Boy", the singles "Stuck on You" and "Fame and Fortune", "A Mess of Blues" - which ended up a left over - and "It Feels So Right".

The original musicians returned to the studio on the night of April 3rd to record "Fever", followed by a reworked version of "O Sole Mio", now titled "It's Now or Never" and which required all of Elvis' strength and technique to achieve the final note, "Girl Next Door Went A-Walking" and "Thrill of Your Love". "Are You Lonesome Tonight", scrapped for the album and released as a single, was followed by "I Will Be Home Again" - a duet with Charlie Hodge - and the session ended with Lowell Fulson's "Reconsider Baby", with Presley performing lead guitar with his Gibson Super 400.

The first single linked to Elvis Is Back!, "Stuck on You", was released two days after recording with "Fame and Fortune" on the B-side, attracting 1.4 million pre-orders, and being the first single of Presley to be released in stereo.

Elvis Is Back! represented a new sound for Presley and took him more towards the pop music side, but when it hit stores on April 8, 1960, in both stereo and mono versions, reaching number two on the Billboard Top LPs, RCA took the sale of only 300 thousand copies as a bad result.

Since 1958, the label had hoped that Elvis's return to the country and recordings after almost two years without any contact with the public would generate a much greater impact on the sales of his new albums, which, for it, had not happened with the new work. It was time to redefine marketing strategies, thought the heads of RCA.

But an unexpected move took place at the end of June and, to the general surprise within the label, the album was well received and appeared at the top of the chart in the UK. The immediate action was to create something that would quickly promote the record and increase sales. The label's market research pointed out that some tracks were more popular than others in the UK, so that's where RCA got its start.

For most Brits, "Such a Night" was the most interesting of the tracks on the album, so the label ordered an EP with the song as the title track, which should only be released outside the US as soon as possible. The other three tracks were songs from the album that also brought in some positive reviews from the public - "It Feels So Right", "Like a Baby" and "Make Me Know it".

Released on July 5, 1960, along with the single "It's Now or Never / A Mess of Blues", the EP had a good reception and helped "Elvis Is Back!" to become a real success. The work includes the following tracks:

ORIGINAL EP

SIDE A

1. Such a Night

2. It Feels So Right

SIDE B

3. Like a Baby

4. Make Me Know it

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RECORDING SESSIONS

Dates:

March 20 and 21 & April 3 and 4, 1960

Studio:

RCA Studio B

Location:

Nashville, Tennessee

Musicians:

Voice: Elvis Presley
Guitar: Elvis Presley
Electric guitar: Elvis Presley. Scotty Moore, Hank Garland
Bass: Bob Moore
Electric bass: Hank Garland
Drums: DJ Fontana, Murray "Buddy" Harman
Piano: Floyd Cramer
Saxophone: Homer "Boots" Randolph
Backing Vocals: The Jordanaires, Charlie Hodge
Sound engineer / Recording engineer:

Steve Sholes / Chet Atkins

MARCH 20 / 21, 1960
Make Me Know it L2WB 0081-19
Soldier Boy L2WB 0082-15
Stuck On You L2WB 0083-03
Fame and Fortune L2WB 0084-SP
A Mess of Blues L2WB 0085-05
It Feels So Right L2WB 0086-05

APRIL 3 / 4, 1960
Fever L2WB 0098-04
Like a Baby L2WB 0099-06
It's Now or Never L2WB 0100-SP
The Girl of My Best Friend L2WB 0101-10
Dirty, Dirty Feeling L2WB 0102-04
Thrill of Your Love L2WB 0103-03
I Gotta Know L2WB 0104-02
Such a Night L2WB 0105-05
Are You Lonesome Tonight? L2WB 0106-05
Are You Lonesome Tonight? (work part)
Are You Lonesome Tonight? (composite) L2WB 0106-SP
Girl Next Door Went A' Walking L2WB 0107-04
I Will Be Home Again L2WB 0108-04
Reconsider Baby L2WB 0109-02

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SESSION LOGS