The Sun Sessions
The Sun Sessions | ||||
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RCA Victor | ||||
Producer | Sam Phillips | |||
Elvis Presley chronology | ||||
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The Sun Sessions is a
In 2002, The Sun Sessions was chosen by the
Recording
The album features most of the
Phillips said that Presley was rehearsing with his band, Scotty Moore and Bill Black, when Presley started singing the song, a blues song written by Arthur "Big Boy" Crudup. Phillips said that the version of the song was what he was looking for when he signed Presley, and turned the tape recorder on.
Elvis recorded more than 20 songs at Sun, including some private recordings. Of these, 15 appear on this album.
Missing songs:
- "Harbor Lights"
- "Tomorrow Night"
- "When It Rains, It Really Pours"
- "I Got a Woman" (tape lost)
- "Satisfied" (tape lost)
- The earlier private recordings
In 1987, RCA Records released The Complete Sun Sessions which included all 15 tracks previously issued on The Sun Sessions plus "Harbor Lights", "Tomorrow Night", "When It Rains, It Really Pours", and 14 other outtakes. Although the album claims to contain the Complete Sun recordings, the collection was still missing "I Got a Woman", "Satisfied" and the earlier private recordings.
Commercial performance
The Sun Sessions was released in March 1976 and reached No. 76 on the pop and No. 2 on the country charts.
The single "Baby, Let's Play House" combined with "I'm Left, You're Right, She's Gone" reached No. 5 on the country charts in 1955. Also, RCA Victor saw that Elvis was rapidly building a reputation for his live performances. They offered Sun Records $35,000 to buy out Presley's contract.
The single
Reception and legacy
Review scores | |
---|---|
Source | Rating |
Encyclopedia of Popular Music | [3] |
The Rolling Stone Album Guide | [4] |
Sputnikmusic | 5/5[5] |
After The Sun Sessions was released, Village Voice critic Robert Christgau hailed The Sun Sessions as "the rock reissue of the year", writing in that along with Chuck Berry's Golden Decade, its songs represented the wellspring of rock music.[6] He later included it in his "basic record library" of essential albums from the 1950s and 1960s, published in Christgau's Record Guide: Rock Albums of the Seventies (1981).[7]
In 2003, the albums 1999 extended 2CD reissue was ranked No. 11 on
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Recording date | Length |
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1. | " I'll Never Let You Go (Little Darlin')" (RCA 1956) | Jimmy Wakely | September, 1954 | 2:26 |
4. | "I Love You Because" (RCA 1956, 1st version) | Leon Payne | July 5, 1954 | 2:33 |
5. | "Tryin' to Get to You" (RCA 1956) | Rose Marie McCoy, Charles Singleton | July 21, 1955 | 2:33 |
6. | "Blue Moon" (RCA 1956) | Richard Rodgers, Lorenz Hart | August 19, 1954 | 2:41 |
7. | "Just Because" (RCA 1956) | Sydney Robin, Bob Shelton, Joe Shelton | September, 1954 | 2:34 |
8. | "I Love You Because" (RCA 1974; 2nd version) | Leon Payne | July 5, 1954 | 3:25 |
Note
- The last six tracks are original Sun recordings, but were not issued until 1956 on Presley's first album for RCA Victor. They were never released on the Sun label.
Personnel
- vocals, acoustic guitar, pianoon "Trying to Get to You"
- Scotty Moore – electric guitar
- Bill Black – double bass
- Jimmie Lott – D.J. Fontana)
- Johnny Bernero – drums on "I Forgot to Remember to Forget" and "Trying to Get to You" (erroneously attributed to D.J. Fontana)
Charts
Chart (1976) | Peak position |
---|---|
US Billboard 200[13] | 76 |
US Country Albums[13] | 2 |
Chart (1977) | Peak position |
---|---|
UK Albums Chart[14] | 16 |
References
- ^ "Elvis began his singing at the honorable Sun Records label in Memphis". Graceland. Retrieved 30 November 2016.
- ^ a b AllMusic
- ISBN 0195313739.
- ISBN 0394721071.
- ^ Sputnikmusic review
- ^ Christgau, Robert (April 26, 1976). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York. Retrieved September 20, 2015.
- ISBN 089919026X. Retrieved March 10, 2019 – via robertchristgau.com.
- ^ "500 Greatest Albums: The Sun Sessions – Elvis Presley". Rolling Stone. 31 May 2009. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
- ^ "500 Greatest Albums of All Time Rolling Stone's definitive list of the 500 greatest albums of all time". Rolling Stone. 2012. Retrieved September 23, 2019.
- ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. 22 September 2020.
- ISBN 978-1-59530-162-8.
- ISBN 978-0840029768.
- ^ Rovi Corporation. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
- ^ "Chart Archive: Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – 17th September 1977". Official Charts Company. Retrieved July 22, 2011.
External links
- The Sun Sessions at Discogs (list of releases)