Saturday 25 April 2015

This Is The Story - 26 August 1969 Midnight Show

Only the second song that Elvis recorded during those landmark recording sessions at American Sound Studios in Memphis in 1969.
This rare live recording first appeared on the 1991 RCA/BMG box set Collectors Gold. In 2005 FTD released the entire 26 August 1969 Midnight Show from which this song was performed and put the song into it's proper context. This is also the show which produced the now legendary laughing version of Are You Lonesome Tonight,
26 August 1969 was a strange night as far as the setlist was concerned as the two shows also produced the only live performances of Rubberneckin' and Inherit The Wind especially since August 69 probably had the most rigid setlist that Elvis would employ with rarities at a premium.
Considering this was Elvis' first live performance in eight and a half years this was understandable with band and singers all new, a tight setlist keeps any problems with unfamiliarity at a minimum and creates a comfort zone.
As Elvis' confidence increased the rarities appeared, this track was performed a full four weeks into the engagement.
The actual reason for performing this 'Memphis trio' was actually for inclusion in what would become 'Elvis In Person' a fact Elvis tells the audience before singing Inherit The Wind at the Dinner Show, odd therefore that all three were ommited from the album and were only officially released 24 years later!




Only Believe (27/01/71 MS) only live performance

The three day Nashville sessions at RCA's Studio B from June 5-9, 1970 provided material for two of Elvis' most varied and contemporary albums - That's The Way It Is and Elvis Country. There was, however, enough material left over for a third album - Love Letters from Elvis. Having already produced two top drawer albums the third album, by definition, would be filled with the sessions leftovers and it suffers as a result. The blame for this lies not with Elvis but with RCA as the album was poorly conceived and poorly marketed, a trend that would continue right up to the millennium until SONY, having taken over BMG/RCA and by default the Elvis back catalogue, attempted to reverse that trend with varying success.
In the latter part of 1970 Elvis included songs from the first two albums in his setlist and this would continue into his next Vegas engagement although which of these included would vary show to show. For example, Bridge Over Troubled Water, which was sung at most shows in August would appear only three times and all at the end of the engagement.
The only song from the third album, Love letters from Elvis, to ever be performed on stage was this one time only perfromance of Only Believe which appeared at the Midnight show on 27 January - the third show of the engagement.


How Great Thou Art - First time recorded live

Elvis Presley won only three Grammy's in his lifetime all for spiritual performances. Whilst a travesty that he only won three and none for contemporary material it is perhaps no surprise that the Grammy's he did win were for the music closest to his heart - gospel music. For the record those three Grammy's were - Best Sacred Performance 1967 (How Great Thou Art album); Best Inspirational Performance 1972 (He Touched Me abum) and Best Inspirational Performance Song 1974 (How great Thou Art). In 1993 he was awareded a posthoumus Grammy for the double 1-side Hound Dog / Don't Be Cruel as best rock song.
When Elvis began singing 'How Great Thou Art' live in November 1970 his next grammy win was still 18 months away and an award for this particular song 4 years away.
The studio master of 'How Great Thou Art' was recorded in Nashville at RCA's studio B on 25 May 1966 at a session specifically arranged to produce a gospel album.
The first live release of this song was on the 'Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis' album and this would bring his third grammy but this would be the only live perfromance officially released in his lifetime although the 'Elvis In Concert' album released just after his death would contain another live version.
Elvis also performed two, possibly three versions in front of movie or TV cameras but both would only appear posthumously. MGM fllmed one possibly two for 'Elvis - On Tour', the first during the evening show at Hampton Roads on 9 April 1972 which was first seen on 'The Lost Performances' and in San Antonio on 18 April 1972 and some songs from this show were included in 'On Tour'. The other version filmed was of course that filmed by the CBS cameras in Omaha, Nebraska on 19 June 1977 for what would become 'Elvis In Concert' and this would also become the final live performance of 'How Great Thou Art'
As the 70's progressed the song would come and go. sometimes ommitted from complete tours or Vegas engagements, sometimes performed at most shows and the delivery of the song would also progress. It would begin as it did in this show almost identical to the master the sincerity and emotion almost disguising the power behind Elvis' vocal performance, similarly to that Grammy winner in 74. From 1975 however Elvis would begin the chorus with a stirring powerful top A which would often be followed by a reprise.
This version was recorded in Portland, Oregon on 11 November 1970 and is actually the second live performance as the first was the previous night in the Oakland Coliseum but unfortunately there is no recording of that show either on soundboard or as an audience recording so this is the first live recording available albeit 24 hours late!!



Friday 24 April 2015

First Live perfromance of Burning Love

It is a common misconception that the first live perfromance of 'Burning Love' was in San Antonio, Texas on 18 April 1972, the one shown in the movie Elvis On Tour. The fact is however, that the first live performance took place four nights earlier in Greensboro, North Carolina, also a show filmed for 'On Tour' and was sung directly after the version of American Trilogy used in the movie.
The studio master was recorded just over a fortnight earlier on 28 March at RCA's Studio C in Hollywood, California. After those two performances in April, Elvis would not sing the song live again until 18 August Dinner Show in Vegas and then not again until 8 November during the first show of Tour #7 in Lubbock, Texas and out of the 11 shows on that tour it would be sung at all but two including the final three at the H.I.C. in Honolulu.
Elvis' next two live performances would also be at the H.I.C. in Honolulu eight weeks later - Aloha from Hawaii on 12 and 14 January and Burning Love would also be performed but apart from three shows in Vegas later in January it would be dropped completely for more than two years.
During Elvis' first show of 1975, the opening Vegas show on 18 March it would reappear and become almost a permanent fixture throughout that year but in 76 it would come and go on a show by show basis before it's final appearance in Fort Wayne as the show's penultimate number on 25 October.
As yet this show has not been officially released on CD but the original MGM audio has been replaced by that from an excellent soundboard recording of the show titled 'Blue Owl In Greensboro'.