Maps of Music

From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee (1976)

Where the lyrics of From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee take you, and where it was really made.

The album says its songs were 'recorded live', but none of them were played before an audience: they were recorded in a studio set up inside Presley's Graceland mansion.

Key places

Recorded at Graceland (1976)

Recording site Graceland — All songs on the album were recorded at Graceland in Memphis. The sessions took place in a studio set up inside Presley's mansion, with no audience present. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• From Elvis Presley Boulevard, Memphis, Tennessee is the twenty-third studio album by Elvis Presley
• Released by RCA Records in May 1976
• Presley's fourth album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard country music album sales chart within the last four years
• Certified Gold by the RIAA on 10 October 1977
• Often assumed to be a concert album, although its songs were recorded in a studio

Background

• 'Hurt' was a top 10 hit on both the country and adult contemporary charts
• 'Hurt' also made the pop top 30
• 'For the Heart' stalled at No. 45 on the country charts
• Both songs found country chart success again in the 1980s

Recording

• All songs were recorded at Graceland, Memphis
• 'Recorded live' here means the songs were cut in the studio set up in Presley's mansion, not in front of an audience
• Two session songs, 'Moody Blue' and 'She Thinks I Still Care', were released the following year on Presley's final album, Moody Blue
• Presley sang lead vocals; James Burton played lead guitar, except on 'Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain'
• Ron Tutt played drums
• J.D. Sumner & The Stamps, Kathy Westmoreland and Myrna Smith sang background vocals
• Bergen White arranged the strings and horns
• Overdubbed parts were added by Sherrill Nielsen, Dolores Edgin, Wendellyn Suits, Hurschel Wiginton, Chip Young, Dennis Linde, Shane Keister and Farrell Morris
• Engineers were Al Pachucki, Brian Christian, Ron Olson, Tom Brown and Tom Pick; Larry Schnapf was director of engineering

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Born January 8, 1935 in Tupelo, Mississippi; family moved to Memphis, Tennessee when he was 13.
• Began his career in 1954 at Sun Records with producer Sam Phillips, who wanted to bring African-American music to a wider audience.
• Recorded "That's All Right" with guitarist Scotty Moore and bassist Bill Black in July 1954.
• A pioneer of rockabilly, a fusion of country music and rhythm and blues.

Members

• Classic quartet: Presley (vocals, guitar), Scotty Moore (lead guitar), Bill Black (bass), and D. J. Fontana (drums), who joined in 1955.

Career

• RCA Victor acquired his contract in 1955 for $40,000; "Heartbreak Hotel" hit number one in the US in 1956.
• Became a leading figure of rock and roll, though his style was considered a threat to white American youth by some.
• Made his film debut in Love Me Tender (1956) and devoted much of the 1960s to Hollywood films.
• Returned to the stage with the 1968 NBC special Elvis, followed by a Las Vegas residency and tours.
• Gave the first solo-artist concert broadcast worldwide, Aloha from Hawaii, in 1973.
• Died August 16, 1977 at Graceland, aged 42.
• Estimated to have sold 500 million records worldwide; won three Grammy Awards.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• 'Hurt' reached the top 10 on both the country and adult contemporary charts
• 'Hurt' reached the pop top 30
• 'For the Heart' stalled at No. 45 on the country charts

Reappraisal

• 'For the Heart' became the first single for the Judds in 1983
• Juice Newton took her version of 'Hurt' to No. 1 in 1986
• Both songs found success on the country charts again in the 1980s

Records

• Presley's fourth album to reach No. 1 on the Billboard country music album sales chart within the last four years
• Certified Gold by the RIAA on 10 October 1977

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Two session songs, 'Moody Blue' and 'She Thinks I Still Care', were released the following year on Presley's final album, Moody Blue
• In 2000 the album's tracks were added to Moody Blue to create an expanded 19-track CD
• In 2000 a two-disc edition of this album was issued on the Follow That Dream label
• A 2012 Follow That Dream CD edition is listed among the releases

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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