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)

THE FABULOUS JOHNNY CASH

Johnny Cash's debut album for his new label Columbia was released in November 1958 and to celebrate this we look back at the recording, release and success of the album The Fabulous Johnny Cash.

A week after his last session for Sun Records, Johnny Cash was at the Owen Bradley Studios in Nashville cutting his first sides for his new label, Columbia. This first session produced six songs and a few weeks later on 8 August a further ten tracks were recorded during two sessions on that day. To enable them to have enough tracks for their first album and singles a further session was held five days later with nine more songs successfully recorded.

To expand the basic sound of the Tennessee Two Columbia brought in some additional musicians and on the first session Morris Palmer and Marvin Hughes, on drums and piano, were also present. An unknown chorus was around to add vocal support on some tracks and for the first time since A.W. ‘Red’ Kernoddle had made his one and only studio appearance back in 1955, a steel guitar was present. Don Helms played the instrument on just the one song, Suppertime. Drummer Murry M. ‘Buddy’ Harman joined them for the first August sessions and by the second had replaced Morris Palmer who, along with Marvin Hughes, did not appear on any of the songs recorded that day.

Two songs recorded during these sessions, What Do I Care and All Over Again were paired up and became Cash’s first single on his new label although they would not appear on the album. On the country charts What Do I Care spent fifteen weeks reaching #7 while the flipside spent nineteen weeks on the chart peaking three places higher at #4. Both sides made the pop chart reaching #52 and #38 respectively.

Cash's Sun Records had been issued in the UK on the London label and his new Columbia records would be released on the Philips label.

The UK pop weekly Disc reviewed his new single in their 15 November issue. "The deep brown voice of Johnny Cash turns up now on the Philips label after a long spell with London. And Philips should be pleased, because Johnny might have one of his biggest successes on this side of the water with this coupling. What Do I Care is a rich, steady country romancer that lopes along in company with a rhythm group backing. Both songs on this release were written by Johnny himself. And it may be that All Over Again will turn out to be the bigger attraction of the pair. Quicker than the other side with some chorus work behind Cash, it's catchy stuff."

Of the twenty-five tracks recorded over this short time twelve would make the final selection for Cash’s first Columbia album, The Fabulous Johnny Cash.

The album, which was an eclectic mix, opens with the first of five songs written, co- written or adapted by Cash, Run Softly Blue River, and there is no mistake that you are listening to a Johnny Cash album.

The other songs credited to Cash are Frankies Man Johnny, which he adapted from the old nineteenth century New Orleans ballad Frankie and Albert, I Still Miss Someone, written with his nephew Roy Cash, Jr., Don’t Take Your Guns To Town and Pickin’ Time.

Don’t Take Your Guns To Town with its story about a farm boy who, convinced that he was grown-up, failed to heed his mothers warnings and lost his life to a stranger who was quicker on the draw. It is the strongest song on the album and, as we will see, was a successful single.

I Still Miss Someone was a song that Cash would perform live throughout his career and re-record several times. It is a beautiful country ballad about lost love that Cash handles well.

With Pickin’ Time we return to a theme he covered on Country Boy a few years earlier, his rural upbringing. These were strong songs and it is clear to see why he refused to record any of his own material during his final few months with Sun Records, preferring to keep them for his new label.

One of the songs he tried at Sun but never completed a finished master is One More Ride and he returned to the song for his new album producing a similar sounding version.

Sam Phillips had not let him record gospel material during his time at Sun but with Columbia he was given more freedom and he covers two songs with religious overtones, That’s Enough and Suppertime which takes on a more religious meaning towards the end of the track. The remaining tracks, That's All Over, The Troubadour, I'd Rather Die Young and Shepherd Of My Heart all fitted in well. Cash and Columbia records were both satisfied with the debut album.

Released in November 1958 The Fabulous Johnny Cash became his first album chart success when, on 8 December 1958, it entered the US pop charts at #20. Having spent three weeks in the chart at the end of the year, reaching #19, it re-entered the charts in February 1959 and spent a further six weeks on the pop charts peaking at #21.

Billboard voted the album ‘Favourite C&W Album.’ Initial sales of the album approached 400,000. Released in time for the Disc Jockey Convention in Nashville it was there that Columbia Vice-President Bill Gallagher and producer Don Law presented Cash with his Gold award for All Over Again. 

It had been a succesful year for Cash with his debut album for Columbia far exceeding expectations, a gold award single and to cap it all at the end of the year he was voted ‘Favourite Country and Western Artist by Billboard magazine and for the second time Cash Box voted him ‘Most Programmed Male Country Vocalist.’

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It was common practice with record companies in the late fifties and early sixties to take an artist’s latest album and release the material on separate extended play releases. The twelve tracks on The Fabulous Johnny Cash were spread over three EPs, with each featuring a different cover shot from the same photo session.

In their 18 April 1959 review Disc, the UK pop weekly, did not agree with the title and in a review headed “Fabulous? Not On Your Life” they wrote, “The sleeve note hails Johnny Cash as ‘fabulous.’ I disagree. He is a good performer and I’ll admit that he is a lot better than most in his field of singing. But ‘fabulous’ — never. People are too free with flowing praise nowadays with the result that many adjectives have lost their meaning. ‘Fabulous’ is one of the most overworked of all. This is a good album and the Cash boy has a rich voice which should make him pretty popular. He sounds a little like a young Ernie Ford but lacks the richness of that artist’s voice.”

Speaking about the album in 2002 Cash said, “It was 1958 and I had a new album called The Fabulous Johnny Cash. Someone says ‘What’s the name of your new album?’ Try answering without a shred of ego. ‘It’s called The Fabulous Johnny Cash.’ Oh well. that was over forty years ago. Ancient history.”

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Don’t Take Your Guns To Town backed with I Still Miss Someone was the first single lifted off the album for release and in the UK Disc, who had been less than impressed with the album were more complimentary this time round. They wrote, "I Still Miss Someone is a typical Cash country song, and would be chosen as the prototype for anyone planning an impersonation of this dark, sorrowful-voiced westerner. Not as good as some of his recent recordings, but still worth a spin. Don't Take Your Guns To Town is a narrative song in true cowboy tradition. Johnny drawls about a young cowpoke who insisted on taking his guns to town despite his mother's pleas. Story continues in all the best cliches to it's doleful end."

In December Billboard reviewed the single, "Don't Take Your Guns To Town is a Westernish, folkish effort that Cash gives his usual fine reading. It's an offbeat side for the artist, but it's already doing well in some areas. Flip is also a fine approach on a melancholy weeper. Strong potential on both pop and c&w markets."

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The album wasn’t alone in achieving chart success. Don’t Take Your Guns To Town managed a twenty-week run during which time it held the top spot for six weeks during March and April 1959. It couldn’t repeat the success on the pop charts where it stalled at #32. I Still Miss Someone, despite being a strong record, failed to achieve any chart action.

Frankie’s Man Johnny was also lifted for release and was paired with a non-album track You Dreamer You. The a-side spent eleven weeks on the country charts reaching #6 while the flip peaked at #13. On the pop charts Frankie's Man Johnny spent seven weeks reaching only #57.

On their 1990 release The Man in Black 1954-1958 Bear Family Records devoted a complete CD to outtakes with multiple takes of eight of the tracks recorded at the 13 August session. Many are false starts or breakdowns and it is interesting to hear the songs coming together in the studio.

Songs included are Lead Me Father, That's Enough, I Still Miss Someone, One More Ride, Pickin' Time, Don't Take Your Guns To Town, I'd Rather Die Young, Shepherd Of My Heart and one song, Cold Shoulder, that did not find release until Bear Family included it on the 1978 album The Unissued Johnny Cash. 

In 2002, to celebrate Cash’s seventieth birthday, Sony reissued the album on CD adding an additional six tracks - Oh What A Dream, Mama’s Baby, Fools Hall Of Fame, I’ll Remember You, Cold Shoulder and Walkin’ The Blues two of which were previously unreleased and the remaining four previously unavailable in the USA. All six tracks were recorded during the aforementioned three sessions in July and August.

In the sleevenotes to this re-issue Cash had this to say about the album, “At the time it was, to me, the best collection of my work that I could put together. Songs I’d written while still in the Air Force were coming back.”

ELVIS - A LEGENDARY PERFORMER

Throughout Elvis Presley's long career his record company had never, intentionally, released any previously unreleased material. However, an alternate version of Old Shep had been issued in error on some early import pressings of his second album, Elvis, released in October 1956. A second mistake occurred in 1973 when, after releasing the studio recording of Stay Away, Joe in 1970 on the budget release Let's Be Friends, the movie version was included in error on the budget album Almost In Love. This was soon corrected on later pressings.

All this would change in 1974, long before the advent of the Follow That Dream label which has given fans a wealth of unreleased material over the past twenty-plus years.

In the mid-1970s RCA Records created a new series of albums with the generic title A Legendary Performer. Artists that were featured in the series included Jim Reeves, Perry Como, Glenn Miller, Henry Mancini, Bing Crosby, Jimmie Rodgers and Elvis Presley.

Although I haven't seen every release in the series I do believe that the four Elvis Presley albums were the only ones to include previously unreleased material. Elvis was also one of only two artists to have more than one volume released, the other being Glenn Miller who had three albums issued. 

The packaging, for the time, was impressive with a circular cut-out on the front through which the inner sleeve could be seen. Each album included a booklet with colour front, back, inside front and inside back covers with the remaining pages in black and white. The booklets featured a wealth of photos and memorabilia including session paperwork, tape boxes and much more.

It was Joan Deary who was responsible for the Elvis - A Legendary Performer series. She had been Steve Sholes secretary at RCA, and later was administrator of Elvis releases and had a good working relationship with The Colonel. However, a fall-out with Elvis' producer Felton Jarvis, over the track selection on the Elvis (Fool) album had caused a rift which would not be healed.

In 1973 Elvis and The Colonel had signed a new contract with RCA Records worth over $5 million by selling the rights to all his back-catalogue. They both needed money and this seemed a good option. However, in hindsight it was one of the worst managerial decisions ever made.

Following the sell-out to RCA Records the way was open for them to release Elvis' early recordings and they wasted no time. Deary compiled a new deluxe compilation to include a selection of old recordings and previously unreleased material, all owned by RCA under the new contract.

On it's release, the commercial failure of the Raised On Rock album would lead to more attempts by RCA to get rid of producer Felton Jarvis. They hadn't counted on Elvis' loyalty to Jarvis and when they approached him about the subject he told them in no uncertain terms that there would be no sacking.

As if RCA didn't have enough problems, further complications arose at the time when The Colonel found out that the forthcoming Joan Deary compilation would be released at the same time as Raised On Rock. He was furious and made attempts to stop the release of the album. All he achieved was delaying the album until January 1974.

While Joan Deary may not have been popular within the Elvis circle there can be no debate as to how successful the albums would become. The first release in the series would sell over 700,00 copies, outsell and peak higher than Elvis' current release, Raised On Rock, and the previous album, Elvis (Fool). The RIAA (Record Industry Association of America) would eventually award the album 'Gold' status. It would appear that by the mid-seventies Elvis' back-catalogue was more popular than his current recordings.

Future releases would also perform well with Volumes 2 and 3 both charting at 46 and 112 respectively with both gaining Gold awards from the RIAA. Volume 4 could not repeat the success and no further volumes were released.

Having looked back at the history of how the Legendary Performer series came about we will now look in detail at each of the four Elvis releases in the series.

In January 1974 RCA released Elvis - A Legendary Performer Volume 1, and I still remember to this day waiting for my mother to return from town with my copy that I had asked her to pick up for me.

'RCA Records proudly presents the Legendary Performer collection... a series of recordings by the world's finest musical artists. Glowing with energy that transcends time, these are performances which will recall fond memories for collectors, and bring the joy of new discovery to young audiences.'

Volume 1 featured fourteen tracks with five previously unreleased or hard to find along with two interview excerpts. The seven previously released tracks dated from the 1950s and early-1960s and included That's All Right, Heartbreak Hotel, Don't Be Cruel, Love Me Tender, Peace In The Valley, A Fool Such As I and Can't Help Falling In Love.

The most interesting previously unreleased track was the version of I Love You Because recorded at Sun Records in 1954. When released by RCA on his debut album Elvis Presley the version of I Love You Because was a splice of takes 2 and 4 while here we get the complete take 2 including the spoken part.

Three previously unreleased live recordings from the 1968 TV Special 'sit-down shows' were included, Love Me, Trying To Get To You and Are You Lonesome Tonight?

The movie G. I. Blues and soundtrack album featured the song Tonight Is So Right For Love but here the listener was treated to an alternate version, Tonight's All Right For Love, previously unavailable in the UK and USA. Due to copyright issues the version featured in the movie and soundtrack album in the United States, Tonight Is So Right For Love, was replaced with Tonight's All Right For Love in the European version of the film and soundtrack.

The two interview excerpts were lifted from the hard-to-find Elvis Sails Extended Play, recorded on 22 September 1958 and originally released the following November. 

As we read earlier this release was well-received and sold better than Elvis' current product and would set the scene for future releases in the series.

Between 1974 and 1976 Elvis released three studio and one live album, Good Times, As Recorded Live On Stage In Memphis, Promised Land and Elvis Today, all a major improvement on his Raised On Rock album. Following the success of the first volume it seemed time for a second volume of the Legendary Performer series and this was released in 1976.

'For collectors everywhere, RCA Records proudly presents Elvis-A Legendary Performer-Volume 2... fascinating musical insights into the fabled Presley saga.'

Once again this release featured a mix of previously released and unreleased material. However, the listener was treated to more unreleased material on this second volume.

Of the fourteen tracks included, Blue Christmas, Jailhouse Rock, It's Now Or Never, Such A Night, How Great Thou Art and If I Can Dream were all previously released leaving a further eight tracks previously unavailable.

Two more live recordings from the 1968 TV Special 'sit down shows' were featured, Blue Suede Shoes and Baby What You Want Me To Do. Another track, Blue Hawaii, is listed as a live recording but was actually recorded after the taping of the Aloha From Hawaii special in 1973, once the audience had left the auditorium, so classing it as a 'live' recording is not totally accurate.

From his days at Sun Records comes Harbor Lights, recorded at the same July 1954 session as I Love You Because, That's All Right and Blue Moon Of Kentucky.

An alternate take of I Want You, I Need You, I Love You, Elvis second RCA single originally released in 1956, is included. The original was a splice of takes 14 and 17 and it was originally thought that the version included here was the complete take 14. Further research has confirmed it is actually take 15.

A Cane And A High Starch Collar comes from the 1960 movie Flaming Star and although shown in the movie the song was never released at the time. It is making it's first appearance on the album along with a false start.

Although not mentioned on the sleeve there are two false starts preceding the song Such A Night, both previously unreleased.

Like Volume 1 there were two interviews. However, unlike the earlier release, where the interviews had been previously issued on a hard to find 1958 extended play release, these were both previously unavailable. One dated back to 1956 and was taped in Wichita Falls, Texas during one of Elvis' tours. The second dated from 25 March 1961, and was an excerpt from a press conference and presentation of an award to Elvis on the same day he played his charity concert at The Bloch Arena, Pearl Harbor in Hawaii.

'For collectors everywhere, RCA records presents another chapter in the career-and life-and above all, in the music of the man who became the greatest legend of the modern entertainment world... ELVIS-A LEGENDARY PERFORMER, VOLUME 3.'

The Legendary Performer albums had become a popular and profitable series for RCA Records and, as we saw earlier, Elvis was only one of two artists to have more than two volumes in the series released.

Elvis tragically passed away in August 1977 and there was a renewed interest in his music. In 1978 RCA issued A Legendary Performer Volume 3, which followed the successful pattern of previous releases.

This time the listener would be treated to eight previously unreleased tracks which sat alongside the previously released material, Hound Dog, Crying In The Chapel, Surrender and In The Ghetto.

Once again they turned to the 1968 TV Special but rather than including more live recordings they turned their attention to the staged sections of the show. Both Let Yourself Go and It Hurts Me were filmed for the Guitar Man/Road sequence but were not included in the original broadcast.

The only live recording that made it to the album was a February 1970 recording of Let It Be Me, originally recorded in French back in 1955 as Je t'appartiens and a 1960 hit for The Everly Brothers.

Elvis' movie career was well represented on this release with four previously unreleased/alternate tracks featured. Frankfort Special and Guadalajara came from G.I. Blues and Fun In Acapulco respectively. The former was a faster version of the song than the one that featured in the movie and on the soundtrack. The latter was an earlier take of the song that featured on the Fun In Acapulco soundtrack.

Like Cane And A High Starch Collar that was included on Volume 2 the song Britches was another intended for the film Flaming Star. Unlike Cane And A... this song never appeared in the movie and was never released at the time. It makes its first appearance on this compilation.

Danny, a song also recorded by Marty Wilde back in 1959, was recorded during the sessions for King Creole but never used. It was considered as the title song to the movie but King Creole, a better choice, was picked instead. 

The only studio track included was an alternate take of the 1960 hit Fame And Fortune, the b-side to his first post-army release Stuck On You.

Excerpts from an August 1956 interview with Elvis and The Colonel taped in Lakeland, Florida and intended for TV Guide, continued the theme of including interview material on the Legendary Performer releases. 

One difference between this volume and earlier releases was the fact that the actual album was a picture disc, possibly the first time in the history of Elvis releases.

It would be a few years before the final volume in the series would be released and in the intervening years RCA issued the 8-LP box set Elvis Aaron Presley (more often referred to as The Silver Box). The first serious attempt at a career overview it contained a wealth of unreleased material... concerts from his early years, movie outtakes, live recordings from the 1970s, rare singles and much more. 

'For collectors everywhere, RCA Records proudly presents ELVIS-A LEGENDARY PERFORMER-VOLUME 4... newly discovered performances by the man whose music swept the world and made his name both a household word and a synonym for superstar.'

Possibly based on the success of the Elvis Aaron Presley set, RCA released a fourth, and final, album in the Legendary Performer series in 1983.

Unlike the previous three volumes this last release featured all previously unreleased material, with one exception.

It was another mix of live recordings, studio outtakes and rare recordings this album offered a much better selection than previous releases and a number of highlights.

The first highlight comes from Elvis' Sun days and is an early version of When It Rains, It Really Pours, a song he would return to later in his career.

Both Mona Lisa and I'm Beginning To Forget You are 'home' recordings which were actually taped during Elvis' time in Germany in 1959.

The best track on the album, and a recording that was never known to exist, is an alternate version of One Night, actually recorded as One Night Of Sin and taped a month before the single version. With it's risque lyrics it is obvious why this version was overlooked at the time.

From the movies comes an alternate of Wooden Heart, from G.I. Blues, Plantation Rock, a song recorded but not featured on the Girls! Girls! Girls! soundtrack, a new version of Swing Down Sweet Chariot recorded specially for the film The Trouble With Girls (And How To Get In To It) and finally an unreleased duet from Viva Las Vegas, The Lady Loves Me, recorded with his co-star Ann Margaret. 

The 1968 TV Special had been mined for several tracks on previous releases and for this final album they turned to a live recording of Elvis' first record, That's All Right. Two live performances from the Madison Square Garden afternoon show also make an appearance, Reconsider Baby and I'll Remember You.

Yet another interview excerpt is include, this time from Tampa, Florida in 1956.

The only previously released track was the 'laughing version' of Are You Lonesome Tonight? which had been included on the Elvis Aaron Presley (Silver) box a few years earlier. 

It is unbelievable that this release offered the most unreleased material and yet was the only one of the four not to chart.

I bought all four volumes on the day of release and in the weeks that followed they were rarely off the turntable. I was fascinated by the amount of memorabilia included in the booklets and while recent releases offer much more there was something special about seeing the paperwork, session information, tape boxes, rare photographs and other items... it certainly made a change from the effort that RCA, The Colonel and Elvis put into their current product.... the never ending stream of live photos on studio albums, the poorly designed covers, especially on the back which often was just used to advertise other Elvis releases and the lack of information about the contents (studios, musicians etc etc).

Although they would not offer anything new I would love to see these four albums issued on the Follow That Dream label. While they couldn't recreate the original packaging, with the cutout on the sleeve, they could still use the original images and keep the same design. The booklets could also be reproduced, maybe in black and white as the originals.