EAP Index World: Fun in Acapulco (Single/LP

Title:

Fun in Acapulco

Label:

RCA Victor [LPM 2756]

Format:

Number of tracks:

Running time:

30:00

Type of album:

Soundtrack

Linked to:

Official discography; Fun in Acapulco, 1963

Year:

1963

Recording date:

January 22 - May 27, 1963

Release date:

November 15, 1963

Singles:

"Bossa Nova Baby / Witchcraft" (Oct. 1, 1963)

Fun in Acapulco is Elvis' thirteenth soundtrack album and 25th LP for RCA. The work features the soundtrack of the 1963 film of the same name, set in Mexico and co-starring Ursula Andress.

The third of his "tropical travel films" for Paramount Pictures, following "Blue Hawaii" and "Girls! Girls! Girls!", it finds the King of Rock having fun in Mexico. For its soundtrack, Elvis' standard cast of composers delivered songs to match the tone of the plot, with titles such as "Marguerita", "El Toro", "You Can't Say No in Acapulco" and "The Bullfighter Was a Lady", also including the 1937 hit in the voice of Pepe Guízar, "Guadalajara".

With the change from the normal routine, and the addition of trumpeters Rudolph Loera and Anthony Terran, Elvis engaged with the material with greater enthusiasm than on recent tracks.

"Bossa Nova Baby" hit stores a month before the soundtrack, on a single that featured the non-film track "Witchcraft" on the B-side. The fact that the Bossa Nova craze of the 1960s was a Brazilian rather than Mexican phenomenon mattered little, as the single peaked at number 8 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number 20 on the R&B singles chart.

To compensate for the short length of the "It Happened at the World's Fair" soundtrack, which had just 10 songs spread over a mere 20 minutes, Parker insisted on making "Fun in Acapulco" an album with excellent value for money. To this end, two extra tracks, "Love Me Tonight" and "Slowly But Surely" were taken from the aborted May 1963 sessions and added here to bring the album to thirteen tracks and 30 minutes in length.

The last soundtrack for an Elvis film before the arrival of Beatlemania in the US, it had a much greater success than expected and reached 3rd place among the best-selling albums of 1963.

The album never received an official re-release until 2003, when FTD released an edition that contained the original LP along with numerous alternate takes. The complete recording sessions would also be made available by the label in 2019.

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RECORDING SESSIONS

Date:

January 22 - May 27, 1963

Studio:

Radio Recorders

RCA Studio B

Location:

Hollywood, California
Nashville, Tennessee

Musicians:

Voice: Elvis Presley
Electric guitar: Scotty Moore, Bernie Kessel, Hilmer J 'Tiny' Timbrell, Harold Bradley
Bass: Ray Siegal, Bob Moore
Drums: DJ Fontana, Hal Baline, Murray 'Buddy' Harman
Percussion: Emil Raddocchia
Piano: Dudley Brooks, Floyd Cramer
Mandolin: Hilmer J 'Tiny' Timbrell
Trumpet: Anthony Terran, Rudolph Loera
Saxophone: Homer 'Boots' Randolph
Maracas: Homer 'Boots' Randolph
Matraca: Homer 'Boots' Randolph
Backing Vocals: The Jordanaires, The Amigo's, Millie Kirkham

Sound engineer / Recording engineer:

Bill Porter, Dave Wiechman

JANUARY 22, 1963
Bossa Nova Baby PPA3 4431-11
I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here PPA3 4430-SP
Mexico PPA3 4425-05
Mexico (Track) (1:58) (Movie Version?)
Mexico (Movie Version - Vocal Overdub)
The Bullfighter Was A Lady PPA3 4428-SP
Marguerita PPA3 4427-08
Vino, Dinero Y Amor PPA3 4424-05
Vino, Dinero Y Amor (The Amigos - Club Version)
Vino, Dinero Y Amor (The Amigos - Boat Version)

JANUARY 23, 1963
(There's No) Room To Rhumba In A Sports Car PPA3 4429-01
Fun In Acapulco PPA3 4423-01
El Toro PPA3 4426-SP
I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here (Remake) WPA5 2540-SP
The Bullfighter Was A Lady (Remake) WPA5 2541-17
You Can't Say No In Acapulco PPA3 4432-05
Malaguena (Track)
Guadalajara (Track)

FEBRUARY 27, 1963
Guadalajara (Vocal Overdub) PPA3 4433-SP

MAY 26, 1963
Echoes Of Love PPA4 0290-10
Please Don't Drag That String Around PPA4 0291-06
(You're The) Devil In Disguise PPA4 0292-06
Never Ending PPA4 0293-03
What Now, What Next, Where To PPA4 0294-01
Witchcraft PPA4 0295-03
Finders Keepers, Losers Weepers PPA4 0296-03
Love Me Tonight PPA4 0297-08

MAY 27, 1963
Memphis, Tennessee PPA4 0302-02
(It's A) Long Lonely Highway (Single Version) PPA4 0303-01
(It's A) Long Lonely Highway (Album Version) PPA4 0303-02
Ask Me PPA4 0304-02
Western Union PPA4 0305-04
Slowly But Surely PPA4 0306-05
Blue River SPA4 6768-02
Blue River SPA4 7357-SP
Ask Me (Alternate Master) PPA4 0304-06

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SESSION LOGS

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RELATED SINGLE AND LP TRACKS (RCA, 1963)

BOSSA NOVA BABY (SINGLE)

October 1, 1963

1. Bossa Nova Baby

2. Witchcraft

FUN IN ACAPULCO (LP)

November 15, 1963

1. Fun in Acapulco

2. Vino, Dinero y Amor

3. Mexico

4. El Toro

5. Marguerita

6. The Bullfighter Was a Lady

7. (There's) No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car

8. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here

9. Bossa Nova Baby

10. You Can't Say No in Acapulco

11. Guadalajara

12. Love Me Tonight

13. Slowly But Surely

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FTD VERSIONS

Title:

Fun in Acapulco

Label:

FTD [FTD 022] [828765 040723]

Format:

Number of tracks:

Running time:

69:30

Type of album:

Soundtrack / Recording sessions

Linked to:

FTD discography

Year:

2003

Recording date:

January 22 - May 27, 1963

Release date:

April 10, 2003

Singles:

---

Once again FTD does an excellent job in restoring RCA tapes to bring all possible content about the film's soundtrack. Even so, not all of the material found was made available, since all the sessions already exist on bootlegs and the record company's intention was to emphasize the best takes. FTD complements the work with a luxurious booklet full of behind-the-scenes photos, posters, LP covers from around the world and other memorabilia.

The work includes the following tracks:

ORIGINAL ALBUM

1. Fun in Acapulco

2. Vino, Dinero y Amor

3. Mexico

4. El Toro

5. Marguerita

6. The Bullfighter Was a Lady

7. (There's) No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car

8. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here

9. Bossa Nova Baby

10. You Can't Say No in Acapulco

11. Guadalajara

12. Love Me Tonight

13. Slowly But Surely

OUTTAKES

14. Mexico (Take 7)

15. The Bullfighter Was a Lady (Remake, take 17)

16. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Remake, Takes 18 & 19)

17. Bossa Nova Baby (Takes 1, 2)

18. The Bullfighter Was a Lady (Takes 4, 5 & 6)

19. Marguerita (Take 6)

20. I Think I'm Gonna Like It Here (Take 1)

21. Mexico (Takes 1 & 2)

22. You Can't Say No in Acapulco (Takes 1, 2, 3 & 4)

23. Guadalajara (Voice Over, Take 2)

24. Bossa Nova Baby (Take 3)

25. Mexico (Take 6)

26. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Remake, Takes 11, 12 & 13)

27. Guadalajara (Voice Over, Takes 3 & 4)

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Title:

The Fun in Acapulco Sessions

Label:

FTD [FTD 180] [506020 975135]

Format:

3x CD

Number of tracks:

Running time:

222:00

Type of album:

Soundtrack / Recording sessions

Linked to:

FTD discography

Year:

2019

Recording date:

January 22 - February 27, 1963

Release date:

March 2019

Singles:

---

After extensive work recovering the original tapes, FTD finally released the complete soundtrack recording sessions, not including the May 1963 extras sessions, accompanied by a 28-page booklet with rare photos and detailed information about the original album and film.

The work includes the following tracks:

CD 1

ORIGINAL ALBUM

1. Fun in Acapulco

2. Vino, Dinero y Amor

3. Mexico

4. El Toro

5. Marguerita

6. The Bullfighter Was a Lady

7. No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car

8. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here

9. Bossa Nova Baby

10. You Can't Say No in Acapulco

11. Guadalajara

ORIGINAL BONUS TRACKS

12. Love Me Tonight

13. Slowly But Surely

JANUARY 22, 1963 SESSIONS

14. Bossa Nova Baby (Takes 1-2)

15. Bossa Nova Baby (Take 3)

16. Bossa Nova Baby (Takes 4-5)

17. Bossa Nova Baby (Take 6)

18. Bossa Nova Baby (Takes 7-8)

19. Bossa Nova Baby (Take 9)

20. Bossa Nova Baby (Takes 10 & 11 [Master])

21. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Take 1 - Record version)

22. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Takes 2-5 - Record version)

23. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Takes 6-7 - Record version)

24. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Takes 8-9 - Record version)

25. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Splice takes 10 & 7 [Master] - Record version)

26. Mexico (Takes 1-2 - Record version)

27. Mexico (Takes 3-4 - Record version)

28. Mexico (Take 5 [Master] - Record version)

CD 2

JANUARY 22, 1963 SESSIONS (CONTINUED)

1. Mexico (Take 6)

2. Mexico (Take 7 [Alternate Master])

3. Mexico (Instrumental takes 1-2 & 3 [Master])

4. The Bullfighter Was a Lady (Takes 1-3 - Record version)

5. The Bullfighter Was a Lady (Takes 4-6 - Record version)

6. The Bullfighter Was a Lady (Take 7 - Record version)

7. The Bullfighter Was a Lady (Takes 8-9 - Record version)

8. The Bullfighter Was a Lady (Splice of takes 9 & 7 [Master] - Record version)

9. Marguerita (Take 1)

10. Marguerita (Takes 2-6)

11. Marguerita (Takes 7 & 8 [Master])

12. Vino, Dinero y Amor (Take 1)

13. Vino, Dinero y Amor (Takes 2-3)

14. Vino, Dinero y Amor (Take 4)

15. Vino, Dinero y Amor (Take 5 [Master])

16. Vino, Dinero y Amor (The Amigos, cafe version take 1)

17. Vino, Dinero y Amor (The Amigos, cafe version take 2)

18. Vino, Dinero y Amor (The Amigos, cafe version take 3)

19. Vino, Dinero y Amor (The Amigos, cafe version take 4 [Master])

20. Vino, Dinero y Amor (The Amigos, boat version takes 1-2 & 3 [Master])

JANUARY 23, 1963 SESSIONS

21. No Room to Rhumba in a Sports Car (Take 1 [Master])

22. Fun in Acapulco (Take 1 [Master])

23. El Toro (Take 1)

24. El Toro (Take 2)

25. El Toro (Splice of takes 2 & 1 [Master])

26. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Takes 11-13 - Movie version)

27. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Takes 14-15 - Movie version)

28. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Takes 16-18 - Movie version)

29. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Take 19 - Movie version)

CD 3

JANUARY 23, 1963 SESSIONS (CONTINUED)

1. I Think I'm Gonna Like it Here (Splice of takes 19 & 18 [Master] - Movie version)

2. The Bullfighter Was a Lady (Take 10 - Movie version)

3. The Bullfighter Was a Lady (Takes 11-14 - Movie version)

4. The Bullfighter Was a Lady (Takes 15-16 - Movie version)

5. The Bullfighter Was a Lady (Take 17 [Master] - Movie version)

6. Malaguena (Track, take 1)

7. Malaguena (Track, takes 2-10)

8. Malaguena (Track, splice of takes 6 & 10 [Master])

9. You Can't Say No in Acapulco (Takes 1-4)

10. You Can't Say No in Acapulco (Take 5 [Master])

11. Guadalajara (Track, takes 1-2)

12. Guadalajara (Track, takes 3-4)

13. Guadalajara (Track, take 5)

14. Guadalajara (Track, takes 6-7)

15. Guadalajara (Track, splice of takes 1, 5 & 7 [Master])

FEBRUARY 27, 1963 SESSIONS

16. Guadalajara (V.O. takes 1-2)

17. Guadalajara (V.O. takes 3-4)

18. Guadalajara (V.O. takes 5-6)

19. Guadalajara (V.O. takes 7-10)

20. Guadalajara (V.O. splice of takes 6 & 2 [Master])

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