The Sonic Swagger of Elvis Presley: A Critical History of the Early Recordings

by Gary Parker

Overview

Elvis Presley's clever manipulation of his numerous interests remains one of the music world's great marvels. His synthesis of country, rhythm & blues and gospel resulted in an inventive mixture of hair-raising rock & roll and balladry. This book focuses on the music of Presley's groundbreaking early years and includes a comprehensive analysis of every Presley recording session from the 1950s. Chapters show how Presley, with one foot in delta mud and the other in a country hoedown, teamed with Scotty Moore and Bill Black to fuse two distinctly American musical forms--country and blues--to form what would come to be known as "rockabilly." Also detailed is Presley's influence on music and how his contributions are still celebrated today.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781476684314
Publisher:	McFarland & Company, Incorporated Publishers
Publication date:	05/13/2022
Pages:	322
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Gary Parker is the author of numerous works well reviewed in such publications as the Los Angeles Times and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. He resides in Palm Springs, California (website www.garyparkerwriter.com).

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments vii

Preface 1

1 A Mess of Blues 5

• Shake Rag 16

2 Memphis 18

• Beale Street 20

3 The Memphis Recording Service 26

4 "Just play what you feel" 34

• Scotty Moore 38

• Bill Black 41

5 Good Rockin' Tonight 44

• The Music-July 5-6, 1954-Sun Studios, Memphis 44

6 "That's a pop song, nearly about" 50

• The Music-July 9, 1954-Sun Studios, Memphis 50

7 We're Gonna Move 59

• The Music-August, September 1954-Sun Studios 62

8 Andreas Cornells van Kuijk 72

9 Got a Lot o' Livin' to Do 75

• The Music-November, December 1954-Sun Studios, Memphis 77

10 Playing for Keeps 80

• The Music-February 1955-Sun Studios, Memphis 82

• The Music-March 1955-Sun Studios, Memphis 87

11 Sneaking Around Through Music 91

• The Music-July 11, 1955-Sun Studios, Memphis 91

• The Music-November 1955-Sun Studios, Memphis 97

12 RCA 102

• The Music-January 10-11, 1956-RCA Studios, Nashville 104

13 Promised Land 107

• The Music-January 30-31, February 3, 1956-RCA Studios, New York 109

14 Steppin' Out of Line 115

• The Music-April 14, 1956-RCA Studios, Nashville 120

• Too Hot to Handle 121

15 First in Line 131

• The Music-July 2, 1956-RCA Studios, New York 131

• The Music-August 24, September 4-5, October 1, 1956-Fox Studios, Hollywood 135

• The Music-September 1-3, 1956-Radio Recorders, Hollywood 137

16 Rip It Up 140

17 Always the Last to Leave 146

18 Slowly but Surely 149

• The Music-January 12-13, 1957-Radio Recorders, Hollywood 152

• The Music-January 15-18, 21-22-Paramount Sound Stage, Hollywood; February 14, 1957-Radio Recorders, Hollywood 156

• The Music-February 23-24, 1957-Radio Recorders, Hollywood 158

19 Blues Poetry 162

• The Music-April 30, May 3, 1957-Radio Recorders, Hollywood; May 9, 1957-MGM Soundstage, Hollywood 166

20 Trouble 173

• The Music-September 5-7, 1957-Radio Recorders, Hollywood 174

21 Blue Moon 180

22 Way Down 185

• The Music-King Creole Soundtrack Sessions-January 15-16, 23, 1958-Radio Recorders, Hollywood; February 11, 1958-Paramount Studios, Hollywood 188

• The Music-RCA Studio Session-February 1, 1958-Radio Recorders, Hollywood 193

• Last Stop on the Mystery Train 197

23 The Men as Musicians 198

• Scotty Moore 199

• D.J. Fontana 201

• Bill Black 202

• Elvis Presley 203

24 The Secret Recording Session 209

• The Music-June 10, 1958-RCA Studio B, Nashville 209

25 "Everything I have is gone" 219

26 Any Way You Want Me 222

• The Music-March 20, 1960-RCA Studio B, Nashville 227

• The Music-April 3, 1960-RCA Studio B, Nashville 231

27 Too Much Monkey Business 236

28 Don't Leave Me Now 241

• The Music-September 10-11, 1967-RCA Studio B, Nashville 241

• Singer Presents Elvis 242

• The Music-January 13-16, 20-23, 1969-American Studios, Memphis 246

29 Flaming Star 249

30 Pinning Presley Down 259

31 The Sublimes 268

32 Diamonds Amidst the Dross 277

Appendix A The Strange Case of Andreas Cornelis van Kuijk 287

Appendix B Hank Garland 289

Appendix C The Movies 298

Bibliography 303

Index 307