Elvis's 40 Year Reign (1960-1962)

The soundtrack was Elvis’s first of the 1960s and was the first of fifteen soundtrack LPs that he would release in the decade. That doesn’t count another half-dozen EPs released in connection to movie releases and other “bonus song from his new movie!” tunes that were slapped onto single releases as B-sides or as bonus tracks on compilation albums. Elvis filmed twenty-seven movies in the 1960s and all of them featured at least one song, and all of them had some kind of soundtrack accompaniment.

Early on the plan, at least in terms of music releases, was to keep his soundtracks “separate but equal” to his studio albums. After finishing Elvis Is Back, Presley reported to Hollywood to begin filming GI Blues for Paramount Pictures.

Elvis’s first three movies were all big successes but critics mostly derided them. His final movie of the 1950s, King Creole, was the first to earn him positive acclaim from newspapers. Unfortunately, GI Blues was never meant to duplicate the “serious actor, serious movie” feel of King Creole (which was his lowest-grossing movie of the four). Parker and producer Hal Wallis wanted something fun for his fans and the result was a musical comedy about an Army man who dreamed of owning his own nightclub and winning the heart of a nightclub dancer. Naturally, the critics loathed it and his fans adored it. The film’s premiere in Mexico City, in fact, drew such a raucous crowd that a riot broke out when there weren’t enough seats at the theater to accommodate everyone. The country of Mexico ended up banning all future Presley movies for the remainder of the decade.

The soundtrack featured mostly throwaway songs. Standouts include the now iconic title track, and a remix of “Blue Suede Shoes.” The rest are mostly army-themed ditties like “Did’ja Ever” and “Frankfort Special”, which feature a heavy percussion accompaniment to simulate the marching of soldiers in formation. Ballads like “Tonight is So Right For Love” and “Doin’ the Best I Can” try their best but fail to leave an impression, although the song “Wooden Heart” was a number-one hit in Europe (Presley even sings German midway through the number). There really isn’t much to write home about, however; the album is as light and inoffensive as the movie. That’s what RCA wanted and that’s what they got.

It of course sold like hotcakes and RCA’s expectations (that Elvis’s fans don’t buy LPs) went right out the window. The album shot straight to number one and was certified gold with sales exceeding 500,000 copies.

After working on GI Blues, Elvis went almost immediately into another shoot. He filmed Flaming Star, a drama about a mixed-blood Native American/Texan that the singer hoped would highlight his serious acting side. Four songs were picked for him to perform in the movie, but he refused to record three of them, and insisted on making it a straight-acting movie. In the end, he recorded the title song (later featured on a special release four-track LP) and a short tune early in the movie. He hoped to balance serious films with musicals the way he wanted to balance his studio albums with his soundtrack work. However Flaming Star was a bomb and though critics praised Elvis’s performance in particular, they mostly panned the rest of the movie. Elvis’s fans were not so loyal to him that they would pay to see him in a dramatic, no-singing movie just a month after the release of the more lively GI Blues.

Colonel Parker used the failure of Flaming Star to hint that Elvis’s dreams of being the next James Dean were coming to an end, although it would be another year before the message finally sunk in. In the meanwhile, Flaming Star flamed out and Elvis turned his attention back to the recording studio.

He had wanted to record a Gospel LP ever since the release of his successful Gospel-themed EP back in the Spring of 1957. After the success of his Christmas LP (which sold well throughout 1957-1959), he made recording a full Gospel album a priority for 1960. Though the studio wondered about its limited appeal as an LP, they agreed to produce the album after Parker said the album could be a big seller at Christmas time, and a steady seller for years to come.

Fourteen songs were selected (thirteen were Gospel-themed; one was recorded for his next single) and all were recorded in a marathon twelve-hour session in Nashville. The songs ranged from traditional, slower performances to up-tempo bouncing songs that he liked to sing when in the church in Memphis. Several of the numbers were old standards reworked and arranged by Elvis personally, mostly in the style he had been singing to himself for years. While it wasn’t the smash hit that his Christmas album was, His Hand In Mine did sell reasonably well, especially for a religious-themed album. It peaked at number thirteen, (eventually) went gold and just as predicted it remained a constant-seller for a decade.