The King of Rock 'n' Roll: The Complete 50's Masters - Contents

Contents

The first four discs present the Elvis masters in chronological session order. Disc one commences with "My Happiness," a private test demo from the summer of 1953 at Sun Studio and the first recording ever made by Presley, and continues with the complete Sun Records masters through track 19. The remainder of disc one, and discs two through four, comprise the entirety of his output for RCA Records during the decade. Disc four ends with an interview by Presley prior to his departure overseas to serve in the army in 1958, released on the EP Elvis Sails. Included as well are the officially released recordings on RCA for each one of Elvis' four feature films of the 1950s: Love Me Tender, Loving You, Jailhouse Rock, and King Creole.

The fifth disc compiles rare outtakes and unreleased recordings, starting off with the companion acetate to "My Happiness" in an early version of "That's When Your Heartaches Begin." Tracks two and five are more acetates recorded by the standard Presley trio of Elvis, Scotty Moore on guitar, and Bill Black on bass, at an unknown location in Lubbock, Texas, during January 1955, presumably around the time when Buddy Holly converted to rock and roll after seeing Presley in concert. Tracks three and four present live recordings from the Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1955, again with the trio. Tracks thirteen through sixteen present live recordings from the Frontier Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1956, with the trio plus drummer D.J. Fontana. An outtake from the Million Dollar Quartet sessions appears on track nine, with the following personnel: Presley, Carl Perkins on guitar, his brother Clayton on bass, Jerry Lee Lewis on piano, and W.S. Holland on drums. Although Johnny Cash is billed as the fourth of the headlining quartet and his presence is corroborated by anecdotal evidence, aural evidence of his participation on record is difficult to discern. The remainder of disc five contains alternate takes of released masters.

Collecting every master recording made in the 1950s, The King of Rock 'n' Roll encapsulates the era for which Presley remains most revered, that of the young international phenomenon at the forefront of the rock and roll explosion. RCA issued two similarly configured box set companions, one for the 1970s, and another for the 1960s, bypassing his film soundtrack work for his secular recordings made to be issued commercially.

Professional recordings made at Sun Studio, RCA Studios in New York and Nashville, Radio Recorders in Hollywood, and at the studio soundstages of 20th Century Fox, Paramount, and MGM in Hollywood. The furlough recording session of June 10, 1958, took place in RCA's newly constructed studio in Nashville, where Presley would continue to record through 1971. Original recordings produced by Sam Phillips or Steve Sholes.

This compilation received a 1992 Grammy nomination for Best Historical Album, only to lose that award to the boxed set "The Complete Capitol Recordings Of The Nat 'King' Cole Trio".