Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4
Greatest hits album by
Elvis Presley
ReleasedJanuary 2, 1968
RecordedJune 1958 to June 1966
GenreRock and roll
Length29:03
LabelRCA Victor
ProducerSteve Sholes, Joseph Lilley, Chet Atkins, Urban Thielmann, George Stoll, Elvis Presley, Felton Jarvis
Elvis Presley chronology
Clambake
(1967)		 Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4
(1968)		 Speedway
(1968)
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]

Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4 is a greatest hits album by American rock and roll singer Elvis Presley, issued by RCA Victor in mono and stereo, LPM/LSP 3921, in January 1968, with recording sessions taking place over an eight-year span at RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, and at RCA Studios and Radio Recorders in Hollywood. It is a compilation of hit singles released between 1961 and 1967, peaking at number 33 on the Billboard 200.[2] It was certified Gold on March 27, 1992, by the Recording Industry Association of America.[3]

Content

Although he had remained a popular artist since the release Elvis' Golden Records Volume 3 (1963), placing eight albums in the Top Ten and 17 singles in the Top 40 Presley's sales had cooled off since his heyday.[2] The compilation album Elvis for Everyone (1965) was his first to sell under 300,000 copies, and his last five soundtrack albums had all done progressively worse in the marketplace, units shifted dropping to under 200,000.[4] Singles were no longer reaching the Top 40 automatically, and while his recent single "Big Boss Man" sold 350,000, that fell short of the needed 500,000 to qualify for gold status in US singles sales.[5] Usually a guaranteed seller, this volume sold only 400,000 copies; better than his recent soundtrack albums, but well off the mark set by its three predecessors.[6] Colonel Tom Parker's ignorance of popular music trends and styles and Presley's unwavering loyalty to Parker were ruining Presley's career.

Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4 comprises five Top 40 A-sides along with seven b-sides, five of which also made the Top 40. Three songs had not been written expressly for Presley: "Love Letters" came from the 1945 film of the same name; "Witchcraft" had been a 1956 hit record for The Spiders; and "What'd I Say" was the Ray Charles classic from 1959.[7] Three B-sides, "Lonely Man", "A Mess of Blues", and "Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello" were old enough to have been included on Elvis' Golden Records Volume 3, and another b-side, "Ain't That Loving You Baby", came from RCA's furlough session of June 10, 1958, set up to augment their stock of Presley product while their star was in the United States Army.[8]

The first three Gold Records volumes covered two to three years of singles releases, but there was a five-year gap between this and the previous volume. This would be the last of the series issued during Presley's lifetime. Elvis' Gold Records Volume 5, which included singles from 1969 to 1977, was released posthumously in 1984.

By 1968, the practice of releasing LPs in monophonic sound was being discontinued. As a result, RCA Victor issued very few mono copies of Elvis' Gold Records Vol. 4 and they are considered valuable collector's items.[9]

Since these songs had been recorded over a period of several years, the album had several producers, including Steve Sholes, Joseph Lilley, Chet Atkins, Urban Thielmann, George Stoll, Presley himself, and Felton Jarvis.

Reissues

RCA first reissued the original 12 track album on compact disc in 1989. The 1997 reissue added six bonus tracks and altered the running order. "Rock-A-Hula Baby" dated from the 1961 soundtrack to Blue Hawaii, pulled off that album as the flip to accompany "Can't Help Falling In Love" as a single.[10] Three tracks were the advance singles for their respective soundtracks: "Bossa Nova Baby" for Fun in Acapulco; "Kissin' Cousins" for its album; and "Return to Sender", released a month before Girls! Girls! Girls!.[11] "Viva Las Vegas" (the flipside to "What'd I Say"), by the team of Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman, would prove a more durable Elvis recording, receiving myriad cover versions including those by the Dead Kennedys, Bruce Springsteen, and Nine Inch Nails. The gospel song "Crying in the Chapel" had been recorded during the sessions for His Hand in Mine, this five-year-old track going to number three and selling a million copies as a single in 1965.[12]

Track listing

Chart positions for singles taken from Billboard Pop Singles chart.

Original release

Side one
No.ZTitleWriter(s)Recording dateCatalogueReleasedChart peakTime
1."Love Letters"May 26, 196647−8870June 8, 1966192:30
2."Witchcraft"May 26, 196347−8243bOctober 1, 1963322:19
3."It Hurts Me"January 12, 196447−8307bFebruary 10, 1964292:27
4."What'd I Say"Ray CharlesAugust 30, 196347−8360April 28, 1964213:02
5."Please Don't Drag That String Around"May 26, 196347−8188bJune 18, 1963−1:54
6."Indescribably Blue"Darrell GlennJune 10, 196647−9056January 10, 1967332:48
Side two
No.TitleWriter(s)Recording dateCatalogueReleasedChart peakTime
1."(You're the) Devil in Disguise"May 26, 196347−8188June 18, 196332:20
2."Lonely Man"November 7, 196047−7850bFebruary 7, 1961322:43
3."A Mess of Blues"March 20, 196047−7777bJuly 5, 1960322:39
4."Ask Me"
January 12, 196447−8840September 22, 1964122:07
5."Ain't That Loving You Baby"June 10, 195847−8840bSeptember 22, 1964162:22
6."Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello"March 19, 196247−8041bJuly 17, 1962551:52

1997 Reissue with Bonus Tracks

No.TitleWriter(s)RecordedCatalogueRelease dateChart peakTime
1."Return to Sender"
  • Otis Blackwell
  • Winfield Scott
March 27, 196247−8100October 2, 196222:06
2."Rock−a−Hula Baby"March 23, 196147−7968bNovember 22, 1961231:57
3."Love Letters"May 26, 196647−8870June 8, 1966192:30
4."Bossa Nova Baby"
  • Jerry Leiber
  • Mike Stoller
January 22, 196347−8243October 1, 196382:02
5."Witchcraft"
  • Dave Bartholomew
  • Pearl King
May 26, 196347−8243bOctober 1, 1963322:19
6."Kissin' Cousins"September 30, 196347−8307February 10, 1964122:12
7."It Hurts Me"
  • Joy Byers
  • Charlie Daniels
January 12, 196447−8307bFebruary 10, 1964292:27
8."Viva Las Vegas"
  • Doc Pomus
  • Mort Shuman
July 10, 196347−8360bApril 28, 1964292:21
9."What'd I Say"Ray CharlesAugust 30, 196347−8360April 28, 1964213:02
10."Please Don't Drag That String Around"
  • Otis Blackwell
  • Winfield Scott
May 26, 196347−8188bJune 18, 1963−1:54
11."Indescribably Blue"Darrell GlennJune 10, 196647−9056January 10, 1967332:48
12."(You're the) Devil in Disguise"
  • Bernie Baum
  • Bill Giant
  • Florence Kaye
May 26, 196347−8188June 18, 196332:20
13."Lonely Man"
November 7, 196047−7850bFebruary 7, 1961322:43
14."A Mess of Blues"
  • Doc Pomus
  • Mort Shuman
March 20, 196047−7777bJuly 5, 1960322:39
15."Ask Me"
  • Domenico Modugno
  • Bernie Baum
  • Bill Giant
  • Florence Kaye
January 12, 196447−8840September 22, 1964122:07
16."Ain't That Loving You Baby"
  • Clyde Otis
  • Ivory Joe Hunter
195847−8840bSeptember 22, 1964162:22
17."Just Tell Her Jim Said Hello"
  • Jerry Leiber
  • Mike Stoller
March 19, 196247−8041bJuly 7, 1962551:52
18."Crying in the Chapel"Artie GlennOctober 31, 196047−0643April 6, 196532:24

Personnel

Charts

Album

Notes

  1. ↑ also lead guitar on 1997 bonus track "Crying in the Chapel"
  2. ↑ only on 1997 bonus track "Return to Sender"
  3. ↑ also lead guitar on 1997 bonus track "Viva Las Vegas"

References

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. 1 2 "Elvis Presley (awards)". Allmusic. Rovi Corp. 2013. Retrieved May 22, 2013.
  3. ↑ "Searchable datebase". RIAA. 2013. Retrieved May 17, 2013. Note: Enter search for "Elvis Golden Records, Volume 4"
  4. ↑ Jorgensen, Ernst. Elvis Presley A Life in Music: The Complete Recording Sessions. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1998; pp. 201, 222, 224, 240.
  5. ↑ Jorgensen, op. cit., p. 240.
  6. ↑ Jorgensen, op. cit., p. 244.
  7. ↑ Jorgensen, op. cit., pp. 180, 184.
  8. ↑ Jorgensen, op. cit., p. 107.
  9. ↑ Jerry Osborne's Presleyana: The Elvis Presley Record, CD, and Memorabilia Price Guide
  10. ↑ Jorgensen, op. cit., p. 164.
  11. ↑ Jorgensen, op. cit., pp. 170, 177, 185.
  12. ↑ Jorgensen, op. cit., pp. 200.
  13. ↑ "American album certifications – Elvis Presley – Elvis' Gold Records Volume 4". Recording Industry Association of America.
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