THE 'SUMMER CASH' CAMPAIGN

When Shelby Singleton purchased the Sun Records Label in 1969, he started one of the most intensive reissue campaigns ever. In this article, originally published in The Man in Black (Issue #75 - June 2013), we look at the buyout and the subsequent Johnny Cash releases on the Sun International label between 1969 and 1971, a time when Cash’s Columbia career was at an all-time high.

By the mid-sixties Sun Records had been consigned to the past with Phillips being approached by various record companies prepared to buy the label. One of the most persistent was CBS/Columbia who, with Cash on their label, were keen to get all the Sun masters out of circulation. As far back as 1962 Phillips had considered a deal with Mercury Records whereby Sun would act as a production company for the label.

Despite other offers it was in 1969 that Phillips finally found a buyer, Shelby Singleton, a Louisiana businessman who had worked for Mercury as a rep and then in their New York A&R department working in the rhythm & blues market. He then moved into country music and struck gold with Jeannie C. Riley’s Harper Valley PTA.
 
The exact details of the purchase are not known. However, it is believed that Phillips would retain a percentage of the newly formed company, to be called Sun International, and 100% of the publishing company. Phillips would also keep the studio and his sons Jerry and Knox would stay on as independent producers for the new company.

With the ink hardly dry on the contract Singleton loaded all the Sun masters and outtakes onto a truck after giving up the idea to catalogue them first!

It was Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis who interested Singleton the most. Cash’s career was on the rise with a weekly TV Show and the success following the Folsom Prison and San Quentin concerts and albums.

In September 1969 he released a flood of singles on his Sun International label. Called ‘Summer Cash’ the campaign saw all of Cash’s original Sun singles re-issued.

This wasn’t the end of what seemed to be ‘Cashing in’ on his career. Over the next three years Singleton would compile and release a series of albums including three albums of hits and one that pretended to be a live recording.

The last few months of 1969 resulted in a virtual stranglehold on the country charts with product from both Columbia and Sun International charting. It was a similar story on the pop charts with several of the Sun International albums registering in the top 200.

In this article we look at those albums released on Sun International between August 1969 and November 1971 and pick out some of the differences and errors.

Sun Records or Sun International - Spotting The Difference

The easiest way to distinguish between the original Sun releases and those issued on Sun International is the label design which is similar in style with both having yellow and brown printing. However, there are changes in the positioning of certain elements. 

The sun rays on the Sun International albums fan out from the centre hole and cover half the label unlike the original Sun albums where they stop about one-third of the way down. The musical notes which, on the original albums go right around the outer edge of the label with the words ‘Memphis, Tennessee’ at the bottom, only go around the top perimeter on the Sun International label. One other difference is along the bottom. In place of the musical notes and ‘Memphis, Tennessee’ is the wording -‘Sun International Corp. - A Division of the Shelby Singleton Corp. - Nashville, U.S.A.’

 
Original Golden Hits, Volume I (SUN-100 - Released August 1969)

Folsom Prison Blues/Hey Porter/So Doggone Lonesome/There You Go/Next In Line/Cry, Cry, Cry/I Walk The Line/Don’t Make Me Go/Train Of Love/Home of the Blues/Get Rhythm

This release included an alternate take of Cry, Cry, Cry which may have been intentional or a mistake. It would not be the first time an alternate take appeared on one of the Sun International albums. With the inclusion of Folsom Prison Blues, I Walk The Line and Get Rhythm this album was guaranteed to be a popular release with those just discovering Cash’s early recordings. Thirteen weeks on the country chart saw the album rise to #7 while on the pop chart it reached #95 and also spent thirteen weeks in the Top 200

 
Original Golden Hits, Volume II (SUN-101 - Released September 1969)

Ballad Of A Teenage Queen/Come In Stranger/ The Ways Of A Woman In Love/You’re The Nearest Thing To Heaven/I Just Thought You’d Like To Know/Give My Love To Rose/Guess Things Happen That Way/It’s Just About Time/ Luther’s Boogie/Thanks A Lot/Big River/Down The Street To 301/Life Goes On

This second volume of hits, with it’s similar sleeve design as Volume I, peaked at #4 on the country chart during a run of thirty-three weeks. It couldn’t repeat the success on the pop chart where it stayed for just eight weeks rising to #98. Much of the albums success can be put down to the inclusion of Big River, Guess Things Happen That Way and Ballad Of A Teenage Queen, the latter two having a wider appeal than Cash’s usual audience.

 
Story Songs of the Trains and Rivers (SUN-104 - Released October 1969)

Hey Porter/Train of Love/Blue Train/I Heard That Lonesome Whistle/Port Of Lonely Hearts/ The Wreck Of The Old ‘97/Rock Island Line/ Big River/Wide Open Road/Down The Street To 301/Life Goes On

A common theme in many of Cash’s early recordings gave this album its title which included such classics as Hey Porter and Big River. Like Original Golden Hits, Volume I this album also included alternate takes, both Wide Open Road and Wreck Of The Old ‘97. The latter features a slightly different arrangement and one lyrical change. On the released master Cash sings, “They gave him his orders at Monroe, Virginia saying, ‘Steve you’re way behind time.’” However, on this release he sings, “They gave him his orders at Monroe, Virginia they said, ‘Steve you’re way behind time.’” With both Original Golden Hits albums in the top ten of the country chart it was joined in mid-December 1969 by this album which spent twenty-four weeks on the charts and just missed the top spot stalling at #2 during February 1970. It could only manage two weeks on the pop chart where it stuck at #197. It is important to point out that between October 1969 and July 1970 more Sun International albums charted than his current Columbia releases. At times during this period as many as eight albums were in the chart at the same time.

 
Get Rhythm (SUN-105 - Released October 1969)

Get Rhythm/Mean Eyed Cat/You Win Again/ Country Boy/Two Timin’ Woman/Oh Lonesome Me/Luther’s Boogie/Doin’ My Time/New Mexico/Belshazah/Sugartime

Get Rhythm was the fourth Sun International release to be issued in 1969. When issued in 1964 on Original Sun Sound both Belshazah and New Mexico featured overdubbed piano by Bobby Wood. On this release the original undubbed versions are included. Nine weeks on the country chart saw this album reach #30 while a five week run on the pop chart found it stalling at #164. The album featured one of the better cover designs on Cash’s Sun International releases.

 
Showtime (SUN-106 - Released November 1969)

Ballad Of A Teenage Queen/Guess Things Happen That Way/The Wreck Of The Old ‘97/ Folsom Prison Blues/Come In Stranger/Rock Island Line/I Walk The Line/There You Go/Cry Cry Cry/Hey Porter/Big River

Throughout his career Johnny Cash released many live albums including At Folsom Prison, Strawberry Cake and The Survivors. Not so well known is this 1969 release Showtime which appears to be a live recording on which Cash only performs songs from his time at Sun Records. However, buyers would have been disappointed to find that when they put the album on their turntable it turned out to be a compilation of eleven previously released Sun tracks with overdubbed applause. This ‘fake’ live album reached #14 and spent nineteen weeks on the country charts. Eight weeks on the pop chart saw it reach no higher than #181. The fact that both prison albums (Folsom and San Quentin) were also in the chart at the time may have been the reason Showtime did well on the country chart with buyers thinking they were getting another live recording.

 
The Singing Storyteller (SUN-115 - Released 1970)

Goodbye Little Darlin’/Hey Good Lookin’/I Can’t Help It/I Could Never Be Ashamed Of You/I Couldn’t Keep From Crying/I Love You Because/Come In Stranger/Give My Love To Rose/The Ways Of A Woman In Love/You’re The Nearest Thing To Heaven

This was the first Sun International album to include a previously unreleased song, a cover of Marty Robbins I Couldn’t Keep From Crying. It also featured three of the Hank Williams songs , Hey Good Lookin’, I Can’t Help It and I Could Never Be Ashamed Of You, that had appeared previously on the Sun Records EP and LP Sings Hank Williams. This was another of the Sun International albums to feature a good photo and cover design. The Singing Storyteller was the last of the Sun International albums to make an impression on the chart with a high of #45 during a very short two week stay on the country chart. Reaching #186 with just three weeks on the pop chart saw the end of the Sun International dominance of the charts.

The Legend (SUN 2-118 - Released March 1970) (2-LP set)

Disc 1: Folsom Prison Blues/Hey Porter/So Doggone Lonesome/There You Go/Next In Line/Cry Cry Cry/I Walk The Line/Don’t Make Me Go/ Train Of Love/Home Of The Blues/Get Rhythm Disc 2: Ballad Of A Teenage Queen/Come In Stranger/The Ways Of A Woman In Love/ You’re The Nearest Thing To Heaven/I Just Thought You’d Like To Know/ Give My Love To Rose/Guess Things Happen That Way/It’s Just About Time/Luther’s Boogie/ Thanks A Lot/Big River

Having issued two volumes of Golden Hits during the latter half of 1969 Sun International took repackaging to a whole new level with this 2-LP set. They took both albums and issued them in a gatefold sleeve with a new title. The lack of any chart action was probably a reflection on the fact that this was one compilation too many.

 
Sunday Down South (SUN-119 - Released September 1970)

Johnny Cash: If The Good Lord’s Willing/I Was There When It Happened/Remember Me/ Belshazah/Goodnight Iren

Jerry Lee Lewis: Will The Circle Be Unbroken/ Old Time Religion/Carry Me Back To Old Virginia/When The Saints Go Marching In/Silver Threads

This release, with its unusual cover design, featured only five songs by Cash with the second side featuring songs by Jerry Lee Lewis including Will The Circle Be Unbroken and Old Time Religion. Sam Phillips had made it clear to Cash that he was not interested in religious material. However, Cash did get his own way recording both I Was There When It Happened and Belshazar, both of which are included on this album. I am not sure that Remember Me and Goodnight Irene qualify for inclusion on an album that pertains to be a gospel collection.


The Rough Cut King of Country Music (SUN-122 - Released October 1970)

Cold Cold Heart/Straight A’s In Love/You’re My Baby/I Forgot To Remember To Forget/ Born To Lose/You Tell Me/Fools’ Hall Of Fame/I Just Thought You’d Like To Know/The Story Of A Broken Heart

When Cash recorded a selection of Hank Williams songs for release on the Sings Hank Williams extended play release Cold Cold Heart was omitted and left in the vaults. When picking tracks for this album Singleton chose the track for inclusion but not before a guitar and drum track was overdubbed. Likewise, an overdubbed version of the previously unreleased You’re My Baby was included, this time with electric bass, probably played by Billy Lee Riley. Fools Hall Of Fame is another track that Sam Phillips chose not to release and a note appears on paperwork from Phillips that reads, “Not to be released at any time.” Of course this didn’t stop Singleton from including the track on this album. Billy Lee Riley also added additional guitar to the track before release. The cover featured a great shot of Cash, guitar in hand, standing in front of a big ‘ol steam locomotive.

Sings Hank Williams (SUN-125 - Released June 1971)

Johnny Cash: Hey Good Looking/I Could Never Be Ashamed Of You/I Can’t Help It/I Heard That Lonesome Whistle/Cold Cold Heart

Jerry Lee Lewis: Lovesick Blues/You Win Again/Your Cheating Heart/Jambalaya/Settin’ The Woods On Fire 

Like Sunday Down South this album featured both Johnny Cash and Jerry Lee Lewis, this time on a selection of songs penned by Hank Williams. All five Cash songs had been issued over the past few months on previous Sun International releases.

The Man, The World, His Music (SUN 2-126 - Released June 1971) (2-LP set)

Disc 1: Born To Lose/Story Of A Broken Heart/Two Timin’ Woman/Goodbye Little Darling/Port Of Lonely Hearts/I Forgot To Remember To Forget/Goodnight Irene/My Treasure/I Heard That Lonesome Whistle/Mean Eyed Cat/New Mexico/

Disc 2: Sugartime/Life Goes On/Wreck Of The Old ‘97/Belshazah/You’re My Baby/Fools Hall Of Fame/Blue Train/Country Boy/Wide Open Road/I Just Thought You’d Like To Know/ Down The Street To 301

A two-album set that is basically a compilation of some less-well known Sun recordings, steering clear of many of the hits from the period. With what is probably the worst cover design of all Cash’s Sun International releases, it’s title would lead one to believe that it was issued to ride on the back of the success of the recently released documentary film Johnny Cash The Man, His World, His Music. Anyone expecting a soundtrack album to the film would have been very disappointed!

Original Golden Hits Volume III (SUN-127 - Released November 1971)

Rock Island Line/Oh Lonesome Me/Country Boy/You Win Again/Straight A’s In Love/Doin’ My Time/The Wreck Of The Old ‘97/I Forgot To Remember To Forget/Sugartime/Story Of A Broken Heart/Katy Too

The third volume of the Golden Hits series was the last Cash release on Sun International. By 1971 interest in Cash’s Sun output had lessened and this was probably one release too many.

Collecting these releases is not an expensive task as most can be picked up on ebay for between £1.99 and £12.99 although you do need to check the descriptions with regard to condition of covers and grading of the record. Back in 1999 the Collectables label issued several original Sun and Sun International albums on 2-on-1 CDs including Get Rhythm/Story Songs Of The Trains And Rivers, Original Hits 1/Original Hits 2, Showtime/ Original Hits 3 and The Singing Story Teller/ The Rough Cut King Of Country Music. Of course, none of these contain any tracks that you wouldn’t have already and at the end of the day if I was wanting to add them to my collection I would go for the original vinyl copies. When I first started buying Johnny Cash albums, back in the early seventies, I had all the Sun International releases and do regret parting with them.

FLEETWOOD MAC IN CHICAGO

December 1968 found Fleetwood Mac undertaking their second tour of North America. Opening with a show at the Fillmore East in New York the tour would include December dates in Austin, Dallas, Boston, Detroit, Miami, Philadelphia and Chicago. The tour would continue throughout January and February 1969 with shows in Vancouver, Seattle, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Fresno, Sacramento, Cleveland and closing in Detroit.

Photo (c) Unknown

During the bands time in New York they recorded songs for their next album and single at an unknown studio. Among the tracks laid down were Do You Give A Damn For Me, Like It This Way, Jeremy Spencer's rockabilly take-off, Somebody's Gonna Get Their Head Kicked In Tonight and a new Peter Green composition, Man Of The World, a track they would work on again in London on their return to the UK.

The following day they were back in the studio, this time Tempo Sound Studios, backing Otis Spann on a session arranged by producer and Blue Horizon Records founder, Mike Vernon. The tracks recorded this day would be released later in the year on Spann's album The Biggest Thing Since Colossus.

However, it is another session undertaken during their time in America that we will be looking at in this article.

Mike Vernon and Marshall Chess, the son of Chess Records co-founder Leonard Chess, had arranged a session which would see the members of Fleetwood Mac recording with a number of Chicago bluesmen.

The session was booked for 4 January and would be held at the Ter-Mar Studios located at 320 East 21st Street in Chicago. The studio was named after the sons of Chess Records co-founders Phil and Leonard Chess, Ter(ry) and Mar(shall). The original Chess studios had been on 2120 South Michigan Avenue but they closed in 1966 and moved to the new address in September.

Not every member of the band were keen on the idea. Vernon recalled this years after the event, "Everyone seemed to think it was a good idea except for John McVie and Peter Green, who was sitting on the fence. I think they all thought the studio was going to be ramshackle and the real deal - the place where all those old blues records were made - but of course it was much bigger and more professionally run than they expected. And I think that was a let-down for them. It was also the middle of winter and Chicago was bloody cold." Fortunately they finally agreed.

Willie Dixon, Chess Records A&R man, was bought in and tasked with organising the sessions and hiring the musicians. Unfortunately many of the blues greats were unavailable due to being out of town. However, he did manage to acquire the services of both Otis Spann (piano and vocals) and Buddy Guy (guitar) along with Shakey Horton (harmonica and vocals), J. T. Brown (tenor saxophone and vocals), Honeyboy Edwards (guitar and vocals) and S. P. Leary (drums). As well as organising the session Dixon would play upright bass.

Photo (c) Jeff Lowenthal

Mike Vernon produced the session alongside Marshall Chess while Stu Black was the recording engineer.

The sessions didn't go as smoothly as both Vernon and Chess had hoped for. There was some friction between the local bluesmen and the members of Fleetwood Mac, some of which can be heard on the track Rock Me Baby as featured on the The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967-1969. However, the session did produce some great music with Fleetwood Mac obviously enjoying the chance to record with many of their idols and the artists that influenced their own style.

Throughout the session various members of the band and the blues musicians would step aside and recordings would often feature just Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood and John McVie, while others would find all the blues musicians accompanied by just one or two of the band.

They recorded almost thirty songs, many more than once. Several had been written by the blues musicians present at the session including I Need Your Love and I Got The Blues (Walter Horton), Someday Soon Baby and Hungry Country Girl (Otis Spann) and Black Jack Blues (J. T. Brown). They also turned to Howlin' Wolf for Sugar Mama and Ooh Baby, Memphis Slim's Everyday I Have The Blues and Little Walter Jacobs for Last Night.

Photo (c) Jeff Lowenthal

Vocals were handled mainly by members of Fleetwood Mac although Shakey Horton takes the lead for I Need Your Love and I Got The Blues, Otis Spann appears on Someday Soon Baby and Hungry Country Girl while J. T. Brown is the vocalist on Black Jack Blues.

The remaining songs are shared between Peter Green who delivers great versions of Watch Out, Ooh Baby, Last Night, Sugar Mama and Homework while Danny Kirwan records his own compositions Talk With You, Like It This Way and the Jimmy Rogers song World's In A Tangle.

Photo (c) Jeff Lowenthal

The highlight of the day is when Jeremy Spencer turns his attention to his favourite artist, Elmore James, and performs blistering performances of I'm Worried, I Held My Baby Last Night, I Can't Hold Out and Madison Blues. He also turns his attention to Memphis Slim's Everyday I Have The Blues.

Several instrumentals were also recorded including Walter Horton's South Indiana, Peter Green's Red Hot Jam, and Jeremy Spencer's Rockin' Boogie.

Mike Vernon recalled the sessions in 1999, "Memories of that day are still quite vivid although I have to be honest and say that I still cannot believe that we achieved so much in one day. I often ask myself as to whether we might not have actually taken two. I've even written to that effect but in truth I don't recall. We hardly ever did more than one take of any song so I guess the project could have been completed in one day." He went on to say, "I don't remember there being much sense of urgency although as the clock wound down I did push Peter and the lads to try and get a couple of other tunes in the bag before time ran out on us."

Photo (c) Jeff Lowenthal

Twenty-two tracks recorded on that cold January day in Chicago were released in the United Kingdom on Mike Vernon's Blue Horizon label in December 1969. Blues Jam At Chess was a 2-LP set in a gatefold sleeve and the inner sleeve featured several photos taken during the session. Interspersed between the tracks is studio chatter including conversations between the band members and producer Mike Vernon. Far from distracting the listener, these snippets are a welcome addition which gives an insight into the sessions.

On the album sleeve Buddy Guy is listed as Guitar Buddy and Mike Vernon recalled this in an interview, "Imagine my disappointment when I was told at a later date that I couldn't even use Buddy Guy's name even though the session had been co-produced by a member of the Chess family and cut in their own studio. Guy was instantly transformed into Guitar Buddy." Apparently it was due to Guy's battle with Chess over his contract and his reluctance to add too much to the sessions. He only plays second guitar and a few solos on the album.

In America the release history is far more complicated. Issued three times, in 1970, 1971 and 1975, the album had two different titles and three different cover designs.

The first release in America was as two individual albums with the titles Blues Jam In Chicago, Volume One and Volume Two, once again on the Blue Horizon label, and issued in June and October 1970. The covers featured colour images from the sessions.

In 1971 they issued the original 2-LP UK configuration on Blue Horizon with another different cover and title, Fleetwood Mac In Chicago.

To capitalise on the bands new found success with the Fleetwood Mac album, featuring new members Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham, in 1975 a third variation was released. Using the same title as the 1971 issue, Fleetwood Mac In Chicago, the album featured plain artwork and was issued on the Sire label.

When Sony/Columbia released the 6-CD set The Complete Blue Horizon Sessions 1967-1969 in 1999 the two albums were presented in card sleeves with the original American artwork.

This set includes the most comprehensive selection of material recorded during the Chicago session. Alongside  the twenty-two previously released tracks are a number of previously unreleased and alternate versions, including take 1 of Red Hot Jam, Bobby's Rock, two versions of Horton's Boogie Woogie, an earlier take of Sugar Mama, Honey Boy Blues, an unissued early take of I Need Your Love, Have A Good Time, That's Wrong and Rock Me Baby. A handful of the original tracks also feature some additional studio chat. There are also in-depth liner notes on the sessions.

Blues Jam At Chess, and the subsequent releases, failed to chart and received a mixed reception on initial release. However, over the years the albums have gained more positive reviews and mentions in the music press.

Writing in 1976 after the release of the bands then current album Fleetwood Mac, better known as The White Album, Greil Marcus wrote, "Thanks to the near-permanent success of the current Fleetwood Mac LP, virtually all the bands pre-Warner Bros. material - featuring guitarists Peter Green, Danny Kirwan and Jeremy Spencer - is back on the market. The best stuff is to be found on Fleetwood Mac In Chicago (Sire), a double album cut in '69 at the Chess studios, with real-life black bluesmen sitting in... The Fleetwood Mac that cut this album was a rough, derivative band, full of enthusiasm and committed to their music... The shade of Elmore James smiled on the band, and never more so than on Chicago..."

"Put together on short notice, and recorded in one day, the sessions have something of a ramshackle feel, but the energy of the performances transcends any shortcomings on this date", is how AllMusic describe the album. They go on to say, "Given that the Peter Green-led Fleetwood Mac was already deeply rooted in Chicago Blues, the project proved to be a natural for the group."

Writing on Analog Planet, Michael Fremer said, "Whatever you think of the blues, you gotta love the sound of these recordings, and more importantly the spirited playing as the veterans join in the fun of playing with the white youngsters from across the sea. These are jams - surprisingly tight ones - with snippets of producer Mike Vernon's communication between the recording booth and the studio left in between the music to help give you an indication of how the tunes were conceived."

Rock Critic, Robert Christgau wrote about one of the re-issues, "Combining the recently released Vols. 1 and 2, this two-LP set lets five sincere but never sedulously irrelevant English lads explore their branches. It almost brings you back to those distant days when 'white blues' was more than a code for 'heavy.' Knowledgeable song selection, expressive playing - especially by Peter Green, who filters B. B. King through Santo & Johnny with a saxophonist's sense of line - and lots of help from Otis Spann, Willie Dixon, Shakey Horton, and others makes the thinness of the singing seem like a tribute to a new tradition."

The original albums featured almost 100 images taken during the sessions by Jeff Lowenthal, the only photographer present during the recordings. However, due to the size you would need a magnifying glass to really appreciate them. Thankfully you can now see the photos, along with many previously unseen images, in the new book Fleetwood Mac In Chicago - The Legendary Chess Blues Session written/compiled by Lowenthal with author Robert Schaffner and published by Schiffer Publishing Ltd. in Atglen, Pennsylvania.

Photo (c) Jeff Lowenthal

This beautifully produced coffee table book includes more than 160 colour and black & white images taken by Lowenthal during the session. Many are making their first appearance and even those that were featured on the album look so much clearer here and, of course, they are a much larger size. There are so many great images and it would take far too long to describe all my favourites but rest assured there are loads. Besides the musicians there are a few nice images of Mike Vernon, Marshall Chess and Stu Black working at the mixing desk and out in the studio directing the proceedings.

The image quality is amazing and despite the odd few that are slightly out-of-focus, a minor point when considering these are over fifty-years old, they really bring to life the session.

The photos are the main part of the book but they are interspersed with text, comments and interviews with a variety of people. Again the list is too long but includes Mick Fleetwood, John Mayall, Martin Celmins, Aynsley Dunbar, Buddy Guy and many more. Some of the interviews were held by Robert Schaffner.

The book includes forewords by both Mike Vernon and Marshall Chess along with introductions by Jeff Lowenthal and Robert Schaffner.

This is a wonderful book and deserves to be on the shelf of any Fleetwood Mac fan, of which I am one, and lovers of Chicago blues, again that includes me.

Pick up a copy of this excellent new book, put the CDs in the player, grab the headphones and relive that day in January 1969 when a band of British white blues enthusiasts teamed up with some of the legendary Chicago bluesmen to create a piece of music history.

With thanks to Harrison Lutz and Victoria Hansen at Schiffer Publishing Ltd for providing a review copy of the book. 

CHRISTMAS WITH ELVIS

Christmas was a special time for Elvis and every year he decorated Graceland, inside and out, with an impressive display of lights and decorations to celebrate the festive season. With his love of the season it seemed an obvious move for him to record a selection of Christmas songs for release on an album, or at least The Colonel and RCA thought so.

In the 1950s artists including Frank Sinatra, Bing Crosby, Perry Como and even Gene Autry had all recorded and released Christmas albums. However, Elvis wasn't that excited about the thought of recording a selection of festive material.

At this time his priority was to attempt the song Treat Me Nice again, in an effort to produce a better version than the one he'd recorded a few months earlier for Jailhouse Rock, and also make a further attempt at One Night. There was also My Wish Came True and another song, the ballad Don't, from the song-writing team of Leiber & Stoller who had already provided several hits for him.

Elvis finally agreed and sessions were booked at Radio Recorders in Hollywood for three days in September 1957 to record enough tracks for an album to celebrate the season. 

Produced by Steve Sholes the sessions would see Elvis backed by regulars Scotty Moore (guitar), Bill Black (bass), D. J. Fontana (drums), Dudley Brooks (piano) and The Jordanaires (vocals). Elvis also requested the services of soprano singer Millie Kirkham.

Eight Christmas songs were recorded over the three days, one on the 5th, three more on the 6th and a further four on the 7th.

The three aforementioned songs were also recorded during the session, Treat Me Nice, My Wish Came True and Don't. It was rumoured that Elvis also planned to record I'm A Hog For You Baby and Fools Hall Of Fame during the sessions, although the latter may have been attempted no tapes have ever been located. In fact no outtakes exist for any of the songs recorded during the sessions.

The eight seasonal recordings were expanded into a twelve track album with the inclusion of the four religious songs Elvis had recorded back in January 1957, originally released on the extended play album Peace In The Valley (EPA-4054) in April 1957. The four songs, Peace In The Valley, I Believe, Take My Hand Precious Lord and It Is No Secret (What God Can Do) all fitted well with the religious theme of the album, even if many fans felt short-changed having to buy the tracks again to get just eight new songs. It was a practice that RCA (and The Colonel) would be guilty of many times in the years to come.

Elvis' Christmas Album (LOC-1035) was released on 15 October 1957 and would spend four weeks at the #1 spot, go on the sell over 175,000 copies by the New Year and would eventually be certified 3 x Platinum by the Record Industry Association of America (RIAA).

Side A featured six popular Christmas songs while the second side consisted of two traditional carols and four religious tracks.

The album opens with Santa Claus Is Back In Town. Although it is the opening track of the album, as requested by Elvis, it was a song that had not been originally planned or chosen to record. Realising they needed one extra song The Colonel asked Leiber & Stoller to go and write a Christmas song. They disappeared to a room and ten minutes later returned with the song Christmas Blues, the original title of Santa Claus Is Back In Town. Typical of the Colonel, when the pair returned with the newly written song he asked, "What took you so long!" Elvis loved the song and completed a finished master in seven takes. With its double-meanings, raunchy performance and lyrics that included 'pretty stockings' and 'big black cadillacs' as opposed to the more traditional snow, sleighs and toys it is the standout track on the album.

In 1942 Bing Crosby recorded and released the Irving Berlin song White Christmas which has become the best selling single of all time with his version shifting over 50 million copies. It is also one of the most popular Christmas songs which receives regular airplay on stations across the world. Elvis followed the arrangement of the Clyde McPhatter and Drifters version and laid down a satisfactory master in nine takes. This is the song that caused a major uproar when the album was released, as we shall see later on in this article.

Here Comes Santa Claus has been recorded by many artists including one of its composers Gene Autry. The song, which only took a couple of takes, followed the recording of another old standard, White Christmas. Written as a humourous children's song, Elvis manages to make it playful and more adult with his performance.

Another song associated with Bing Crosby followed. I'll Be Home For Christmas had been written by Walter Kent, Kim Gannon and Buck Ram and it took fifteen takes before a satisfactory master was completed. 

Blue Christmas features great backing from the band and especially the vocal accompaniment from Millie Kirkham and The Jordanaires. Composed by Billy Hayes and Jay Johnson it was the first of the Christmas songs recorded at the sessions. Apparently Elvis was reluctant to record the song and had mentioned this to Millie Kirkham. Before recording started he told her, "Well let's just have fun. Just do something silly!" With Kirkhams 'ooo-ing' in the background he joked, "Well, that's one they'll never release." Fortunately they did and despite his reservations it has become a favourite with fans everywhere and the definitive version. During the recording of the 1968 TV Special he commented before singing the song that, "I'd like to do my favourite Christmas song of all the ones I've recorded." Strange considering his lack of interest in the song when he recorded it. However, when more recordings from the TV Special appeared it was clear he was talking about Santa Claus Is Back In Town.

The first side closes with the upbeat and jaunty Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me written by song-writing team Aaron Schroeder & Clause Demetrius who had previously written I Was The One and Mean Woman Blues, both recorded by Elvis. It was a song he obviously enjoyed singing.

Two carols open side two. O Little Town Of Bethlehem dates back to the mid 19th-century when Phillip Brooks wrote a poem and then music was added with the help of Lewis Redner. With the organ backing and vocal support from The Jordanaires it receives a sincere performance from Elvis. It only took four attempts to complete the master. Whereas the first side of the album was dedicated to popular Christmas songs this opened the second side which covered the Christian side of Christmas.

The final Christmas song Silent Night is beautifully sung by Elvis with great support from the band and vocalists. His voice is crystal clear and the song is sung with sincerity and reverential calm. Originally an 1818 poem, Stille Nacht, Heilige Nacht, written by Josephh Mohr, it was set to music by Franz Gruber, a church organist. English lyrics were added by Rev. John Freeman Young in 1863 and the carol has been recorded by many artists over the years. It was yet another song that was probably influenced by Bing Crosby.

The remining four tracks are not Christmas songs but the four gospel recordings that Elvis recorded back in January 1957 and first issued on the Peace In The Valley extended play album.

I Believe was written by Ervin Drake, Irvin Graham, Jimmy Shirl and Al Stillman and had been recorded, successfully by Roy Hamilton and Frankie Laine before Elvis turned his attention to the hymn.

Written by Thomas A. Dorsey, Take My Hand Precious Lord, was one of Elvis' favourite gospel songs and the recording by The Golden Gate Quartet was no doubt an influence on his own recording. The song was performed by The Blackwood Brothers at the funeral of Gladys Presley in 1958.

A beautiful performance of It Is No Secret (What God Can Do) follows. Written and recorded by Stuart Hamblen the hymn took thirteen takes before Elvis was happy to move on.

The album is bought to a close with another Thomas A. Dorsey composition, Peace In The Valley, a song Elvis had sung during the famed 'Million Dollar Quartet' session at Sun Records back in December 1956. Another sincere performance from Elvis that would demonstrate, along with the rest of the album, that he wasn't just a rock 'n' roller but could handle many styles of music. 

All four are handled well by Elvis and do not feel out of place on the album. However, one wonders what other Christmas songs could have been included.

Apparently a few other songs were suggested but rejected including, Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow!, Santa You've Done Me Wrong, Let's Play Jingle Bells and You're All I Want For Christmas.

The album was issued in a booklet style which included promotional photos from Jailhouse Rock although these were dropped for future issues of the album. A gold foil tag was attached to the shrink-wrap that read, 'TO______, FROM______, ELVIS SINGS' followed by a list of the tracks.

The album had advance orders in excess of the planned original production. W. W. Bullock, RCA Victor album department chief, commented at the time, "...the greatest advance album order in the history of the company."

Reviews were mixed and AP Newsfeature Writer Hugh Mulligan didn't hold back in his review headed 'Elvis' Christmas Album Is Sung In A Whisper.' He wrote, "If the carolers outside your door this Christmas season come decked out in dovetail haircuts and Victorian sideburns, you'll know the Elvis Presley's latest album has had its usual fallout effect on the nation's teen-agers. In a masterpiece of seasonal miscasting. RCA Victor has called on the undulating one to warble (whisper, actually) a few Christmas carols and has plastered his sugarplum features on the jacket of a gaudy album otherwise decorated with colour prints of Elvis in his latest movie, an unseasonal drama entitled 'Jailhouse Rock.' The result is ludicrous and pathetic. It's not that Elvis is irreverent, blasphemous or sacrilegious in chanting such hymns as 'Silent Night' and 'O Little Town Of Bethlehem.' Far from it. Most of the time, he's hushfully reverent in his approach to these unfamiliar themes that he just isn't there at all."

With a reference to a well-known stripper from the time, a disc jockey in Los Angeles compared playing the album for his listeners would be like, "... having Tempest Storm give Christmas gifts to my kids!"

It was one song in particular that caused the greatest uproar, White Christmas. When its composer Irving Berlin heard Elvis' version he saw it as  a "profane parody of his cherished yuletide standard." He asked his New York staff to contact radio stations demanding that the song be banned from receiving any airplay. Fortunately most ignored this request leading to one DJ in Portland, Oregon being fired for playing the song.

A newspaper article at the time told of the event. "Radio Station KEX said that it has fired Al Priddy, disc jockey, because he played Elvis Presley's recording of 'White Christmas' on the air. Mel Bailey, station manager, said Priddy violated the ban the station put on the Presley recording about three weeks ago. The record was banned, Bailey said, because 'it is not in the good taste we ascribe to Christmas Music. Presley gives it a rhythm and blues interpretation. It doesn't seem to me to be in keeping with the intent of the song."

Ironically the version by The Drifters, on which Elvis based his version, received no kind of reaction from Berlin despite being a top ten R&B hit. This could have been due to the fact that The Drifters version was only being played on black radio stations. In any case it is hypocritical of Berlin to have the reaction he had to Elvis.

Despite the issues over White Christmas and differing opinions the album was a hit with the fans and in the years since its release has become a well-deserved classic and, according to the RIAA, the album and various reissues have sold more than seventeen million copies in the USA alone and also the best selling Christmas album of all time.

The album was reissued two years later in October 1959 (LPM-1951) while Elvis was on duty in Germany, with the same tracks but featuring a new cover design, a picture of Elvis superimposed over a snow covered backdrop. Unlike the original release this included all the titles on the cover along with the words 'Elvis Sings Christmas Songs', an unnecessary addition as the title told the listener what to expect. The publicity photos from Jailhouse Rock were also omitted from this re-issue.

In the UK the album was issued with the catalogue number RD-27052 and used a publicity image from Love Me Tender on the cover and the message 'Best Wishes, Elvis' printed on the photo.

Two Extended Play albums were released in America. Elvis Sings Christmas Songs (EPA-4108) was issued in November 1957 and featured four tracks from the album, Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me, Blue Christmas, Santa Claus Is Back In Town and I'll Be Home For Christmas. The cover was a cropped image from the album.

The following year Christmas With Elvis (EPA-4340), featuring the same cover images as the 1959 release of the album, bought together the four remaining songs from the album, White Christmas, Here Comes Santa Claus, Oh Little Town Of Bethlehem and Silent Night. Billboard had established an Extended Play chart and Elvis Sings Christmas Songs topped the chart. Christmas With Elvis couldn't repeat the success and failed to even chart.

In Britain RCA released the extended play album Elvis Sings Christmas Songs (RCX-121) featuring Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me, Blue Christmas, Santa Claus Is Back In Town and I'll Be Home For Christmas. The cover, which followed the design of similar releases by Perry Como, Harry Belafonte and Mario Lanza, had a picture of Elvis from the film King Creole that had originally been used on the cover of the American King Creole Vol. 2 EP.

No singles were released in America at the time of the album's release. However, in Britain RCA paired two of the strongest tracks from the album and released them as a single in November 1957. Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me/Santa Claus Is Back In Town (RCA-1025) reached #7 on the charts.

Reviewing the single in the UK Keith Fordyce wrote, "The seasonal rush (or is it rash?) of Christmas records is already in full swing. Perhaps the most surprising contributor is Elvis Presley, who offers a complete Yuletide pairing on RCA 1025.This is one time when I can feel quite safe in unreservedly predicting a hit; the selling side will undoubtedly be 'Santa Bring My Baby Back To Me.' This is normal Elvis--the connection with Christmas is in the words. The beat is not only good, but fairly happy and bouncy, too, so it should appeal to the semi-squares as well as the fans. Maybe that includes me, 'cos I thoroughly enjoyed this song, and I'm no Elvis fan, just an admirer." 

A second single was issued in the UK when Blue Christmas backed with White Christmas (RCA 1430) was released in late-1964 just stalling outside the top ten peaking at #11.

It would be seven years after the albums release before a single was issued in the USA, pairing Blue Christmas with the non-festive movie hit Wooden Heart (447-0720). The single peaked at #1 on the Billboard Christmas Singles Chart. The following year RCA released Santa Claus Is Back In Town and for the second time in the space of a year Blue Christmas found release on a single (447-0647), this time as a b-side. The single peaked at #4 on the Christmas Singles Charts.

The tracks on Elvis' Christmas Album have been been re-issued many times over the years on various releases and compilations. However, two to avoid are the awful duets album released in 2008 and even worse the 2017 album recorded with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, neither of which deserve any further mention here!!!

In 2014 the album was issued on the Follow That Dream label as part of their 7-inch classic album series. With no outtakes from the Christmas sessions, the album was expanded with the three non-festive songs (Treat Me Nice, My Wish Came True and Don't) along with outtakes of Peace In The Valley and It Is No Secret (What God Can Do). 

This article only covers the original releases in America and Britain of the album, extended plays, singles and the recent FTD release as to cover every release is far beyond the scope of this article.

All that leaves is for me to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and A Happy New Year... I'm off to enjoy Santa Claus Is Back In Town and all the other Christmas classics once again.

With thanks and reference to the following books - The Best Of British - The RCA Years 1957-1958 (Trevor Simpson) and Elvis Presley: A Life In Music - The Complete Recording Sessions (Ernst Jorgensen)